VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds were clinical from start to finish, full value in a 3-0 win over the No. 2 Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Scoreless well into the second period,
Scott Atkinson broke the ice with his ninth of the season with what turned out to be the game winner while
Cole Schwebius stopped all 17 shots he faced to earn his second shutout of the season.
"It was a total buy in by the entire group," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon after his squad handed Saskatchewan their first loss since November 22. "The guys played to the game plan almost to perfection. I don't remember many odd man rushes, I don't remember them creating many grade 'A' opportunities, and if we want to win in this league and go far in the playoffs I think we proved tonight that we can if we play the right way and play that way."
Coming off their second half bye week and facing a Huskies squad on an 11-game win streak, the T-Birds certainly weren't the team looking rusty, coming hot out of the gate, firing 10 shots on Saskatchewan netminder Roddy Ross before Schwebius was tested for the first time.
Still awaiting the game's first goal after an opening frame that saw the 'Birds dominate puck possession, it wasn't until Atkinson converted on a rush play with linemates
Chris Douglas and
Jack Wismer at the 13:59 mark of the second that the Thunderbird faithful were able to get to their feet.
After T-Birds blue liner
Alex Serraglio poked the puck free from the defensive zone, Wismer broke up ice along the left wing boards before dishing off to Douglas. The T-Birds captain then threw the puck across the slot to Atkinson who rifled it high past Ross.
"The messaging on the bench, not from me, but from the guys to each other was, 'nothing changes, continue to play the right way and regardless of what the score was,'" Butenschon added. "After Scotty scored at the end of the second, I thought that was just executed to perfection. When you're dominating like that and spending lots of time in the o zone and not getting on the scoreboard, it's usually a funny bounce the other way…you just start squeezing your stick a little bit too much and the other team still has hope that they just need one shot. So I thought the goal was huge just to give the guys a reward for playing awesome."
Earning their second power play of the game early in the third, the T-Birds doubled their lead against the conference's leading penalty kill when
Sasha Mutala roofed his ninth at the 3:08 mark, just the eleventh goal the Huskies have conceded all season while shorthanded.
Cyle McNabb essentially put the game on ice with his sixth of the season at 14:24, extending his point streak to seven games in the process.
Jake Wright's shot from the low slot was stopped by Ross but McNabb quickly corralled the puck to his forehand and elevated it over the left pad of the sprawled Huskies tender.
Desperate to find a way to crawl back from the late deficit, the Huskies put Ross on the bench for the extra attacker, but still couldn't find a way to get one past Schwebius who saved some of his best work for when it mattered most including a side-to-side effort to deny Ty Prefontaine and keep his shutout bid intact.
All told, it was a tremendous defensive effort from the T-Birds who extended their win streak to six while remaining just one point back of Mount Royal for the West Division lead now with three games remaining in the regular season.
"Great job by our defencemen boxing out and keeping those shots from the outside and when we needed him he was there like he's always been," Butenschon said, praising his goaltender and the entire group's commitment in their own zone. "All week, maybe even the last two weeks, because we had the bye week…the juices were flowing in practice and the whole mindset was playoff type hockey. Especially because there's a good chance we're going to see (the Huskies) at some point."
Saskatchewan failed to hold onto a share of first in the East thanks to Alberta's single point in an overtime loss to Manitoba Friday night, pushing the Bears alone into top spot.
The Huskies won't have long to lick their wounds as the Huskies and T-Birds battle for the final time this regular season Saturday with another massive two points up for grabs.
Puck drop at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre is set for 3:00 p.m.
Tickets are available online and the game will be streamed live on
Canada West TV.
