VANCOUVER – Fans at Father Bauer Arena were treated to a rare treat Saturday afternoon when
Cassandra Vilgrain scored on a double overtime penalty shot to give the No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds (12-4-2-2) a 3-2 win over the Regina Cougars (6-10-1-3) to sweep the weekend double header and make it a perfect 4-0 start to 2018.
Down by a goal to start the third, the Cougars came out like a team possessed, outshooting the 'Birds by a 15-1 margin. Four minutes into the final frame, Regina's Lilla Carpenter-Boesch centred the puck from below the goal line to a wide-open Emma Waldenberger in the slot who fired home her sixth of the season to tie the game at two.
The Cougars continued to press but
Amelia Boughn was solid between the pipes for the 'Birds, finishing the game with 31 saves and her fifth win of the season.
After four-on-four overtime solved nothing, the two teams headed to three-on-three. Just as it seemed a shootout was in order, a Regina skater was called for closing her hand on the puck in the crease, awarding UBC the penalty shot.
Vilgrain had scored earlier in the game and was electric throughout the contest and thus was chosen to take the shot on Regina's Morgan Baker. The fifth-year forward streaked quickly right down the middle and out-waited Baker, backhanding the puck overtop the sprawled-out goaltender to seal the emotional victory for the Thunderbirds.
"I think it's just about preparation, we knew they were going to come out hard and they had us for a bit there but we gathered ourselves and came back out really hard and we knew how to play the overtime," said Vilgrain who finished with a three-point weekend but hadn't had a penalty shot opportunity like Saturday's in quite some time. "Not probably since peewee! I was a little nervous but I had my team behind me so I felt pretty good about it."
While Friday night's game saw a combined 25 power plays, Saturday's rematch was a different story with just seven combined man advantages. UBC opened scoring with just 19 seconds remaining in the first when
Mathea Fischer pounced on a loose puck after a mad scramble in front of the crease, roofing it into the top corner for her third of the season.
Madison Patrick and
Emily Costales picked up the helpers as the 'Birds took the 1-0 lead into the second.
The Cougars answered six minutes into the middle frame when Jaycee Magwood fooled Boughn with a knucklepuck shot for her sixth of the season tying the game at one.
But the 'Birds got their lead back at the 13:37 mark when Vilgrain scored her first of the night on a tremendous rush to the net finished off by a beautiful bar-down shot, assisted by
Celine Tardif and
Mikayla Ogrodniczuk.
UBC had another solid night on special teams going 1-for-4 on the power play and killing off all three Regina chances. Thanks in large part to a lopsided third period, the Cougars finished the game with a 33-24 shots on goal margin.
"A lot of credit to (Regina), they came out flying in the final period of the weekend at the end of a tough road stretch," said UBC head coach
Graham Thomas. "They really had us on our heels but Boughn played well and we were able to hang on and slowly get some momentum back."
The win ensures the 'Birds remain in first place in the Canada West, one point ahead of the Manitoba Bisons.
"It's great to have confidence right now going down the stretch, that's really important, so this was a big weekend for us," added Thomas. "Now the challenge is heading into Lethbridge and back-to-back weekends of being on the road."
UBC begins a stretch of four straight road games next weekend in Lethbridge taking on the Pronghorns on January 19 and 20 while the Cougars host the Alberta Pandas in Regina.
