Men's hockey splits weekend against the Calgary Dinos

UBC men’s hockey had the tables turned on them this weekend in their double-header against the University of Calgary Dinos. Winning 2-1 on Friday night, UBC found themselves going into the Winter break on a loss, as Calgary came back Saturday to defeat the T-Birds 4-1.

In the first of two matches, UBC broke their four-game losing streak, defeating the Dinos 2-1 at Father Bauer Arena.

The ’Birds got the first chance of the game as forward Anthony Bardaro stormed his way across the blue line in the 12th minute. Slipping past Calgary’s defence, the Delta native blasted a shot towards net, just missing the right post.

In the second, the ’Birds found themselves with a two-man advantage as Dinos forward Adam Kambeitz made his way to the penalty box for hooking in the 11th minute of the period. He was followed shortly by teammate Cain Franson for slashing.

The home team couldn’t capitalize though and the teams headed back to the dressing rooms still tied at 0-0.

The third period finally brought an onslaught of action for the 300 fans in attendance. The arena was brought to life with both goals and some pushing and shoving between the two teams.

UBC forward Austin Vetterl got the period started with some tricky stick-handling in the Dinos’ end. Banking the puck off the boards and skating past Calgary’s defence, Vetterl made a quick cross-ice pass to line-mate Chase Clayton, who was making his way to the net. Clayton’s ensuing shot slid past Dinos goalkeeper Steven Stanford, putting the ’Birds up 1-0 with 15 minutes to go in the game.

The T-Birds faced their own two-man disadvantage, as captain Wes Vannieuwenhuizen was sent to the box for interference, shortly followed by Luke Lockhart for closing his hand on the puck just 15 seconds later.

What’s more, the penalties were taken in the 17th and 18th minute of the period, putting the ’Birds down two men into the dying seconds of the game. To make matters worse, the Dinos pulled Stanford, making it a three-man advantage for the visitors.

It was UBC who capitalized though, as Devan Fafard sent the puck all the way down the ice and into Calgary’s empty net.

Overall, UBC’s defence was up to the task, as Fafard, Michael Stenerson and Nick Buonassisi survived the Calgary attack until the final 30 seconds of the game. Pulling their goalie once again, the Dinos finally found their way through the sparse UBC line and Adam Kambeitz put the puck past Derek Dun.

With the final whistle, the ’Birds solidified a tough-fought 2-1 win.

Less than 24 hours later, UBC was back at Father Bauer Arena facing the Dinos once again. This time, the ’Birds weren’t so lucky.

In the first period, Calgary forward Dylan Walchuck got the visiting team started, scoring in the fourth minute. UBC managed to tie the game up early in the second, with Jerret Smith scoring on the power play.

Unfortunately, it was all Calgary after that, with Kambeitz scoring just three minutes after Smith to put Calgary up 2-1.

Drydn Dow and Walchuck would double Calgary’s tally in the third, with Dow scoring on the powerplay and Walchuck sealing the deal with an empty-netter in the final minute of the game. The game ended with a final score of 4-1 for Calgary.

With these two results, the ’Birds go into winter break with a 5-10-1 record. They now sit in second to last place in the Canada West division, just above the University of Regina Cougars.

 

 

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