The UBC Thunderbirds lost a heartbreaking contest that went to a shootout on Saturday afternoon, falling 2-1 to the Mount Royal Cougars.
The loss was a reversal of fortunes from their game Friday night, when UBC beat Mount Royal 2-1 in a shootout. The series split gives each team three out of a possible four points, a successful weekend for both of the two evenly matched squads.
UBC fell behind for the second straight game, continuing a troublesome trend that they have managed to battle back from on most nights. It wasn't until the 10-minute mark of the third period that
Haneet Parhar (West Vancouver, BC) scored the first goal of her CIS career to tie the game at a goal apiece. Parhar buried a beautiful pass that was feathered across the slot by teammate Genevieve Carpenter-Boesch (Regina, SK).
Mount Royal had scored halfway through the second period on a goal by Chriisy Hodgson.
Other than those two markers, the game was marked by excellent goaltending. Mount Royal's Kendall Kilgour made 24 saves while UBC's
Samantha Langford (Pense, SK) made 22. For Langford, the performance improved her save percentage to a stellar .906 mark on the season.
In the shootout, Mount Royal's Madison Sands was the only one of the first three shooters to beat Langford. UBC answered with a successful attempt from
Sarah Casorso (Kelowna, BC) that beat Kilgour on her blocker side. UBC was also robbed by a fantastic stick save from Kilgour, while also having an unlucky shot hit the crossbar. The shootout went to a sudden death round, where Mount Royal's Emily Harrison scored the winner.
For UBC, the loss is a bit of a disappointment as it ends their three-game winning streak, which was the program's best streak since November 2009. It has been a successful start to the season, but the Thunderbirds feel they squandered a point in this game.
“We just need to learn that we can't play half a game,” explained head coach
Graham Thomas. “We can't just turn it up at the end.
“Give Mount Royal credit, they were all over us. We had the character to fight back and get that point and give ourselves a chance to win. I think our team's going to learn from it.”
The UBC players were outfitted in tensor bandages and ice packs after the game, making next weekend's off-week a welcome rest. Standing in third place in the Canada West conference at 5-2-3, UBC will rest up and see how the standings unfold around them before returning to action on Nov. 16 at the University of Manitoba.
The win moves Mount Royal to 4-4-2, good for fifth in the conference. Mount Royal also has a week off before returning home on Nov. 16 to host Lethbridge.
