VANCOUVER – UBC held on to beat Team BC 3-2 in pre-season action at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre on Friday night.
 
The T-Birds got on the board just two minutes in on a goal from Hannah Clayton-Carroll, but Team BC pressured early with Canadian National Team prospect Amy Potonak showing off her speed and dangles.
 
UBC head coach Graham Thomas thought his team could've been better off the top – despite having the lead.


 
"The first period was our worst period in preseason. I don't know what it was…we were just off."
 
Thomas' T-Birds took a string of penalties in the second, but he was impressed with their response.
 
"We really challenged them after the first. Pushed back, and woke up. Our goaltending and our penalty kill stepped up for us when we got into some five-on-three troubles so it was a good test."
 
Shiayli Toni put the Thunderbirds up 2-0, but Team BC's Danika Pasqua answered back halfway through the middle frame to cut the lead in half.

GOAL! @ubctbirds on the board early leading Team BC 1-0 @UBCWHKY #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/kFiWuUElFM

— Aneesa Heatherington (@aheatherington9) September 24, 2016

 
Jaedon Cooke added some cushion for the T-Birds lead making it 3-1 with just over three minutes left in the third.
 
UBC goalie Tory Micklash held her ground in the final frame and was proud of her team's effort in closing out the win.
 
"Honestly, the girls made it easy. They lifted sticks when they needed to and blocked shots when they had to, so it made my job easy."
 
The two teams will meet up again tomorrow afternoon for a special matinee tune-up that will allow opportunities for both teams to practice special teams and overtime scenarios. It'll be the last pre-season game before the Thunderbirds begin regular season action on October 7.