VANCOUVER – The Saskatchewan Huskies never held a lead in the game but managed to come away with a 4-3 overtime win over the UBC Thunderbirds Saturday afternoon, sweeping the weekend series at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
After a wild first period that saw five total goals, offence at both ends of the ice dried up as the T-Birds (2-5-3) held the one goal advantage well into the final frame.
But with just five minutes remaining in regulation,
Shane Collins sent a point shot towards the net that hit
Donovan Neuls who then got the puck to his backhand and roofed it past Rylan Toth to tie the game, eventually forcing overtime.
In the final minute of 4-on-4, it was a strange bounce that ended up ending what was otherwise a highly entertaining, high quality game.
Jared Dmytriw sent a cross-ice feed attempt towards
Collin Shirley, but the puck deflected off a T-Bird stick and past a helpless Toth.
If not for the eventual outcome, the storyline would have been UBC's tremendous special teams effort that saw the 'Birds go 2-for-4 on the power play while killing off seven of eight penalties.
The T-Birds' first power play goal came just 5:01 into the opening period when rookie forward Jake Kryski held the puck on a 3-on-1 UBC rush, wristing it past
Travis Child for his first Canada West goal.
But just 28 seconds later the lead was gone after
Layne Young pounced on a rebound in the slot for his sixth of the season.
UBC got the lead back at the 10:41 mark when Austin Vetterl scored his third goal in as many games. Maxwell James fed the puck to the fifth-year forward in the slot who beat Child over his blocker.
For the second time in the period, the Huskies (5-3-2) answered back with a tying goal, this time from
Kohl Bauml on the power play. A Collins point shot went off the post and stalled behind Toth, waiting for Bauml to poke it across the line for his second of the season.
The T-Birds would restore their lead before the period was out with their second power play goal of the period. Jonathan Smart blasted a slap shot from the blue line right into the back of the net for his first goal as a Thunderbird.
Carrying the 3-2 lead into the third, the 'Birds weren't able to get one past
Taran Kozun who replaced Child in the Saskatchewan crease to start the second.
Both the 'Birds and Huskies are off from Canada West action on a bye week before returning November 15
th and 16
th. UBC will remain at home to host the Lethbridge Pronghorns while Saskatchewan will host the Manitoba Bisons.