VANCOUVER – It may not have been their best effort of the season, but a strong finish earned the UBC Thunderbirds (6-1) a 5-2 win over the Regina Cougars (0-7) Friday night, extending their win streak to six games to remain tied atop the west division.

After the Cougars made a strong push in the second period, the No. 4 ranked T-Birds got a pair of third period power play goals from Jake Wright to secure the win while Brett Mirwald earned his fourth victory of the season in net with 27 saves.

"The one thing you lose during those two weeks is your timing and your game sense and that's the area where our feet were facing the wrong way, our stick was in the wrong spot," said UBC head coach, Sven Butenschon following UBC's first game following a bye week. "Physically I thought we came out of the break real well but again, our timing."



Cyle McNabb opened scoring just 5:10 into the first, the fifth-year's second of the season a wicked wrister from the high slot which got past Damon Cunningham's glove side.

Less than two minutes later, James Form doubled the lead with his first of the campaign, finishing off a pretty tic-tac-toe from Wolfgang Govedaris and Reilley Kotai.

But rather than crumble, the Cougars pushed back and were the stronger team over the ensuing 30 minutes.

Scott Atkinson expanded UBC's lead to 3-0 with his first of the season at the 5:08 mark of the second, converting on a late breakaway by sniping shortside.
 

?? MHKY | Scott Atkinson with a beautiful finish off the rush for his 1st of the @CanadaWest season to give the 'Birds a 3-0 2nd period lead ?? pic.twitter.com/6IlFiqUivF

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) November 1, 2025

But the Cougars were rewarded for their strong play with a Jaxon Steele power play goal at 12:50 followed by Ashton Fishley's first with just 25 seconds left in the period, taking advantage of a T-Birds neutral zone turnover to make it a one-goal game heading to the third.

The 'Birds put up their best period by far in the third, outshooting the Cougars by a 21-6 margin.

Wright's first of two power play tallies came 5:35 into the final frame, wristing his fourth of the season from the left hashmarks, restoring UBC's two-goal lead.

The 'Birds essentially put the game to bed with six minutes remaining when Wright struck again, roofing it from the slot.



"He's got his sights adjusted very well, if he's not scoring at least it's going on the net," said Butenschon of Wright's hot start to the season, now with five points in his last two games. "You got to credit Jace Weir and Ty Thorpe for finding him, they're looking for him, they're getting pucks to him and then he's coming up and taking care of the rest."

The final score is perhaps a bit unfair to the Cougars who pitched a solid effort despite the early setback.

"They played a great game. If you take away that first ten minutes where we jumped on them real quick, I thought it was a pretty even game and in the third period our power play kind of came through for us. They haven't won a game yet this year but I don't think that's indicative of the way they play."
 

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The Cougars will get another shot at earning their first win of 2025-26 Saturday when the T-Birds battle Regina for the final time this season.

"I think the start's going to be huge again. The Saturday afternoon game, can you get a good night's sleep, can you get regenerated, can you get your body ready to go for the quick turnaround? They're going to be even more desperate tomorrow. We got to be ready."

Puck drop at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre is set for 3:00 p.m. Tickets are available online and the game will also be streamed live on Canada West TV.