Friday night in Calgary, AB the UNBC Timberwolves (0-7-2) dropped a 2-0 decision to the Mount Royal Cougars (3-1-4). Miguel Da Rocha (’26) and Mowbray Beghin (’79) supplied goals for the Cougars while keeper Sjard Straus made two saves for the clean sheet. Logan Pierce was superb in net for UNBC, stopping 9 shots in his return to the TWolves net.
Some good news on the lineup front for UNBC as Connor Lewis, Pipeijn van der Ende and Pierce all returned to the starting lineup after missing time last weekend.
Heading into action on Friday, Pierce’s 40 saves ranked second in the conference, and Friday’s clash with the defending champs would only heighten that number. Pierce made four first-half saves and the only ball that got by him came from Miguel Da Rocha in the 26th minute on a penalty kick.
At the halfway point, MRU held a 9-1 total shot advantage over the TWolves, and a 5-0 edge in shots on target. Four of the five shots on target came from the first-half goal scorer, Da Rocha. The Cougars had five corner kicks to UNBC’s two and the teams combined for 11 first-half fouls.
Steve Simonson kept his starting 11 on the field for the first 60 minutes, and the first sub of the match saw veteran Adam Korduner take to the pitch in place of rookie Jacob Wedel.
The TWolves held their ground and got their first shot on target in ther 63rd minute which came off the boot of Luke Graham.
Back came the Cougars with a wave of pressure of their own. Dawid Dudek and Timon Haetscher both got decent looks on target a minute apart, but Pierce was up to the task, turning aside his seventh and eighth shots of the night, respectively and the score remained 1-0 for the hosts with 19 minutes remaining.
At the other end, MRU keeper Sjard Strauss made a stop off James Jordan in the 73rd minute to keep his team ahead.
That save from Strauss would prove valuable, because MRU would tack on an insurance marker in minute 79 courtesy of Mowbray Beghin. Beghin’s second of the season would prove enough, as the Cougars snagged their third victory of the season.
At the other side of the pitch, Pierce finished the night with nine saves – his second highest total of his season to date. For his efforts, Pierce earned Mr. Mike’s Player of the Game honours for UNBC.
Up next for the Green and Gold – a trip further East to Saskatchewan for a clash with the Huskies on Sunday at 10:00 am PT.