Box Score
Lethbridge - The UBC thunderbirds netted four shorthanded goals on route to a 9-2 victory, Friday night, against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.
Greg Fraser, Anthony Bardaro, Joe Antilla, and Scott MacDonald each earned individual markers for UBC. Ben Schmidt earned two of his own and Luke Lockheart added three on the night, completing a nearly unheard-of shorthanded hat trick.
Brock Hirsche and Cass Mappin each scored for Lethbridge.
Dylan Tait got the start for Lethbridge but was relieved by Damien Ketlo in the second. Tait returned to play in the third period and faced a total of 28 shots.
Steven Stanford started in net for the T-Birds and turned aside 29 of the 31 shots he faced.
UBC came out looking strong; earning chances and making smart plays in the offensive end. Lethbridge netminder Dylan Tait was tested early and often, but with stood the early barrage.
'Horns Ryon Moser had a great chance from the slot after taking a solid feed from Maxwell, alone behind the net, but his shot would stray wide.
A bad turnover in the Horns' end allowed UBC 's Nate Fleming a golden opportunity to put the puck on net but Tait was quick to turn his shot aside.
The first penalty of the game came at 9:10 as Jason Yee was sent to the box for interference. Seconds later, Nick Buonassisi out-skated the Horns defender, snuck across the blue line, and found Lockheart who would manage to skillfully lift the puck up and over a down and out Tait.
Greg Fraser's effort came close with a little under five minutes remaining in the first but Tait stayed with him and managed to keep it out.
With Scott MacDonald in the box for hooking, the Horns would have another chance on the power play. It took Lockheart a matter of seconds to add his second shorthanded marker of the game, at 18:18. Breaking out of the zone, he went hard to the net and, though it looked like Tait had it saved, the loose puck trickled over the line to give UBC a 2-0 lead before each team retired to the dressing room for the first intermission.
It took less than a minute into the second for the T-Birds to notch their third goal of the night. Antilla came flying behind the Horns net and buried a wraparound.
After allowing two shorthanded goals in as many penalties, the Horns third power play of the game looked good early. Hayden Rintoul hit the post with a great effort and Moser added a shot. But UBC's Fraser would add another shortie, this one from Antilla, which found an opening through Tait's legs.
Damien Ketlo came in to relieve Tait at 3:17 in the second frame.
Bardaro's hard wrister was the fifth unanswered goal for the T-Birds and a hard blast on net from Neil Manning on the power play allowed Schmidt to coral the loose puck and he quickly put it away for the T-Birds sixth unanswered goal.
Mappin got the 'Horns on the board moments later with a hard shot, from David McMullen and Guillaume Naud, that soared past Stanford at 5:41.
With UBC finding themselves shorthanded, once again, Lockheart managed to find Buonassisi and fed him a textbook tape-to-tape pass that would be lifted high blocker side, extending their lead.
Hirsche added a marker for Lethbridge at 12:44. His hard wrister went bar-down on Stanford to make it 7-2.
As Scott MacDonald and Nick Buonassisi found themselves on a well-executed two on one, MacDonald held out, chose not to pass and instead sniped one high blocker side, adding to his team's lead.
UBC added another on the power play to conclude the scoring. A heads up play by Schmidt allowed him to redirect Manning's rocket from the point, his second of the game, at 9:49.
With this loss, the Horns fall to 1-13-1 CW while UBC improves to 4-10-1 CW.
Game two of the weekend series goes tomorrow night at Nicholas Sheran Arena. Game time is set for 7pm and
http://canadawest.tv will broadcast the game live.
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