VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (14-5-4-3) came through on seniors' day Saturday afternoon at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre earning a 2-1 win over the visiting Mount Royal Cougars (7-15-3-1).
Madison Patrick and
Emily Costales scored five minutes apart in the first period while
Amelia Boughn made 11 saves for her seventh win of the season as the 'Birds enter the final weekend of the regular season one ahead of Alberta for second in the conference.
Prior to puck drop, UBC honoured their four graduating players in
Kathleen Cahoon,
Alexa Ranahan,
Kirsten Toth, and
Cassandra Vilgrain.
"Toth's toughness, her courage, we are playing with that on our backs," said UBC head coach
Graham Thomas following the emotional win. "Her experience and her energy has just been a real great addition to this team."
Vilgrain, a fifth senior, transferred to UBC from the University of New Hampshire, appearing in twenty-three games for the 'Birds so far this season racking up six goals and seven assists.
"She plays with a lot of power and a lot of speed and has put up a lot of points in her brief time here," Thomas said of Vilgrain's contribution in her two seasons with the 'Birds.
Alexa Ranahan, a fifth year senior who transferred to UBC from Ohio State University, has appeared in twenty-two games for the 'Birds this season putting up one goal and five assists.
"Ranahan is toughness," Thomas said, simply. "She's only been here two years but she has made a big impact on our program and kept our culture going as a leader."
Last but certainly not least is
Kathleen Cahoon. The forward from Calgary was Thomas' first recruit to sign with the Thunderbirds. She's appeared in twenty-two games for UBC this season scoring one goal and contributing five assists.
"She has just been a big, integral part to this team, she can play any role," praised Thomas. "She has been a true Thunderbird and what that resembles in our locker room."
While the 'Birds are led by their seniors, the 'Birds on Saturday were led offensively by Patrick and Costales. Defensively, it was the stellar goaltending of
Amelia Boughn who turned away eleven of the twelve shots she faced.
Friday night the 'Birds had trouble solving Cougars' goaltender Zoe De Beauville, but UBC wasted no time jumping on her in the rematch. In what took over 70 minutes on Friday took only four minutes on Saturday.
After staking out a 2-0 lead by the 8:19 mark, the T-Birds continued to put the pressure on in the first as in the last minute of play, Patrick took another shot that went off De Beauville then off the crossbar.
"Those two early goals were very critical, it gave us a lot of confidence going into the second and third periods," Vilgrain said of her team's performance in the opening frame.
The Cougars were able to get one back in the second period. With over ten minutes gone in the frame, thanks to an
Emily Costales high stick, the Cougars were awarded a power play. Just over ten seconds into the advantage, the Cougars got on the board as Tatum Amy was able to get a shot passed Boughn, cutting the 'Birds' lead to one.
Halfway through the third period, the 'Birds were rewarded with fifty seconds of five-on-three power play time followed by just over a minute of an additional power play. Alas, like Friday night, Cougar goaltender Zoe De Beauville kept her team in the game turning away every Thunderbird opportunity.
The Cougars did not register a shot on net in the third period until about the seven-minute mark as MRU was outshot 17-1 in the final 20 minutes.
"It was nice that we could be mentally strong and consistent through that and be resilient in this game and stay focused on the task at hand," Thomas said of his team's ability to handle the emotions that come with a seniors' game.
The 'Birds fly to Edmonton next weekend where they will finish up their regular season campaign against the University of Alberta Pandas. While both teams have clinched postseason berths, playoff seeding will still be on the line as the 'Birds are currently two points behind the Pandas.
