BOX SCORE
CALGARY – Sometimes you live by the sword, other times you die by it; Friday night, the University of Calgary Dinos did both as the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds claimed the 4-3 victory in game one of the Canada West quarter final series.
The Dinos had every opportunity they could have asked for to take this game. With three power play goals Calgary seemed to be making the most of their chances. But with a power play goal against as well as two shorthanded goals, the Dinos put themselves in a hole they couldn't recover from.
Right from the get-go, the Dinos and Thunderbirds brought their playoff intensity in a highly competitive first period. Calgary did become guilty as the period went along of letting the foot off the gas.
The Dinos opened the scoring midway through the frame while on the man advantage. With control of the play in the UBC zone,
Dylan Hood wristed a shot between the legs of Jordan White.
Teigan Zahn and
Walker Wintoneak picked up assists on the play.
The next power play for the Dinos didn't go as well as the first one. The home side was unable to put any real pressure on net, allowing the Thunderbirds the chance to steal the puck. Scott Wasden dished a pass cross-crease to team captain Justin McCrae who one-timed his shot past
Dustin Butler for a shorthanded goal at 11:30.
With the final minute of the stanza ticking off the clock, UBC was able to take the lead. Nate Fleming got the first chance before McCrae buried his second of the night as the Thunderbirds took a 2-1 advantage into the intermission.
The second period took a turn for the messy as three misconducts were handed out. Matt Pepe received a game misconduct at the beginning of the frame while his teammate Ryan Kakoske got shown the gate for 10 minutes. Calgary's
Dylan Hood was also shown off late in the period with a 10-minute misconduct.
The Dinos tied the game less than two minutes into the period while on the power play. With fellow blueliner Zahn in the locker room being checked on after dangerous hit behind the boards,
Cory Pritz blasted a shot past White to make it 2-2.
Another shorthanded opportunity arose for the Thunderbirds during a five minute advantage for the Dinos. Sharp-shooter Marc Desloges broke in alone and snapped a shot over the glove hand of Butler to reclaim the lead for his club at 4:54.
Jordan Inglis put UBC out in front 4-2 with a second straight late period goal. With
Kevin King in the box serving the two minutes off Hood's misconduct, Inglis lit the lamp to give the Thunderbirds a two-goal lead through 40 minutes.
Butler would find a seat on the bench for the third after
Kris Lazaruk got the call in net to try to spark the Dinos.
Calgary gave it everything they had in the final frame, outshooting their opposition 12-1. With seven minutes to go, the Dinos potted their third power play goal of the night as
Reid Jorgensen banged in a shot from the slot.
The Dinos pulled Lazaruk in the final minute, but were unable to find the back of the net as the Thunderbirds held on for the decision.
The Dinos outshot the Thunderbirds 28-17. Calgary was 3-for88 on the power play, while UBC went 1-for44.
Game 2 of this series goes Saturday night at Father David Bauer Arena with puck drop at 7 p.m. MT. The winner of this series will move onto the Canada West semi-final where they will face either the Manitoba Bisons or the Alberta Golden Bears.
-UC-
