TORONTO - The UBC Thunderbirds opened pool play at the CIS women's hockey championship with a controversial 5-4 shootout loss to the host University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday night.
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WHK: T-Birds v. Toronto (Mar. 8, 2013) Gallery
The Canada West champions showed great resilience, scoring three times in the third period to take a 4-3 lead.
But with with 34 seconds left in regulation, Toronto's Marlie McLaughlin scored her second goal of the game on a 6-on-4 advantage.
Toronto crashed the net and a mad scramble ensued in the crease. UBC goaltender
Samantha Langford (Pense, SK) was tackled by an opposing player and the net was knocked off its moorings but play was not stopped at any point, allowing the home team to score the tying goal.
“We battled back tonight but Toronto worked really hard and wanted it more than us,” said CIS coach of the year
Graham Thomas of UBC. “We weren't playing desperate enough and our backs are against the wall now. We have to rebound and refocus against Montreal.”
Varsity Blues' goalie Nicole Kesteris was outstanding in net, stopping 32 of 36 UBC shots during the game before shutting the door in the shootout. Toronto's Kelly O'Hanlon was the first player on the ice for the shootout and the only player to score.
Langford, starting in place of the injured All-Canadian
Danielle Dube (Vancouver, BC), matched Kesteris during regulation and the 10-minute overtime, making 28 saves on 32 shots.
McLaughlin notched Toronto's first goal of the championship when she sent a low point shot through traffic to beat Langford nine minutes into the game. Toronto native Sonja Weidenfelder put the home team up by two five minutes into the second period as she banged home a Callie Bazak rebound on the powerplay.
Toronto got into penalty trouble midway through the game, with UBC receiving two 30-second 5-on-3 opportunities. The Thunderbirds did not disappoint as sophomore defenceman
Sarah Casorso (Kelowna, BC) wired a shot from the high slot past a sprawling Kesteris to cut the deficit to one.
The two teams exploded for five goals in the third frame, starting with a second tally from Casorso on a beautiful wrap around 3:58 into the period.
Scheffel added her third point of the night as she finished off a beautiful 2-on-1 with Toronto rookie Taylor Day by roofing the puck over Langford's shoulder.
The Thunderbirds came storming back to tie the game at 3-3 and notched their third powerplay goal of the night as
Kaylee Chanakos (Nanaimo, BC) banged home a
Nicole Saxvik (North Vancouver, BC) rebound with 3:22 remaining. Saxvik ended the night with three assists.
Rookie UBC forward Genevieve Carpenter-Boesch (Regina, SK) then gave the Thunderbirds their only lead of the game as she tipped a
Christi Capozzi (Kelowna, BC) point shot past Kesteris with 1:41 remaining in the game.
UBC went 3-for-8 on the power play while Toronto converted on two of its eight opportunities.
The Thunderbirds, appearing in their first national championship, take on the top-seeded Montreal Carabins tomorrow night at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time.
UBC needs to beat Montreal in regulation to advance to the gold-medal game.
All three teams in a wide-open Pool A still have a chance to make the championship final on Sunday.
The win marks Toronto's first on the national stage since defeating Dalhousie to claim fifth place at the 2006 tournament.
- with files from University of Toronto Sports Information
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