CALGARY – With his first win of the season and his first shutout of the season, goaltender Jeff Weber led the University of Calgary Dinos to a 4-0 win against the UBC Thunderbirds.
The Dinos were helped by a two goal performance by Brock Nixon and a goal and assist from Jerrid Sauer, players who earned the second and third star respectively. Weber earned the first star accolades.
The man-advantage was the key to most of the scoring in the game with two power-play goals and one shorthanded marker from the Dinos. The first goal happened at 2:49 in the second period with the Dinos Aaron Richards in the penalty box for interference. Shorthanded, Teegan Moore cleared the Dinos zone with a stretch pass to Sauer. One on one with the T-Bird defender, Sauer buried a shot top-shelf to give the Dinos a 1-0 lead.
The Dinos would finish the second period with a 2-0 lead after Brock Nixon buried a shot on the home team's third power-play of the night. Brett O'Malley and Kyle Annesley picked up assists on the marker.
The power-play would continue to produce into the third after T-Birds goalie Francois Thuot slipped while playing the puck behind his net ten minutes into the third frame. Thuot dove to the front of the net but couldn't stop Torrie Wheat from sliding in his ninth goal of the season. Reid Jorgensen and Richards picked up assists on the goal which, unfortunately, resulted in Thuot being helped off the ice with a leg injury.
Jordan White would replace Thuot, who had 21 saves on 24 shots before the injury. White would manage three saves in the final 10 mintues on four shots.
Calgary would continue to put up points in the third when Brock Nixon notched his eighth goal of the season when he sniped a five-hole shot on White with six minutes left in the game. Sauer picked up the assist on the goal which resulted from a two on one rush in the T-Birds end.
“I think that they played a lot better than last night and we also played better as well.” Dinos coach Mark Howell commented after the win. ”We didn't turn over the puck as much as we did last night. I thought we took some penalties in the second and third that helped them get going, to get some momentum.”
The Dinos went two for five on the power-play over three periods while UBC was unable to convert on their six chances after 60 minutes.
The weekend sweep improves the Dinos record to 8-4-2, two wins away from matching their wins record from last season. Jeff Weber turned away 32 shots on route to his first shutout of the year.
“This is a much different team versus last year,” Weber added following the victory. “We have some leaders in the dressing room, guys like Jorgensen and Nixon who are playing unbelievably.”
The T-Birds now have a 2-9-1 record with two games left in this half of the season, both of those against the Dinos.That series will faceoff next weekend at the Thunderbird Areana at UBC on December 4th and 5th with 8:30 p.m. starts.
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