The Bisons men’s hockey team faced a tough weekend, losing to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 8-1 on Friday, Nov. 7 and 7-4 on Saturday, Nov. 8.
On Friday’s matchup, the Bisons held the Thunderbirds to a scoreless first period, but Chris Douglas broke the deadlock in the eighth minute [8:20] to give the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead. The Bisons responded in the second period, with Dawson Pasternak tying the game 1-1 at [2:25]. However, the Thunderbirds stormed back, scoring three unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead. Jake Lee, Sasha Mutala and Nathan Sullivan added to the scoring, with the fourth goal coming on a power play.
UBC dominated the third period, scoring four more goals, including a power-play goal by Lee with about five minutes remaining at [14:59]. The Thunderbirds outshot the Bisons 37-9 and took the first game 8-1.
According to the Bisons men’s hockey head coach, Gordon Burnett, “The first period was a little event. There were three chances for them and one for us […] The second period, we were okay, but we spent too much time in the box. The third period, the wheels fell off, really. We quit skating, and we decided that we weren’t going to check as hard as we needed to, and our execution wasn’t there, and that’s what happens if [you’re playing against] the best hockey team in the league,” he explained.
In Saturday’s rematch, the Bisons struggled to find their game, falling behind 2-0 in the first period on goals by Thunderbirds’ Matthew Smith and Kayden Sadhra-Kang. The Thunderbirds extended their lead in the second period by four goals, including two on power plays. The Bisons mounted a comeback in the third period, scoring four goals, including power-play goals by Ben Bonni and Eric Alarie, but it was too little, too late. Mutala added an empty-net goal with one minute [18:59] remaining to seal the 7-4 win for the Thunderbirds. UBC outshot the Bisons 42-21 in the game.
The Bisons committed more infractions overall, sending nine players to the penalty box on Friday and seven on Saturday. The Thunderbirds, meanwhile, had four and nine players ejected, respectively. The Thunderbirds remain at the top of the West division standings of Canada West, while the Bisons hold the fourth position in the East division standings.
“I think UBC is right at the top, and if we’re going to continue down the path of getting better, we’re going to have to learn to compete with these guys, and we didn’t do it for 60 tonight, that’s for sure,” said Burnett.
The Bisons will look to bounce back from the weekend setback as they prepare to face the Calgary Dinos next weekend in Calgary at 7 p.m. CT Friday, Nov. 21, and 5 p.m. CT Saturday, Nov. 22.
