VANCOUVER – The Saskatchewan Huskies scored twice on the power play while
Travis Child made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season, handing the UBC Thunderbirds a 4-0 loss Friday night at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Fifth-year forward
Levi Cable scored on the power play midway through the first which stood up as the eventual game winner. The T-Birds (2-5-2) outshot the Huskies (4-3-2) 27-26 but between Child's stellar play in net and Saskatchewan's defencemen clearing pucks and getting in front of shots, UBC was stymied all night long.
The T-Birds played a strong opening frame, outshooting the visitors by a 14-8 margin, while holding the overall edge in play. But the Huskies were opportunistic Friday night, opening scoring at the 9:57 mark with just one second left on their second power play of the game. Cable pounced on a loose puck that had slid through the crease and backhanded it past Rylan Toth for his second of the season.
Saskatchewan doubled their lead midway through the second when
Carson Stadnyk got a cross-ice feed from
Collin Shirley and roofed the puck for his sixth of the campaign.
The T-Birds started the third on a power play after the Huskies were called for a hook late in the second, and despite a number of chances in tight, they just couldn't solve Child.
Rookie
Jared Dmytriw scored his first Canada West goal on the man advantage five minutes into the final period with a wrister past a partially screened Toth.
From there the T-Birds spent a good portion of the rest of the period in the penalty box. The Huskies finished the game 2-for-8 on the power play while killing off all four UBC chances.
Carter Folk slid the puck into the empty net with just 18 seconds left on the clock for his team-leading seventh of the season.
The Huskies win marks their first road victory of the season while handing the T-Birds a fifth consecutive loss to open a weekend series.
UBC will try to rally for a third straight weekend split when they take on the Huskies again Saturday afternoon at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m. PT.