WINNIPEG – The UBC Thunderbirds' (8-9-1-4) four-goal opening period proved to be the difference Saturday afternoon at Wayne Fleming Arena. The visitors came out of the gate fast and went on to defeat the host Manitoba Bisons (5-14-2-1) by a final score of 4-3.

Less than 24 hours after Bisons goaltender Erin Fargey stopped all 35 shots the Thunderbirds threw at her, UBC finally broke through.

Ireland Perrott, Jaedon Cooke, Mathea Fischer and Hannah Koroll each scored for the T-Birds in the first period, a lead large enough to hold on until the final buzzer.

"I can't say that exactly how we planned it but we got a few dirty ones," stated Thunderbirds head coach Graham Thomas. "I'm happy with our first period, we had a bit of a lapse in the second that I think we can still learn from. But give Manitoba credit, they forced us to battle hard until the end."

The win also sees UBC snap their nine-game winless streak. Thunderbirds goaltender Danielle Wierenga also earned her first career U SPORTS win in what was the third-year's first-ever start.

The Bisons see their record fall to 5-14-2-1 in a game where they fought their way back after falling behind 4-0 early.

"You never want to go down 4-0 in a game because climbing out of that hole is next to impossible," commented Bisons head coach Jon Rempel. "I am very proud of the way this team battled back, fought and kept doing the right things around the ice to give themselves a chance."

Less than three minutes into the game, Perrott scored the T-Birds' first goal in three games to give her squad an early 1-0 lead. Not even a minute later, Cooke's shot was redirected in front of Fargey beating her for second time early in the game.

Cooke also had the first assist on Thunderbird captain Fischer's goal that extended UBC's lead to 3-0. The visitors added a fourth tally to the scoreboard on a power play goal from Koroll before the opening period was over, sending Manitoba to the locker room down 4-0. 

The four-goal deficit didn't seem to faze the Bisons in the second frame. With fifth-year goaltender Amanda Schubert replacing Fargey in the Manitoba net, the Bisons capitalized on two UBC penalties with a pair of power play goals in the latter half of the period.

Sarah Dennehy got the Bisons on the board first after putting a rebound past Wierenga. Ninety-three seconds later Dennehy fed Kate Gregoire with a cross-ice pass and the first-year forward buried her shot over the blocker of Wierenga. The two quick goals cut the UBC lead down to 4-2 as both teams headed to the third.

With a power play late in the third period still down by two goals, Rempel decided to pull Schubert for a six-on-four advantage. Manitoba kept the UBC penalty killers hemmed in their zone for much of the power play but were unable to convert. However, with 20 seconds remaining, Gregoire added her second of the game to make it a one-goal game.

But that was as close as the Bisons could get — the Thunderbirds killed off the reminder of the final period and secured the 4-3 win.

Manitoba will be on the road next weekend, travelling west to face the Regina Cougars on January 24 and 25. The Thunderbirds will return home and host the Saskatchewan Huskies also on January 24 and 25.