VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (12-1-2-1) skated to a 4-1 victory over the University of Calgary Dinos (4-11-1-0) at UBC's historic Father David Bauer Arena on Saturday afternoon. The T-Birds final home game of the calendar year was a special teams battle as both teams played with a playoff-like intensity. Winning on special teams proved to be the difference for the T-Birds, as they killed 11 of 12 Dinos powerplays, and scored two goals on nine of their own powerplay opportunities.

After gaining momentum off of an early penalty kill, UBC held the balance of play in the first period. The T-Birds capitalized seven seconds into their third powerplay of the first. Madisyn Wiebe won an offensive zone faceoff, and rookie defender Jaylyn Morris immediately fed teammate Cassidy Rhodes at the top of the circle. Rhodes' snapshot squeaked past Dinos goalie Gabriella Durante (24 saves) for the game's first goal, and the second-year sniper's seventh of the season.



Just 1:35 after the 1-0 goal, UBC struck again. The reliable line of Grace Elliott, Chanreet Bassi, and Joelle Fiala showed off their chemistry with sustained puck-pressure in the offensive zone to create a chance. T-Birds defender Kailee Peppler sniped her second goal of the season on a wrist-shot from the point that found its way through traffic, and past Durante.  
"Getting on them, getting a jump has been key for us, especially in our home barn." said T-Birds Head Coach Graham Thomas on his team's starts. "If we can put a team back on their heels right away, that's a big thing."

UBC outshot Calgary 30-7 in first-periods over the weekend series.



A stellar T-Birds penalty kill continued to be a factor in the 2^nd period, as they survived two early Dinos powerplays unscathed. After Calgary's Rebecca Clarke took a roughing penalty, Morris extended her team's lead on the powerplay. The standout first year T-Bird ripped a hard, seeing-eye snapshot from the point, which found the top-shelf and gave UBC a 3-0 lead.

Both teams were engaged in a physical battle throughout the game, combining for 42 penalty minutes. The second period saw little even-strength action with UBC taking six penalties and Calgary committing three infractions.

"There was not a lot of flow at all, and it was hard to get certain players out there that don't have a (special teams) role." Coach Thomas said of the 'parade' to the penalty box.



The Dinos appeared to have scored on a late 5-on-3 advantage, however a Caitlyn Perlinger snipe from the slot was disallowed due to a crease violation. Not to be denied, Dinos' second-year Sydney Mercier would tally a powerplay goal, which counted, almost immediately after Perlinger's disallowed goal. Mercier notched a top-shelf backhand over T-Birds goalie Kayla MacDougall (21 saves) for her fourth goal of the season, making it 3-1 heading into the final frame. However, this was as close as the Dinos would get.

Chanreet Bassi put the game out of reach in the third-period, as the fourth-year T-Bird stuck with a loose puck in front of the Dinos net, and eventually sniped the game's dagger past Durante. Despite taking three more penalties in the third period, UBC was able to kill them off, and escape with a 4-1 win.
 

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With the weekend split versus the Dinos, the T-Birds (27 pts) have a slim 1-point lead over the Mount Royal Cougars (26 pts), and Alberta Pandas (26 pts) for first place in the Canada West standings.

"It's a dog fight up there, Alberta and Mount Royal they're not losing right now, so these points are very important. All these games are really important" Coach Thomas concluded.

UBC will head to Regina for a two-game weekend series against the Rams (5-9-1-0), while Calgary hosts Trinity Western (6-7-0-1) at home to close out 2023. Next weekend's games will be the last Canada West hockey action before the winter break.