CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI – The UBC Thunderbirds skated to their second straight 4-0 win at the U SPORTS National Championship, closing out the tournament with a fifth-place finish after despatching the host UPEI Panthers Sunday afternoon at the Bell Aliant Centre.
Ireland Perrott Scored twice and added an assist while
Elise Hugens made 21 saves for her second consecutive shutout.
"We had to set new goals to finish a very competitive tournament, I'm just really proud of what they've accomplished this year, how they held themselves," said UBC Head Coach
Graham Thomas. "They played hard, played with class, we got to show what our team's all about. They found a way to get up and continue to play for each other. To be able to say we were one of just very few teams to play on the last day, to finish your season with a win is always an incredible achievement."
In UBC's first ever meeting with an AUS team in four national championship tournaments, the T-Birds once again came out strong as
Hannah Koroll opened scoring just 69 seconds after puck drop. The defenceman sent a shot towards the goal from the blue line that appeared to deflect off a Panther's stick and past starting goaltender Camille Scherger.
Perrott's first of two on the afternoon came with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the opening period, on the power play. The veteran forward deflected a
Mackenzie Kordic shot in tight to double UBC's lead heading into the break.
After the 'Birds scored two goals on five shots, the Panthers replaced Scherger with Shaylin McFarlane to start the second period.
Once again it didn't take long for UBC to strike, this time just 2:38 into the period with Perrott's second of the game. Off a faceoff,
Ashley McFadden drew the puck back to Perrott who ripped a quick shot past McFarlane to give the T-Birds a commanding 3-0 lead.
Graduating captain
Kenzie Robinson, fittingly, scored the final goal of the tournament for UBC, at the 8:31 mark of the second. On another T-Birds power play, a Koroll point shot was fought off by McFarlane but Robinson was able to convert on the rebound.
UBC finished the game 2-for-5 on the power play while UPEI failed on all five chances of their own.
It was an emotional game to be sure for the T-Birds as it was the last time this particular group of players took to the ice as a team. Robinson,
Shay-Lee McConnell,
Jenna Fletcher, and
Emily Moore all played in their last game in the blue and gold.
"We honoured our seniors extremely well, we're so proud of them and what they've given back to our program in their time here," added Thomas. "They've been an amazing leadership group all year long, you need that and they all bring something a little different and have always been on the same page while challenging each other and making the group better. It's been a lot of fun to be a part of."
