CALGARY – Jake Poole's second-period tally stood as the game-winner for the No. 4 University of Calgary Dinos men's hockey team in a 4-1 decision over the seventh-ranked UBC Thunderbirds on Friday night at Father David Bauer Arena.

In a matchup of nationally ranked teams, the Dinos maintained their position atop the conference standings with a 12-2-1 record, while the Thunderbirds lost their third in a row and sit at 11-4-0 in a tie for second place in Canada West.

"We worked hard, but UBC's a different animal, they're fast, aggressive and more skilled," noted Dinos head coach Mark Howell.

The Dinos opened the scoring seven minutes into the first period. Approaching from the right side of the zone, Jaeger White fed Adam Kydd who raced up the middle and wristed a shot into the top corner. 

UBC managed to tie the game before the intermission. With less than four minutes left in the opening frame, Chris Douglas muscled a Calgary player off the puck and rifled a shot from an odd angle to elude Dinos netminder Carl Stankowski.

The teams traded scoring opportunities with 12 shots a piece and a pair of power play chances, and it wasn't until the final minutes of the second period that the Dinos broke through. Poole skated into the zone from the left side and with a hard shot generated a rebound off UBC goaltender Lane Kaeden. Several players dug for the puck in front of the crease, but it was Poole who spotted his own rebound for the go-ahead marker.

Stankowski carried his steady play into the third period while one of his veteran forwards extended the lead.

Jake Gricius connected for a power play goal off a gorgeous shot from the right-side wall. The third-year forward added his second of the game with an empty net goal to round out the scoring.

Stankowski finished the evening with 30 saves, while Lane stopped shots at the other end.

"Stankowski was awesome. As much as he made saves, he didn't give up any rebounds which was key," said Howell. "Poole was really solid, and Dylan Anderson got [UBC's defence] on their heels, especially in the third period, turning the tide."

The Dinos face the Thunderbirds again on Saturday with the rematch scheduled for 3 p.m. at Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary. 

-UC-