SASKATOON - The UBC Thunderbirds battled to a 4-2 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday night in Saskatoon to secure game 2 of the Canada West semifinal series and keep their playoff run alive. Their win carries the best-of-three series to a decisive Game 3, which goes tomorrow at 5 p.m. PST. The victor on Sunday will advance to the Canada West Championships next weekend.
 
Trailing 2-1, the 'Birds buried two consecutive goals with under two minutes remaining in the second period to turn the tables on Saskatchewan and abruptly steal the lead. Hannah Heisler would put one through the feet of netminder Cassidy Hendricks, then 1:12 later Tatiana Rafter would tally the Thunderbirds third goal on a sneaky wraparound. With the morale boost entering the final frame, UBC would add another to their lead thanks to Kathleen Cahoon to make it a 4-2 victory.
 
"The difference tonight is that we brought that fight, that heart, that hunger," said UBC head coach Graham Thomas. "We played desperate and that's when we play our best hockey, that was exactly the response we were looking for. It was a really consistent effort and that's what we needed to do. I'm really proud of the group; it was a team effort."
 
The T-Birds' penalty kill unit was a key factor in the commanding win Saturday evening, completely dissolving the Huskies' efforts to orchestrate any powerplay momentum and clearing the puck to kill the clock. On four power play opportunities for the Huskies, UBC gave them nothing.
 
The shot tally may not have been high but Danielle Dube came to the rescue on a number of close calls to keep her team in the game while they were trailing. Dube stopped 20 of 22 shots faced on the night.
 
With eight minutes to go in the opening frame UBC coughed up the puck in their own zone, providing Saskatchewan's Kandace Cook with a lane to drive a shot past goalie Dube to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. No matter, the Thunderbirds tied it up with under a minute remaining when Rebecca Unrau redirected Stephanie Payne's point shot past unsuspecting netminder Cassidy Hendricks. Unrau, a native of Saskatchewan, had an audible fanbase cheering for her goal despite a packed house at the University of Saskatchewan. After 20 minutes of back-and-forth play the score was even at 1-1. Huskies led in shots 9-6.
 
Cami Wooster made it 2-1 for Saskatchewan at 12:44 in the second frame but with under two minutes remaining the 'Birds skipped ahead to a 3-2 lead. The Huskies failed to catch up, and after UBC had made it 4-2 with three minutes to go, there was no catching the Thunderbirds. 4-2 was the final.
 
In net for Saskatchewan, Cassidy Hendricks stopped 15 of 19 shots.
 
The T-Birds were unsuccessful on four powerplay opportunities on the night.
 
"Tomorrow we don't want to worry about the pressure of the game," said Thomas. "We're switching the focus on to the details and we'll take it shift by shift. We've been here before. We did it last year. We can do it, we just have to believe in ourselves."
 
In the other semifinal series, Alberta defeated Regina to force Game 3, which also goes tomorrow. The winners of the two series will come head-to-head at the Canada West Championship Final next weekend.