CALGARY – Unfazed by an early goal from the last place UBC Thunderbirds, the University of Calgary Dinos scored three unanswered markers to topple the visiting 'Birds, bringing their magic playoff number to one going into Saturday's regular season finale.
BOX SCORE
With the victory, the Dinos can now clinch a Canada West playoff berth with a win tomorrow in the rematch against the 'Birds. Should they lose the Saturday match, they will need to wait until the Lethbridge Pronghorns finish their series in Saskatoon next weekend before knowing their playoff destiny. The Dinos will be looking to return to the postseason after ending a 24 year appearance streak last season.
The visiting T-Birds didn't allow the faithful Dinos supporters the chance to remove their jackets and settle into their seats before putting the Calgary squad in an early hole, as Cam Brodie snuck a soft point shot past goaltender Dustin Butler only 32 seconds into the match. For Brodie, it was only his second goal of the year playing on UBC's blueline.
Fifth year senior Brett O'Malley made amends for the early Dinos slip-up shortly thereafter redirecting a nice feed from rookie Blake Clement in front of the net at the 4:31 mark. With one game remaining in a solid career for the Red and White, O'Malley can move to a tie with Ron Gerlitz for 19th in the franchise scoring race with one point on Saturday evening, and can take sole possession with two or more.
Despite both teams scoring on their first shots of the evening, it would be a slow first period in terms of scoring chances, with the Birds owning a slim 8-6 lead in shots going into the first intermission.
While both teams would have great chances in the second period, highlighted by a spectacular Jordan White save on a streaking Tyler Swystun and a UBC miss on a wide open net, only Reid Jorgensen would find success. With the strong blast through the five-hole of White midway through the frame going along with a later assist, Jorgensen brings his point total to 30, good for a tie for fifth in Canada West.
Jorgensen was overall fairly pleased with how his team bounced back from the early deficit.
“I don't think we came out exactly the way we wanted, but we rebounded well and got some good energy moving forward,” said the third year forward.
“We played well last weekend in Saskatchewan's small barn (Rutherford Rink), but lost a tight one on Saturday,” Jorgensen continued. “It's a little different in the big rink, but we'll still need everyone to be playing well again to be consistent in these two game series' and to close this out the way we want to.”
Torrie Wheat would add an insurance marker in the third period to make it 3-1, which would hold for the final score. The T-Birds simply ran out of steam in the third stanza, mustering only four shots on goal compared to Calgary's 12.
In the victory, Dustin Butler made 19 saves, moving his Dinos to 12-9-6 on the year. White made 27 saves for the T-Birds, who fall to 8-18-1, and will be playing for pride on Saturday evening.
Calgary and UBC finish the weekend series and their regular season tomorrow night at Father David Bauer. The Dinos will be honouring four fifth year seniors in O'Malley, Dustin Hatlelid, Jeff Weber and Paul Gentile before Saturday's match, where they will be playing their final home games of their careers.
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