VANCOUVER – For the first time since 1963, the UBC Thunderbirds have finished the regular season atop the conference, thanks to a 4-3 shootout win over the Mount Royal Cougars Saturday afternoon at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Forced to go the distance for the second time in as many days, the T-Birds' (22-4-2) main goal of securing first was already accomplished once the third period came to an end as the single point was enough to clinch top spot.
"It was an emotional weekend, it feels great, it's a relief that we were able to finish the season the way we wanted," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon following the historic regular season finale. "It's not always how you start something but how you finish. Man, I thought even going back to last week, the last four games we've just gone toe-to-toe with the opposing team and it felt like playoff hockey for two weeks now. I'm really proud of the guys for getting the job done. And man, credit Mount Royal for the great compete, it was a great weekend."
Things got a little hairier for the 'Birds than they had hoped after entering the third period with a 3-1 lead. Blake Stevenson got the Cougars (21-6-1) within one scoring his 10
th of the season just 2:23 into the third, shooting far side past Schwebius off a feed into the slot from behind the net by Jaden Senkoe.
Midway through the frame the Cougars found the equalizer courtesy of Robbie Holmes 15
th of the campaign, and second of the game, finishing a give-and-go play with Connor Bouchard.
UBC had a glorious chance to re-take the lead in the final minute on a goalmouth scramble that saw
Scott Atkinson put a
Chris Douglas rebound off the crossbar. In his attempt to get in front of the puck, Cougars netminder Shane Farkas injured himself and was forced to leave the game with Riley Sims entering in relief.
Much like Friday night's overtime, the ice was tilted in UBC's favour with the 'Birds outshooting MRU by an 8-1 margin. But despite coming in cold, Sims was up to the task, forcing the game to a shootout.
Both Sims and Schwebius were solid in the skills competition which needed a seventh round to decide the final game of the regular season. Stevenson was the lone Cougar to score while
Cyle McNabb scored in the fourth round with
Josh Williams scoring in the seventh before Schwebius stopped Holmes to secure the win.
"The depth was the key this weekend, the depth was us finishing in first," added Butenschon. "A lot of great teams in our league, a lot of talented teams. I think the one difference that we have is our depth. We got unbelievable players, just practicing not even able to get in the lineup because we're healthy and we're so deep. Definitely getting
Josh Williams back playing the way he's capable just adds another layer to our forwards."
Williams played one of his most impactful weekends to date as a T-Bird, scoring a go-ahead goal in the second period for his second in as many games. Holmes opened scoring with his first of the contest at the 1:52 mark. But just over two minutes later, UBC had taken the lead.
Tian Rask got things level just 16 seconds after Holmes scored, converting off an offensive zone faceoff won back by
Sam Huo.
Williams' third of the season at 3:55 saw the second year forward was sprung on a partial break with a beautiful stretch pass from
Jake Lee.
Huo completed his eighth multi-point game of the season to give UBC a 3-1 lead with his 14
th on the power play at 11:15.
The 'Birds outshot MRU 17-5 in the second period alone and 50-20 all told, but the tenacious Cougars battled back to force the game beyond 60 minutes before suffering their only overtime or shootout loss of the season. As a result, Mount Royal finishes third in the standings and will host the MacEwan Griffins for a best-of-three quarter-final series starting next Friday in Calgary.
"We prepared for a one-goal game. One team's going to pull their goalie – is it going to be you or is it going to be them? How are you going to play that – so that's kind of what we prepared for and it's funny, no matter 3-0 or 3-1, it ended up like that. It would be really fun to play these guys in the playoffs because I'm sure it would be the same."
Earning a bye through the quarter-finals for the second time in the last three years, UBC has completed the regular season with new program highs in wins and points while earning the right to host a semifinal series against the lowest remaining seed starting Friday, February 23 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
