VANCOUVER – In yet another playoff type battle between two of the top teams in the country, the Saskatchewan Huskies handed the UBC Thunderbirds their first loss in seven games Saturday afternoon, completing a 3-2 comeback win in the shootout at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
The T-Birds (18-6-2) opened up a 2-0 lead in the second period on goals from
Chris Douglas and
Josh Williams, but the Huskies (21-5) scored twice on a five minute power play, eventually forcing the game beyond overtime where Vince Loschiavo scored the game winning shootout goal as the two U SPORTS powerhouses split their only weekend series of the season.
"Six periods of really solid five-on-five hockey, they get two goals the whole weekend, both on the power play," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon who was impressed with his group's play over the course of the weekend. "All four lines were going, I thought the D played outstanding. That is a tough group of forwards to go up against and I thought the D really stepped up and locked it down back there. (
Cole Schwebius) too, so lots to be excited about and lots to be positive about, but in hockey no matter when you lose or how you lose, it's bitter."
After yet another solid two-way effort by UBC, the turning point of the game came late in the second when
Jonny Lambos was handed a five minute major for charging, allowing the conference's leading power play to get to work.
Chantz Petruic scored Saskatchewan's first goal of the weekend with just two tenths of a second on the clock.
Starting the third still with four minutes remaining on the penalty kill, the T-Birds did a solid job keeping the Huskies' at bay until Petruic struck again, this time with just three seconds remaining on the man advantage.
As the third wore on, the T-Birds began to find their game again but simply ran out of time to re-take the lead before eventually falling in the shootout.
"Similar vibe to yesterday, tight checking, two good teams going at it and then we just ran into penalty trouble," Butenschon continued. "We know that you can't win games sitting in the box that much, especially against that team. Their power play's the tops in the league, we just needed to be a little more disciplined and play more five-on-five."
The Huskies certainly played a more intense brand of hockey compared to Friday night where the T-Birds had no problem containing the No. 2 ranked team in the country. Holding perhaps a slight edge in play overall through 20 minutes, the T-Birds were rewarded midway through the second when Douglas opened scoring with his ninth of the season. After laying a hit along the boards to free the puck, the UBC captain ripped a heavy wrister from the right circle past Jordan Kooy.
Less than four minutes later at the 14:27 mark,
Josh Williams jammed home his own rebound to double the T-Birds' lead with his seventh.
In control on the scoreboard, the 'Birds' were simply forced to the penalty kill for too long, spending all but 12 seconds of the final three minutes of the second and first four minutes of the third shorthanded.
Petruic's first power play marker, his 17
th of the season, came in tight, banging in the puck from the blue paint which had bounced off Trevor Wong who ended up crashing into Schwebius just as the buzzer sounded.
The Huskies' goal scoring leader struck again 4:01 into the third, just three seconds left in Lambos' major, a long range wrister past a partially screened Schwebius, post and in, to tie the game.
After a scoreless overtime, Williams gave the 'Birds the early shootout advantage, shooting five-hole past Kooy.
Chase Bertholet, Saskatchewan's first shooter, responded while Kooy denied
Ty Thorpe. Schwebius got the paddle on Petruic's five-hole attempt but Kooy stopped
Jake Lee putting the game on Loschiavo's stick. The fourth-year Husky's glove side wrister found the back of the net to officially split the weekend series.
The two points Saturday for Saskatchewan pulled the Huskies back within one point of the East Division leading Golden Bears. With Alberta on a bye next weekend – the final week of the Canada West regular season – the Huskies will need just one win at home against the Manitoba Bisons to secure first and a bye through the quarter-finals.
UBC's single point combined with a Mount Royal win Saturday over Regina has the 'Birds now two points behind MRU for the West Division lead with two games remaining.
While not finding the scoresheet Saturday,
Logan Doust's defensive play didn't go unnoticed, one of several key contributors defensively for the T-Birds all weekend long, blocking shots and playing a physical brand of hockey that drew the praise of his bench boss.
"He's a warrior, he's a gritty guy, he's in the battle, he's in the trenches, he's in the fight all the time. And that's why we love him and that's why he's here and he knows what he needs to do. Everybody has a different role. We're not relying on him to go end-to-end and score a bunch of goals even though he's totally capable. He's really good at blocking shots and winning faceoffs and being on the right side of situations. In playoffs, it's going to be tight-checking and a chess match and we're going to need him."
The T-Birds head to Calgary to close out the regular season with a pair of battles against the Dinos who are now locked in third place in the division. Puck drop Friday, February 14 is set for 6 p.m. PT at Calgary's Father Bauer Arena.
