CALGARY – In a battle of Canada West's division leaders, Brett Mirwald made 23 saves to lead the UBC Thunderbirds to a 4-0 win over the University of Calgary Dinos men's hockey team on Friday night at Father David Bauer Arena.

Already cemented in a playoff spot, the Thunderbirds improved to 16-2-3 on the season. Still in first place in the East Division, Calgary's record now stands at 17-4-0-0.

The Dinos were out chanced for much of the game and took five penalties through the first two periods. 

"This is a game we have to learn from," said Dinos head coach Mark Howell after the loss. "They're a very skilled, mature, experienced team. And they played more mature than us tonight."

After a Calgary penalty two minutes in, the Thunderbirds power play went to work. Defenceman Jake Lee hammered a one-timer from the point 30 seconds into the man advantage, getting it past Dinos goaltender Carl Tetachuk to give UBC the 1-0 lead.

The penalties continued, with four more given out by the 17-minute mark. Another UBC power play gave the Thunderbirds a chance to take a two-goal advantage, but a huge block from Dinos defenceman Sean Strange, saving a sure goal, kept Calgary within one late in the frame.

But with less than two minutes left, a cross-crease pass ended up on the stick of Thunderbird Sasha Mutala, who made no mistake. 

The chippy play continued throughout the second, which saw another five penalties called, including three against Calgary. 

"Our special teams have to improve tomorrow," said Howell. "Our penalty kill wasn't good enough, and our power plays have to execute better. We didn't get good entries and have to be ready to pull the trigger."

The Dinos got away with a couple of defensive breakdowns, with UBC hitting two posts in the first couple minutes of the second. Halfway through the period, shorthanded, Adam Kydd and Mack Stewart got back-to-back high-quality chances for the Dinos, but couldn't convert. Big saves from Mirwald kept it a two-goal game.

After another Dinos scoring chance was stopped, both teams traded power plays, but neither goalie would be beaten. Heading into the third, the score remained 2-0 UBC.

Just 41 seconds into the final frame, the Thunderbirds added on to their lead. Josh Williams was left all alone in front and made no mistake, pinging one off the far side post and in, beating Tetachuk glove side. 

Jake Wright added another for the Thunderbirds with five minutes to go, giving UBC a 4-0 lead that would end up the final score.

The two will play again on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Father David Bauer Arena, where the Dinos will look to get back in the win column after a tough Friday night. 

-UC-