VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team concluded their Minnesota roadtrip with a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota State University Mavericks in Mankato tonight.
For most of the first period UBC's momentum looked promising, having outshot their opponent 7-6. But in the last minute of play, Minnesota State forward Katie Johnson put her team on the scoreboard just before first intermission, awarding her team the edge entering the second.
The Mavericks turned it up in the second, tallying two goals, though UBC kept up to pace on offence having only trailed MSU 17-18 in shots.
Shots were even again throughout the third as the Thunderbirds attempted to push back. Despite numerous chances that were off the mark, UBC's efforts finally paid off on a man-advantage as
Tatiana Rafter scored UBC's lone goal of the game, assisted by
Sarah Casorso and goaltender
Samantha Langford.
The Mavericks picked up an empty-net goal with eight seconds remaining in the game.
By the end of three periods, 'Birds defence had blocked a total of 14 shots, and netminder Langford recorded an impressive .903 save percentage on top of her assist. On offence,
Nicole Saxvik provided a noteworthy performance for UBC.
The Mavericks led the game in shots 32-25.
The game concludes the 'Birds' Minnesota road trip, but they head back on the road to Alberta on Thursday where they will take on the University of Lethbridge on Friday and Saturday night, with both matchups starting at 6 p.m. Pacific.
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