REGINA, SK. – Rianne Wight broke a tie late in the second period and the University of Regina's women's hockey team pulled away in the third to take a 5-2 home win over the UBC Thunderbirds on Friday night in a Canada West game at The Co-operators Centre.
Wight fired a shot from the slot following a faceoff win that went off the post and in, giving the Cougars a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The victory improves Regina's Canada West record to 5-11-1 on the season. UBC drops to 1-12-2.
Katelyn Kennedy added a goal four minutes into the third after picking a rebound out of midair, giving the Cougars a 4-2 lead. Wight put the game away with an empty-netter in the final minute, giving the fourth-year forward her first multiple-goal game of the season.
Fifth-year goalie Lisa Urban got the start between the pipes for the Cougars (5-11-1) and stopped 32 UBC shots to secure her third win of the season.
Samantha Langford (1st, Pense, SK) made 24 saves for the Thunderbirds, who held a 34-28 shot advantage despite losing.
Tatiana Rafter (2nd, Winnipeg, MB) opened the scoring for UBC midway through the first with helpers from
Amanda Asay (5th, Prince George, BC) and
Rebecca Unrau (1st, Humboldt, SK).
The Cougars replied with under three minutes left in the opening frame, as Kennedy was whistled for a hooking minor but Regina's Wheeler notched a shorthanded goal to tie up the game heading into first intermission.
Rookie forward Stephanie Sawchuk scored her third of the season on the power play midway through the second period to give the Cougars a brief 2-1 lead, but Asay scored less than three minutes later to knot the contest at two.
Wight put the Cougars in the lead for good five minutes after Asay's goal.
Both UBC and Regina were 1-for-5 on the power play.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday night. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Regina.
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