VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (0-1) used the energy of a big season opener crowd to stake out an early lead, only to have the visiting Manitoba Bisons (1-0) score twice in the third period for a 3-2 decision to officially begin the 2026-27 Canada West season Friday night at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Skyler Bruce's deflection on the power play early in the final frame got the visitors level while Caden Zaplitny's first of the season at the 8:11 mark stood up as the game winner as the T-Birds dropped their season opening contest for a third straight year.
Earning just one power play opportunity while forced to the penalty kill four times – including a five minute major assessed to
Austin Fraser late in the first – the 'Birds also weren't able to generate enough qualify offensive chances while the Bisons earned an opportunistic victory.
"We've had trouble generating a high volume of scoring chances," said a disappointed UBC head coach,
Sven Butenschon. "We got some okay looks from the outside, but we're not doing a good enough job getting into the middle of the ice and getting grade 'A' opportunities. They made one more play than we did tonight."
Second-year transfer
Brayden Schuurman got the 2200-strong crowd on their feet 7:20 into the game with his first career Canada West goal. The Abbotsford native picked off an errant breakout pass in the neutral zone, skated in on Bisons netminder Braden Holt and backhanded the puck for the early UBC lead.
UBC had the chance to double their advantage shortly after when newly minted captain
Ty Thorpe was awarded a penalty shot after being slashed on a breakaway, but Holt stretched out his left pad to deny the former Vancouver Giant.
With less than two minutes remaining in the first, Fraser was slapped with a goaltender interference major and game misconduct which led to a fracas in the Manitoba crease.
The 'Birds impressively completed the kill but the Bisons found the equalizer midway through the period when Tanner Willick's shot deflected off Joel Purdom's skate, five-hole past
Cole Schwebius.
"You kind of take the energy in the building and everybody's rolling, everybody's rocking out there and then that penalty kind of deflated the rhythm of the bench and the chemistry," said Butenschon. "Other guys had to play more ice and on this ice surface, you kind of lose your legs if you're out there too much. We just kind of lost our rhythm."
Before the period was out,
Quinn Disher's first of the season restored UBC's lead, redirecting a
Jace Weir point shot in the slot.
Despite outshooting the Bisons 13-12 in the third, the 'Birds were held off the board while Bruce scored on the man advantage at 3:24, followed by Zaplitny's game winner less than five minutes later.
Schwebius made 23 saves in the losing cause including two spectacular breakaway stops, odd man rushes against an issue for the 'Birds in their season debut.
"Some poor puck decisions. I thought for the most part our F3 was good, but then you take a shot right in a guy's shin pads, guys get beat one-on-one in the D zone, guys are open back door. Our defencemen got to do a better job tying up sticks in those situations."
The 'Birds get another crack at the Bisons in short order with Saturday's rematch a chance to earn the opening weekend split. Puck drop at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre is set for 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are available online or at the door and the game will also be
streamed live on Canada West TV.
