VANCOUVER – It was a special afternoon at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre Saturday as the UBC Thunderbirds outlasted the visiting Grant MacEwan Griffins for a 5-2 win on a day the team honoured their graduating seniors. The day was made even more momentous as UBC extended their win streak to eight games, improving to a perfect 13-0 on home-ice while posting their 20th win of the season.
The game was a tightly-contested, physical battle. The T-Birds held the balance of play, peppering third year goalie Brianna Sank with 48 shots as she kept her team within striking distance with multiple key saves.
"Credit to them, they worked hard, played within their system and did a really good job," said UBC head coach
Graham Thomas. "(They) never quit, played a simple game and came at us hard."
The Griffins (6-17-1) trailed 2-0 after goals from
Mackenzie Kordic and
Olivia Buckley with her first of the season, but MacEwan's Joie Simon put her team on the board late in the second period. Sydney Hughson then kept momentum going with a power play goal to tie the game 2-2 four minutes into the third.
But UBC stuck with their game plan, and went 2-for-2 on the power play in the final frame to restore their lead. Special teams played a huge factor for UBC, with a power play converting four times in six chances over the course of the weekend sweep.
"When teams are battling us hard and being physical and we do get a power play, it's so huge to make them pay," added Thomas whose team boasts a 22.1 per cent success rate with the advantage.
Grace Elliott extended her point streak to eight games scoring the game winner on the power play 6:40 which stood up as the game winner. Rylind Mackinnon added some insurance with six minutes remaining with her seventh of the season and fourth in the last two games.
Graduating seniors
Ireland Perrott,
Emma Hall,
Hannah Koroll,
Ashley McFadden, and
Kate Stuart honoured in a pre-game ceremony, the last of which made 18 saves for her ninth win of the season. Although their time as U SPORTS athletes is winding down, they're surely focused on the task ahead of them – securing a second consecutive Canada West championship.
"It would be incredible for us to be able to do that for them, they've given so much to this program, we want to play extra hard to try and make sure that happens," Thomas said. "But, we don't want to get ahead of ourselves, (we) don't want to take anything for granted, we still got to earn it and work hard, one step at a time."
With just four games remaining in the regular season, the T-Birds now turn their focus to next weekend's Winter Classic where they'll battle the Trinity Western Spartans Friday afternoon in the first half of a home-and-home series. The Griffins, who have officially been eliminated from playoff contention, will take on the Mount Royal Cougars for a home-and-home set of their own.
