University of Regina Sports Information
REGINA - The University of Regina men's hockey team was handed a 6-1 defeat by the UBC Thunderbirds at The Co-operators Centre on Saturday night.
Nick Buonassisi, Carter Popoff and Josh Connolly all had three-point nights for UBC, as the Thunderbirds completed the weekend sweep of Regina. Michael Stenerson, Adam Rossignol, Chase Clayton and Matt Revel also scored goals for the visitors. Stephen Langford notched the only Regina marker.
UBC wasted no time opening the scoring on Saturday night, as Stenerson worked the give-and-go perfectly with Austin Vetterl and lit the lamp just 21 seconds in. Revel picked up an assist on the goal, as Stenerson's ninth gave the visitors an early lead.
Buonassisi added to the lead early in the second following a Jordan Burns penalty for kneeing. The fifth-year forward scored his third of the season on a nice individual effort, flying down the left wing and swooping in front to put a backhand through the legs of Michael Herringer on a one-man rush.
Langford got Regina on the board just 42 seconds later, jamming in a rebound after a Tyson Predinchuk wrist shot rang off both posts and sat free in the crease. Langford's first of the year got the Cougars within a goal, but Popoff restored the two-goal lead two minutes later. UBC went on a rush very similar to their first goal, with Buonassisi feeding a pass across and leaving Herringer no chance to make the save.
The T-Birds continued the onslaught with another powerplay goal a few minutes later, as Rossignol deflected a Popoff shot from the slot to beat Herringer.
Dawson MacAuley relieved Herringer for the final 20 minutes of Saturday's contest, making a few big saves before Clayton was able to put one home on an impressive rush down the right side of the ice. Revel added one more in the dying minutes, deflecting a high point shot from Connolly into the bottom corner of the net.
Matt Hewitt was impressive for the second-straight night, often limiting the Cougars to a single chance and doing a good job of recovering when he did allow a rebound. The former Regina Pat finished the night with 32 saves for his second win of the weekend. Herringer and MacAuley combined to make 27 saves for the Cougars, as Regina drops to 3-15-2.
The Cougars will be on the road next weekend, with a tough matchup against the No. 2-ranked Alberta Golden Bears. UBC (10-9-1) will be at home to play host to the Lethbridge Pronghorns for a crucial matchup as the two teams jostle for playoff positioning.