Despite suffering a red card that threatened to spoil their night, the UBC Thunderbirds stood strong and continued their undefeated start to the season with a 2-0 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies. Goalkeeper Bennett McKay earned his first clean sheet of the season, while Henri Godbout remained in torrid form with his team-leading fifth goal of the season.

The T-Birds came out strong from the jump, outshooting the Huskies 8-1 in the first half. They didn't have to wait too long for the breakthrough as after a period of sustained pressure, the ball found its way back to Marcus Puhalj. The central defender launched it deep, directly towards Godbout who had ghosted in behind the Huskies' defensive line. The forward chested the ball down beautifully, before looping it over the onrushing goalie and into the back of the net.



The scoreboard thus read 1-0 in the 26th minute, and it only took another two minutes before the Thunderbirds doubled their lead. This time it was Noah Hrdlicka whipping in a cross from the outside, which found the head of Chris Lee. The third-year player nodded it home for his second goal of the season, and the second of the game for UBC.

While the T-Birds were in full control for most of the night, their grip on the contest received a bit of a jolt when Hrdlicka, who'd been booked in the first half, got a second yellow card in the 73rd minute. Thankfully for the visitors, they were able to withstand the pressure and keep Saskatchewan off the scoresheet.

Overall, the Thunderbirds outshot the Huskies 13-7, and 10-3 in terms of shots on target. After a home-heavy start to their schedule, this was the first road game of the season for the T-Birds. Five of their remaining eight regular season matches are away from the friendly confines of Thunderbird Stadium, so a strong road performance under their belt should help keep the team's confidence high.

The win also puts UBC in a tie for first-place in the Pacific Division with a record of 5-0-2, and with the best goal-scoring record (17 goals) in all of Canada West. The T-Birds now have the rest of the weekend off, before resuming action in Kamloops against Thompson Rivers on Friday, September 27th.