VANCOUVER – First-year UBC Thunderbirds forward Mathea Fischer (Oslo, Norway) scored the only goal of the game 2:05 into the second overtime on a power play to give her team 1-0 triumph over the No. 7 Saskatchewan Huskies in Canada West women's hockey action in Vancouver on Friday night. It was the first conference goal of her university career.
 
With Hanna McGillivray off serving a slashing penalty, Fischer's one-timer from the right faceoff circle beat Saskatchewan goaltender Cassidy Hendricks, who had stopped the previous 28 UBC shots she faced. Thunderbird netminder Danielle Dube (Vancouver) earned her first shutout of the season with a 19-save performance.
 
McGillivray's penalty was one of six Huskies infractions, including a game misconduct for hitting from behind. UBC had three.

Thunderbirds coach Graham Thomas commented on the physicality of the Huskies after the game.

"We could have capitalized on that a little more, but what do you do? They are very physical and we knew that coming in," he said. "That's the thing I really like about our group is we can play a skilled game, and a fit game, and fast game, but we can also play physical. The girls battle really hard, battle on pucks. So if they want to be physical, we can be physical."
 
The visiting Huskies controlled puck possession for the first half of the opening period but couldn't score on their lone power play of the first, which came 57 seconds into the game.
 
Momentum shifted in the 'Birds' favour in the last 10 minutes as the Huskies took three penalties and allowed UBC to finish the period with the 8-6 edge in shots.

The best scoring opportunity was from Nicole Saxvik (North Vancouver), who broke in alone on Hendricks but was denied on her first shot and then again on the rebound.

UBC outshot Saskatchewan in the second 9-5. However, a Huskies breakaway by Kori Herner nearly broke the 0-0 tie. Rookie Thunderbirds defender Mikayla Ogrodniczuk (Vancouver) dove and extended her stick to try and prevent Herner's deke. The puck got away from Herner and Dube was able to cover up.

Herner was a danger again later on after she made a great pass to Kaitlin Willoughby, who walked in and fired a shot on Dube, who absorbed the shot.

In the dying seconds of the third period, UBC came out of a Huskie timeout with a plan. They wrung the puck around the boards to send Kathleen Cahoon (Calgary) and Kaylin Snodgrass (Longview, Alta.) in on a 2-on-1 opportunity, but Hendricks was able to make the pad save on Snodgrass after Cahoon was dead on with her pass.

Friday's win over first-place Huskies (5-2-2-2) puts the 'Birds (5-2-3-1) in second place in the Canada West league standings as the Lethbridge Pronghorns lost to the Manitoba Bisons 4-0 tonight.

The Thunderbirds play the Huskies again Saturday Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. (PT) at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.