Vancouver, BC - UBC scored two first period goals against the University of Saskatchewan on Saturday night at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, and held on to win 2-0.
 
Samantha Langford earned the shutout for the Thunderbirds in her first game of the year. After not seeing any action throughout the preseason, having been sidelined with a high-ankle sprain, Langford rejoined team practice earlier this week, and stopped all 16 shots she faced on Saturday night, helping the Thunderbirds to their first win of the 2014/2015 season.
 
First period goals by Emily O'Neill and Sarah Casorso were enough to secure the victory for the home team, as dominant play throughout the game keep the Huskies in check, limiting their scoring chances.

Fifth-year captain Casorso has scored two goals in as many games this season.

"Tonight we played a full 60-minute consistent game, which is what we need to do all year," she said of her team's performance.
 
UBC was able to hold off Saskatchewan's Kaitlin Willoughby, as last year's CIS Rookie of the Year had scored two goals in the Huskies comeback win on Friday night.
 
O'Neill, one of UBC's veteran players, opened the scoring a mere 2:41 into the game. She fooled Saskatchewan goaltender Cassidy Hendricks with a fluttering puck that made its way through Huskies goaltender and past the goal line. Nicole Saxvik and Kelly Murray assisted the goal.
 
Casorso made the game 2-0 at 11:03 of the first period. Excellent off-the-puck movement by Casorso saw her alone in front of the net with the puck after receiving a well-timed and well-placed pass from Rebecca Unrau, where she would make no mistake. Saxvik earned her second assist of the game on the goal, bringing her to a total of four points on the year. This number sees her in a tie for first in Canada West total scoring through the first weekend of the season.
 
UBC opened the game in similar fashion as they had through two periods the night before – with sustained offensive pressure. As in the Friday's game, UBC was efficient on the back check throughout the opening stages. Aggressive play in the defensive end mixed with crisp passing in the neutral zone by the Thunderbirds led to an elapse of 12 minutes before the Huskies registered their first shot on net. Through 60 minutes, UBC outshot Saskatchewan 28-16.
 
UBC statistically outplayed Saskatchewan through five of six periods in the weekend's matchup. For their efforts, the Thunderbirds come away with a win and an overtime loss, totaling four points in this year's new scoring system (3 points for a regulation win, 2 points for an overtime/shootout win, 1 point for an overtime/shootout loss) against the defending Canada West champions.

UBC's performance earned praise from head coach Graham Thomas.
 
"We showed that we're going to be a team to contend with."
 
The Thunderbirds will continue regular season play in Calgary next weekend as they take on Mount Royal University. Friday's 6:00 p.m. PT game precedes Saturday's matinée at 2:00 p.m. PT. Both games can be viewed live at canadawest.tv.