VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds were able to beat Leitte Klassen, breaking the Manitoba goalie's four-plus game shutout streak, but it wasn't enough to keep the Bisons from leaving Vancouver with a 4-2 win on Saturday night. The difference was special teams, as Manitoba scored both the tying goal and game-winner on the power play.
"Five-on-five we played them pretty straight up," said UBC head coach Nancy Wilson. "It was a fun game for our players. It was an emotional game. We were out of the playoffs, but at no time did anyone take a shift off."
Jordyn Hrehirchuck opened the scoring for Manitoba by roofing a rebound, but
Lisa Bonang answered back for the home squad with a shot through traffic.
Amanda Asay was next to solve Klassen whose goals against average through seven games coming into Saturday's contest was 0.62. From behind the goal line, Asay threw the puck to the front of the net, and the bouncing puck found its way past Manitoba's rookie goalie.
But after the first two periods, things changed for the T-Birds.
"All the games we've lost have been tight games. We had some weak third periods and in CIS you have to play 60 minutes of hockey," said Wilson, reflecting on how similar Saturday's game was to previous 2010-11 outings. "I think we're a long way from where we were, but we're a long way from where we want to be. The results this year weren't what we wanted, but we were thrown some curveballs and we competed really hard."
Caitlin MacDonald drew the Bisons even with a strange knuckleball from the point, that floated over a crowd and into the top corner.
Senior
Alisha Choy had a chance to restore UBC's lead when she was granted a penalty shot. Choy executed an NHL-caliber dangle and beat Klassen, but her backhander that looked headed for the top shelf clanged off the post.
Later in the third period, Addie Miles' point shot on the power play gave the Bisons the game-winning goal. Becca King put the final touch on the contest with a goal off a UBC turnover in the defensive zone.
In spite of the string of losses to end the season, Wilson was in good spirits.
"I'm proud of our team, I'm proud of our seniors, and I'm looking forward to building," Wilson reflected. "We had lots of adversity this year. We started off so strong, but our first six weekends were a tough schedule, and then we came back and it started with the illness and the injuries. That's the stuff we need to play through, and that's when we started to identify ourselves as a team."
It was an emotional night for Wilson's scrappy squad, especially for graduating players
Alisha Choy,
Melinda Choy,
Ashley Henry,
Lisa Bonang, and
Kirsten Mihalcheon.
"Everyone's really happy. We didn't end up where we wanted to be, but at this point in the season, it's not about the station, it's about the journey," said Wilson. "These things build character. We send five seniors off now into the work force, and they're great kids and they're going to do really well."
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