VANCOUVER – A hot start by the UBC Thunderbirds was cooled by a first period Calgary power play goal and the Dinos added two more in the second and one in the third as they upended the 'Birds 4-1 at Thunderbird Arena on Saturday night.
BOX SCORE
After weathering a T-Bird storm in the first, the Dinos notched a pair of second period goals, both of which gave them two goals leads.
Leading 1-0 after the first period, the Dinos' second goal came courtesy of a fortuitous bounce at the 14:32 mark of the second frame. Calgary leading scorer Torrie Wheat fired a shot at the UBC net from just inside the blueline that deflected off T-Bird forward Tyler Ruel and past a sprawled UBC goalie Gerry Festa.
Clayton Bauer got the only T-Bird goal of the game just 40 seconds later to make the score 2-1, but the Dinos regained their two-goal lead with just 1:27 left in the second period when Brock Nixon slotted home a rebound past Festa from in close. Nixon added an insurance goal at the 6:24 mark of the third period.
It was one-way traffic during the first period with the T-Birds getting a season-high 19 shots in the frame, while holding the Dinos to just four, but the visitors from Calgary opened the scoring on the first power play of the game. Strong puck control by the Dinos kept a pesky T-Bird penalty kill at bay and Brent O'Malley banged home a rebound off a Joel Eisenkirch point shot at the 4:43 mark of the first period.
The T-Birds outshot the Dinos 36-28 on the evening and held the Calgary power play to just one goal on six chances, but their inability to capitalize on their six chances with the man advantage or cash in during the first period put to bed any hopes of a weekend sweep for the home team.
Calgary is now one point up on the T-Birds as they battle for the final playoff spot in the Canada West.
UBC (5-8-1) returns to the ice next weekend to face-off against no.1 ranked Alberta (9-2-1) at home as both teams close out their fall schedules. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.
Calgary (6-8-0) plays a home-and-home with Lethbridge (8-6-0) next weekend, beginning Friday night in Lethbridge. The series closes Saturday night at 7 p.m. when the Dinos meet the Horns at Father David Bauer Arena.
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