CALGARY – The UBC Thunderbirds (16-2-3) roared back into the win column with a full value 4-0 victory over the host Calgary Dinos (17-4) Friday night at Father Bauer Arena.
Jake Lee scored his tenth of the season just 2:32 into the first period for what stood up as the game winner, one of two T-Bird power play goals on the night, while
Brett Mirwald picked up his second shutout of the year making 23 saves for his seventh win between UBC's pipes.
Sasha Mutala,
Josh Williams and
Jake Wright each finished with a goal and an assist as the No. 4 ranked T-Birds leaped over the No. 2 Dinos to re-take sole possession of first overall in the Canada West.
"Everybody chipped in. The D had a great bounce back game I thought after last weekend, that was nice to see. Total team effort," said UBC head coach,
Sven Butenschon, after handing the Dinos their first shutout loss of the season. "We talked about just simplifying our game and being really good at being simple, transporting the puck more north rather than taking our time going east-west too much. In the first period I thought the buy in was really high and incredible and kind of set the tone for the rest of the game."
Mutala's 11
th of the season came just as another UBC power play expired late in the opening period, capping an impressively dominant first 20 minutes.
Following a scoreless second, the T-Birds struck again on the man advantage just 41 seconds into the third on Williams' eighth.
Jake Wright put the icing on the cake with his 11
th at 15:42, sniping through traffic into the far-side, top corner behind Carl Tetachuk
"I do like the matchup with our group vs that team and on that big ice," Butenschon added. "We got some really great, powerful skaters and you got a lot of time and space. The ice quality is unbelievable. On the road we're able to get to our team identity a little bit quicker."
Mirwald's seventh win matches his total from last year while the second-year goaltender pushed his season save percentage to a Canada West leading .920.
"He presented big, he anticipated really well. His rebound control was outstanding, he made big saves at important times too which was I think my favourite part of his game."
The T-Birds will now have the opportunity Saturday to earn what could be a critical season series victory over Calgary, the two conference powerhouses battling it out for home ice throughout the Canada West playoffs.
Puck drop for the final regular season meeting with the Dinos is set for 2:00 p.m. PT with the game available live on
Canada West TV.
