VANCOUVER – The Canada West-leading UBC Thunderbirds (11-1-1-2) suffered their first regulation loss of the season against the Calgary Dinos (4-10-1-0) by a score of 3-2 at UBC's Father David Bauer Arena on Friday night. The loss snaps a 14-game point streak for the T-Birds and a three-game losing streak for the Dinos.

Grace Elliott and Mia Bierd had the goals for UBC, while Caitlyn Perlinger, Josie Mcleod and Kyla Mitenko scored for Calgary. The star of the night was Dinos goaltender Gabriella Durante, who made numerous point-blank saves to lead her team to the win, despite being outshot 50-15 by the 'Birds.

"We just couldn't put the puck in the net," reflected UBC head coach Graham Thomas. "We just couldn't capitalize on our 50 chances. I thought we played pretty well. We executed the way we wanted to, in the first period especially."



The T-Birds did everything but score in that first frame, consistently putting pressure on the Calgary defence and firing more than a shot a minute at Durante. The Dinos goaltender was unflappable however, calmly making save after save and giving up few second chance opportunities. UBC adjusted its attack midway through the period, trying more centering and cross-crease passes to get the Dinos goalie moving, hoping some gaps would open by making her go post to post. The Calgary defence seemed well-prepared however, getting sticks in the way at just the right moment to deny the T-Birds any potential tap-ins. At the end of the first, UBC held a monstrous 21-4 shot advantage, with the Dinos' lone significant scoring opportunity coming on a near breakaway that Jaylin Morris got back just in time to break up.

The second period was like a whole new game. The T-Birds opened the scoring just a minute in, as the defensively-disciplined Dinos gave up their first great chance off of the rush and UBC made them pay. Chanreet Bassi broke up a Calgary pass at the UBC blueline and sprung Grace Elliott and Sophia Gaskell on a two-on-one. Elliott froze the Calgary defender beautifully, every part of her seeming to signal the intent to pass while she subtly drifted toward the middle of the ice as she gained the zone. Then, as she reached the hashmarks, she abruptly pivoted her body back toward the net and fired a laser of a wrist shot over Durante's glove to open the scoring.



UBC's lead was short-lived, as Calgary soon evened the score on the advantage. Makenzie McCallum was given a questionable hooking penalty by the referee furthest from the action and it cost the T-Birds dearly. The Dinos powerplay did not appear overly threatening at first, before a routine-looking point shot from Caitlyn Perlinger was deflected in front and snuck through Hugens to tie the score.

UBC got a powerplay soon after, looking to win back the lead. The T-Birds pressed hard, but again couldn't beat Durante. In their final push with the advantage, the puck found Bassi with space, low in the circle to Durante's right. She walked in and ripped a wrister over the big goalie's blocker, but the ping of the crossbar could be heard throughout the whole arena as the puck rebounded out without finding twine. The deflation from the missed opportunity for UBC quickly turned to panic, as the puck ended up immediately being cleared deep into their end, with Calgary's Josie McLeod bursting in and getting to it first in the T-Birds' left corner. She got a step on the UBC defender, cutting along the goal line with a power move right to the net, before pulling the puck just out of Hugens' reach and then wrapping it around her just as her skates hit the crease, giving the Dinos the lead and leaving the crowd at Father Bauer stunned.

Despite trailing at home for one of the first times all season, there was no quit in UBC. Five minutes later the T-Birds, seemingly adopting a pucks-on-net philosophy again, caught a break. Mia Bierd fired a snapshot through traffic that Durante saw and stopped, but the puck bounced into a mess of bodies right in front of her, rebounded back through the Dinos netminder, and ended up just across the red line for the tying goal.



The game stayed tied into the second intermission, but that deadlock was quickly broken in the third frame. Less than a minute in, Jolie Nafziger gained the zone after a long skate and dumped the puck off to Kyla Mitenko on the half boards. With no teammates open and T-Birds defenders closing in, Mitenko snapped a quick wrister toward the net, possibly catching Hugens by surprise, because it beat the third-year netminder to her glove side for a goal that she'd likely want back.

The deficit seemed to charge UBC, as the T-Birds instantly turned up their offensive intensity. The third period started to resemble the first, with the 'Birds pouring on the pressure and firing shot after shot on the Dinos. Durante was magnificent however, and a deflected point shot off of the crossbar in the final minute is as close as UBC came to beating her again. Calgary hung on for the 3-2 victory, despite being more than tripled in shots on goal.

"I thought we played well enough to win," said a quietly frustrated Thomas after the game. "We had a lot of opportunities but just couldn't put it in the net. Sometimes that's just the game."
 

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The loss is the first regulation defeat for the T-Birds over the course of the entire regular season, as the team still sits first in Canada West. The win snaps a three-game skid for Calgary, which sits on the edge of the playoff picture after finishing fourth in the conference last season.

A rematch between the two teams is set for Saturday back at UBC's Father David Bauer Arena. Puck drop is at 3:00 p.m. (PT). Tickets for the game can be purchased here. Stream it live or on demand on Canada West TV.