The University of British Columbia Athletics

NOTE: The result of this game is officially under protest - we will update this game recap as more information becomes available.

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – The UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team fell 5-4 in double overtime on the road against the Lethbridge Pronghorns Friday night.
 
Kirsten Reeves, Sarah Spence, Keely Chalk, Aislinn Kooistra, and Tricia Van Vaerenbergh each scored for the Pronghorns.
 
Kathleen Cahoon (Calgary) had two goals on Friday night, while Haneet Parhar (West Vancouver) and Nicole Saxvik (North Vancouver) each netted individual markers for the T-Birds. 
 
Alicia Anderson started in net for Lethbridge and faced a total of 38 shots on the night, while Danielle Dube (New Westminster, B.C.) played for UBC, and faced a total of 29 shots.
 
Both teams opened the first period strong and wasted no time putting the puck on target. UBC's Cailey Hay (Oakbank, Man.) was called for body checking at 4:11, which meant the 'Horns found themselves with an early power play but the home team would struggle to materialize many scoring chances with the extra attacker. Tricia Van Vaerenbergh put a hard shot on net as the penalty expired but her effort was denied by the keeper. 

Back at full strength, UBC responded offensively and Rebecca Unrau's (Humboldt, Sask.) hard blast from the hash marks hit the crossbar and Mathea Fischer (Oslo, Norway) tried to sneak in a wrap-around past Anderson but her effort was stopped by a well-placed pad. It didn't take long for UBC to capitalize on their offensive momentum. At 7:54, Parhar took a great cross-crease feed from Shiayli Toni (Saskatoon, Sask.) and unloaded a hard shot that soared high into the net, past Anderson, who was unable to get into position to make the stop.
 
Just past the mid-point of the opening period, Chalk tied things up for the Pronghorns netting her first CIS goal. Struggling to get her stick on the puck, the rookie winger managed to get a tough shot off as she fell to the ground but her effort snuck through traffic and into the back of the net.
 
Cahoon added a second goal for the T-Birds in the final minutes of the first period. Taking a well-timed pass from Katie Zinn (Coquitlam, B.C.), Cahoon skated hard to push past the Lethbridge defenders and, all alone on a short breakaway, managed to skillfully outmanoeuvre the Lethbridge keeper, giving her team a one-goal edge heading into the first intermission. The hosts held a 12-11 edge in shots after the first.
 
The Pronghorns' Chelsea Kasprick was called for body checking early in the second period, which meant the T-Birds would go on the power play. But a smart play by Lethbridge's Sarah Spence quickly led to a short-handed equalizing goal, at 2:54. A head's-up play in the neutral zone allowed Spence to come out with the puck and go hard to the net, drawing Dube out wide, and placing the puck into the net with finesse.
 
Moments later, UBC's Saxvik was called for goaltender interference. The home team looked strong on their second power play of the night and maintained the pressure on Dube. With a flurry of bodies in front of the net, Reeves managed to get her stick on it long enough to beat the UBC net-minder, low glove-side, with help from Lauren Friedrichs and Jodi Gentile, which established her team's first lead of the game, just as the power play expired.
 
The pace of the game continued to build. After two unanswered goals, UBC upped the pressure as they hunted an elusive equalizer. Melissa Goodwin's (Burlington, Ont.) hard shot from the slot came close but was denied by a confident Anderson but Saxvik answered the call at 15:40, with the help of Parhar, which knotted things back up at threes before the second intermission.
 
Both teams traded shots in throughout the third period as each team looked for the go-ahead goal. Lauren Friedrichs, Tricia Van Vaerenbergh, and Sarah Spence each had solid scoring chances for the 'Horns, while Mikayla Ogrodniczuk (Vancouver), Cahoon put great shots on net for the T-Birds.
 
Kooistra added a fourth goal for the Pronghorns, at 16:16, burying the puck past Langford and bringing the home town crowd to it's feet, but Cahoon quickly answered right back for UBC, unloading a bullet that went bar-down, and this game was once again deadlocked.
 
Neither team managed to score in the first overtime period but it took all of 20 seconds of 3-on-3 for a winner to be decided. Jocelyn Sabourin delivered Van Vaerenbergh a perfect cross-crease pass that she quickly buried.
 
With this win, the Pronghorns improve to their win streak to three and sit at 8-11-3-1, while UBC sits at 11-6-3-3. Game two of the weekend series is set for 12 noon (PT) tomorrow, at Nicholas Sheran Arena.