CALGARY – The UBC Thunderbirds suffered their first shutout loss of the season Friday night, falling 4-0 to the Calgary Dinos at Father David Bauer Arena.

Despite eight power play opportunities, the T-Birds (18-7-2) failed to generate much offensively to complement some terrific goaltending by Brett Mirwald who made 26 saves in the losing cause.

In what was a true tale of special teams, the Dinos (15-10-2) scored twice in the second period on the man advantage to stake out a 2-0 lead before adding a pair of empty netters late in the third, one of shorthanded, as the 'Birds have now suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since October.

"We weren't good enough and when you're not sharp and on the ball and executing five-on-five, it's hard to just turn it on when you do get a power play," said UBC head coach, Sven Butenschon, whose team struggled to find their typical offensive flair.  "They play a really disciplined, defensive game. We know that, we've seen it for years. It's like they were OK going 0-0 and waiting for us to make a mistake or where they can capitalize on the power play. I don't remember any odd man rushes for, I don't remember them running out of position, they were just on top of us the entire night."



UBC's loss also clinches first place in the West Division for the Mount Royal Cougars as the 'Birds are now locked in second and will host the MacEwan Griffins in a Canada West quarter-final series starting next Friday night in Vancouver.

A fairly uneventful opening period ended scoreless, thanks in large part to Mirwald using his blocker to stop Adam Kydd on a shorthanded breakaway in the final minute of the frame.

After failing to score on three consecutive power play chances, the T-Birds conceded the first goal of the game on the penalty kill, 3:44 into the second when Sean Strange wristed the puck through traffic for his second of the season.



The Dinos doubled the lead with their second power play goal of the period when Colson Gengenbach one-timed the puck from the slot for his 13th at the 8:36 mark.

Still down by a pair to start the third, the 'Birds were sent to their sixth power play with another big opportunity to cut into the Dinos' lead, but once again Calgary's penalty kill, led by a couple terrific stops by Carl Tetachuk, allowed the hosts to maintain their advantage. As Logan Hauer exited the box, he was sent in on a breakaway, but Mirwald once again came up strong.

 "He's been good since he came back from spending Christmas in Saskatchewan," Butenschon said of his rookie goaltender. "As soon as he got back he was a different guy and he's been making the saves he needs to to give us a chance, so that's a real positive to see and we're real happy for him."

Earning yet another power play with 3:24 remaining, UBC put Mirwald on the bench for the 6-on-4 advantage, but it was Jake Gricius who was able to hit the empty net for his tenth of the season.



Gengenbach added his second of the game into the empty net with just 15 seconds remaining to firmly put the stamp on the Dinos' victory.

Tetachuk picked up his tenth win and second shutout of the season with 19 saves.

With the Dinos also locked in their respective playoff position – third in the East Division and now set to face the Golden Bears in Edmonton next weekend – UBC's final game of the regular season in Saturday's rematch with the Dinos means nothing in terms of the standings. The game does however hold the season series with Calgary in the balance, along with the opportunity to head into the post-season with some positive steam behind them.

"We played that great game last Friday against Saskatchewan and then the Saturday, dropped off, and it was kind of similar today. We don't want to go into the playoffs losing three games in a row so we've got to find something to be positive about, something to enjoy coming to the rink on Monday. When you lose a couple games on a weekend, it's tough, so we need to get some positive vibes going tomorrow."

Puck drop for the 2024-25 regular campaign finale is set for 5:00 p.m. PT. The game will be streamed live on Canada West TV.