VANCOUVER - Following two weeks off, the UBC Thunderbirds received goals from three different players to pull out a come from behind 3-1 victory over the visiting University of Alberta Pandas on Friday night at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

This was the 'Birds first win over the Pandas in the teams' last seven meetings and the two programs first contest against one and other dating back to February 22^nd, 2020.

The opening frame started off slow for the T-Birds following a couple weeks off, as the visiting Pandas who commenced a four-game road trip in this one came out the more defensive side. Both teams traded offensive chances late in the first, including a late period power play for U Of A that garnered a solid chance for them down the left boards, but it was stopped by UBC netminder Elise Hugens in tight.

On that same power play, the 'Birds had a solid chance through Shay-Lee McConnell short handed, but her opportunity was parried aside by Alberta goalie Halle Oswald to keep the game scoreless going into the second period.

A minute into the middle period, the Pandas capitalized on an offensive zone rush as their second power play of the game was expiring. Madison Willan and Megan Wilson broke into the UBC zone on a 2-on-1, and Willan fed Wilson who swiftly sniped home her initial goal of the season off the left circle.

?? WHKY | T-Birds goal! @UBCWHKY scores with 4 minutes to go in the 2nd to equalize the game vs @PandasHockey at 1-1! #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/nv182Od0YD

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) November 20, 2021

The T-Birds were able to sustain some solid offensive pressure from that point on, and had their efforts pay off on their third consecutive offensive zone faceoff, a scramble in the Pandas crease allowed Ireland Perrott to slide one home in close to tie it at 1-1 with just under five minutes to go in the second period.

"That middle frame was a tough one for us, we lost a lot of puck battles and Alberta came at us hard offensively, we were struggling to get out of our zone," commented UBC head coach Graham Thomas post game. "We stuck to the process and our game, and that gave us momentum to come back and tie it up and eventually win the game."

That gave that Thunderbirds a lot of momentum going into the third period, as the Thunderbirds came out pressing right from the get-go in the final frame. They were rewarded for their efforts late on in the third, off another scramble in front of the visitors' net. Third year forward Ashley McFadden deposited a loose puck in front of the U of A net to give UBC the lead.

?? WHKY | @UBCWHKY scored the late winner with just over a minute to play & then added an empty netter to get past @PandasHockey 3-1!

The same 2 teams play again tomorrow at 3pm. #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/2LP7oDaYj9

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) November 20, 2021

The Pandas pulled their goalie late on and some strong structured defensive play by the 'Birds allowed them to move the puck to centre where Rylind MacKinnon fired home into the empty net for the decisive 3-1 goal.

"This win meant a lot given Alberta had our number for that long, and ended our season last time we played, we definitely played our hearts out in the third to finish off this game strong heading into tomorrow," added Thomas following his teams' first win over the Pandas in over three seasons.

These two teams meet again tomorrow right back at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre for a 3PM PDT puck drop, as UBC look for the weekend sweep. Tickets are free but must be reserved here, otherwise tune in on Canada West TV presented by Co-Op.