SASKATOON – The UBC Thunderbirds face a do-or-die scenario after a 2-0 shutout loss to the Saskatchewan Huskies in game one of the Canada West semifinal Friday afternoon at Rutherford Rink.

In her first Canada West playoff game, University of Saskatchewan goaltender Jessica Vance stopped all 22 UBC shots, her 10th shutout regular season and playoffs combined. The second-year goalie has now set a record for most shutouts in a single season.

"It comes down to just capitalizing on those chances you get and playing sharp defensively," said UBC head coach Graham Thomas. "We have to find ways to get more shots through against a team that just collapses in and plays a really good defensive game. We've gone against top goalies in past years in tight games and we have the team and the skill and ability to score against anybody."



Brooklyn Haubrich opened the scoring 14:38 into the first period for Saskatchewan. Emily Upgang sent the puck into the UBC zone where Kennedy Harris was able to swing it back to Upgang behind the net. Upgang found a wide-open Haubrich in the slot to send a quick-release over the glove of Thunderbirds' goaltender Tory Micklash.

The Huskies added an insurance goal at 10:06 of the third. Kira Bannatyne picked up a loose puck on the Huskie blue line and skated through the neutral zone before letting a wrist shot go from just inside the UBC zone, sneaking past the right pad of Micklash. 

UBC would pull their goalie on a power-play with more than five minutes remaining in the third, but they failed to get one by Vance on the two-man advantage. 



Micklash stopped 30 of 32 Saskatchewan shots. 

Neither team could capitalize on power-plays, UBC went 0-for-4 while the Huskies came up empty on two opportunities. 

Puck drop for Game 2 of the best-of-three series goes at 11:30 a.m. PT Saturday. The 'Birds need a win to push the semifinal to a third and deciding game which would begin at 11:30 a.m. PT Sunday.