awaiting visual
Although the sun was out in Vancouver this weekend, things were gloomy in Toronto for the UBC men’s hockey team. The T-Birds took a heartbreaking loss against the McGill University Redbirds on Friday, losing 3–2, ultimately being eliminated from the U Sports national tournament and marking the end of their season.
It was an intense lead up to the game. Coming off of winning the Canada West championship, the T-Birds had all the momentum. But the Redbirds were making their first appearance in the national tournament since 2018. Both teams were ready to put everything on the line to make it past the first round, and thus the battle of the ‘Birds commenced.
The T-Birds took an aggressive approach in the beginning, with Sasha Mutala taking a tripping penalty one minute into the game. However, UBC was quick to shut down any potential Redbirds momentum, not letting them get a single shot off. Thirteen minutes later, Mutala passed the puck into the slot and Josh Williams slipped it past McGill goalie Alexis Shank putting the ‘Birds up 1–0.
The Thunderbirds opened the second with another penalty — this time from Carson Miller for hooking. The Redbirds did not let this opportunity sneak past them, scoring their first goal of the game to tie the score. Thirty seconds later, the Redbirds took their first penalty of the game, giving UBC an opportunity to take the lead. Despite their many chances, the ’Birds could not slip the puck past Shank.
Three minutes later, UBC took their third penalty of the game for too many men. McGill wasted no time to capitalize on this, tipping the puck past Cole Schwebius to give them the lead. Nearing the end of the second, McGill took an interference penalty, giving UBC a chance to tie the game up, and Tian Rask quickly tipped the puck into the McGill net, making the score 2–2 going into the third.
This nail-biting game became even more intense in the third period when UBC captain Chris Douglas took a massive hit in the offensive zone, leaving him injured. The T-Birds struggled with their captain gone and McGill took this opening to score another goal, taking the lead of the game.
With six minutes left of the game and the score sitting at 3–2, Douglas made his way back onto the ice determined to win. UBC’s momentum started to rise — with 80 seconds left, the T-Birds pulled their goalie and called a timeout. With 50 seconds left on the clock and the faceoff in the offensive zone, UBC was ready to put everything on the line. However, as the seconds trickled down with no success, so did the hope of tying the game. The buzzer went off, solidifying the score 3–2 for the Redbirds.
Although the Thunderbirds ended with an impressive 22–4 regular season and a 4–3 playoff run, the team will have to wait until next season for their shot at the national title.
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