VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds played a complete game at both ends of the ice en route to a 6-0 victory at the annual Winter Classic to claim the first game in a critical late-season home-and-home matchup against cross-town rivals Trinity Western Spartans.
The T-Birds did well to lock it down defensively throughout while starting goalie
Elise Hugens stopped all 10 shots, she faced to record her third shutout of the season. A good omen with the playoffs just around the corner, Friday night's victory brings UBC one step closer to securing a top-two finish and a coveted first-round bye. The win was UBC's eighth in a row, which puts them in first place with a 19-1-3 record. while the Spartans (6-14-1) remain tied at 13 points with Manitoba in their battle for the sixth and final playoff spot.
"We started a little slow, but it was nice to see us respond, wake up, and start playing our game," said UBC head coach
Graham Thomas. "When we do that, we're tough to play against. Everybody was playing at a high level and kept rolling, which is our strength: our depth. It was impressive how we controlled the game and limited them to ten shots. We're a defense team first at all times, so we don't want teams that work very hard and are very disciplined, staying around and having close games."
The Winter Classic was also the backdrop for the debut of a special edition jersey featuring the UBC Thunderbirds alternate logo, Thunderbirds Takes Flight, designed by Musqueam Artist Deanna-Marie Point. With their well-received new alternate jersey, the home team stormed out of the gate in the first period scoring three quick goals to stun the Spartans.
Chanreet Bassi capitalized on an early power play off a point shot deflection from
Annalise Wong to score UBC's first goal. Soon after
Jacquelyn Fleming doubled the lead,
Cassidy Rhodes fired a wrist shot to the top right corner of the net to make it 3-0.
Despite their slow start, the Spartans showed their resilience at the start of the second stanza by killing off nearly six minutes of UBC power play time, including a 5-on-3. The 'Birds continued with pressure and broke the second-period stalemate at the 9:21 mark with a second Bassi tally.
Rylind MacKinnon added another on the power play for a 5-0 lead heading into the final frame.
Fast forward to the final seconds of the contest it was
Grace Elliott who slotted in a rebound on the power play, placing the cherry on top of a dominant UBC performance at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
"At some points there are nerves," added Thomas about playing in front of a big Winter Classic crowd. "But they are resilient and once we got the juices flowing and got back to our game, then having the atmosphere was fun. It turned from nerves into, 'this is a lot of fun and let's enjoy it."
The weekend series continues with a Saturday matchup between the T-Birds and the Spartans at the Langley Events Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 5pm on Canada West TV.
