UBC sneaks past Cougars in fast-paced battle

Regina Athletics

REGINA, Sask. - The University of Regina men's hockey team was on the losing end of an action-packed contest at The Co-operators Centre on Friday night, falling 5-3 to the UBC Thunderbirds. Dillon Wagner, Adam Rossignol, Jessi Hilton, Luke Lockhart and Joel Hamilton scored for the visitors. Sanfred King, Cody Fowlie and Austin Bourhis replied for the Cougars (5-20-0). Miguel Pereira (pictured) collected two assists for Regina.

UBC took the lead midway through the first on an incredibly unfortunate bounce for the Cougars. Wagner and David Robinson broke in on a 2-on-1, but King's hustle on the back-check forced Wagner to take the shot. Dawson MacAuley made a great blocker save, deflecting the shot over the net. The puck took a bounce off the end boards and ricocheted back over the cross bar, striking MacAuley in the back and going in.

Regina would begin the flood of goals in the second period thanks to a great play by King and Pereira. Brody Luhning fired the puck along the boards from behind the Cougars net and Pereira tracked it down, outracing a UBC defender. He had King to his right and waited until the last second, slipping a pass over for King to tap home his fifth of the season.

The T'Birds would take the lead back at the 10:28 mark as Rossignol would pot a backhand from in front. A long stretch pass from Josh Connolly started the break, sending Joe Antilla and Rossignol in with a 2-on-1 opportunity. Antilla found Rossignol alone and front and the second-year forward was able to flip it past MacAuley.

Pereira would spark another Cougars scoring opportunity just over a minute later, taking a UBC turnover in the neutral zone and heading the other way. Almost an identical situation to the King goal, Pereira had Fowlie on his right and fed a great pass over the stick of a sprawling UBC defender, right on the tape for Fowlie to direct in. Fowlie's sixth of the year drew the Cougars even again.

UBC would take the lead back before the end of the period, as a quick rush on the powerplay resulted in a low shot from Hilton slipped past MacAuley. Manraj Hayer and Scott MacDonald also assisted on Hilton's fourth.

The third period picked up where the second had left off, with fast-paced action and chances at both ends. It was UBC that got things going, as Lockhart took a cross-ice feed from Connolly and ripped a slapshot under the pad of MacAuley.

Regina would answer back once more, cutting the lead down with a powerplay goal at the 6:15 mark of the third period. Bourhis and Landon Peel worked the puck back and forth at the point and exchanged positions before Bourhis fired a wrist shot that beat a heavily screened Eric Williams. Peel was the only one to pick up an assist on the goal but Ian McNulty and Dillan McCombie played a heavy role, putting traffic in front of Williams.

Regina killed off a UBC two-man advantage with just a few minutes to play, and a long pass at the end of the penalty kill found McNulty coming out of the box. McNulty collected the puck and was checked by a defender but managed to keep his footing. His move had Williams sliding over to the post but he was unable to tuck it past the goaltender. Less than a minute later a Cougar pass was blocked and Hamilton went in by himself to put away the empty-netter and seal the deal.

MacAuley was solid in net for the Cougars, with the two most impressive of his 42 saves coming in the second period when he spun around to stop a shot with the back of his pad before repositioning to get his glove on the rebound attempt. Williams made 31 saves at the other end of the rink, as UBC improves to 10-11-4 and remains in the sixth and final playoff spot in Canada West.

The Cougars and Thunderbirds will battle again on Saturday night, with puck drop at 7 p.m. at The Co-operators Centre.