VANCOUVER – For the first time since 2019, the UBC Thunderbirds (2-1-0) lost their home opener, as the visiting Mount Royal Cougars (3-0-0) skated to a 2-0 victory on Friday night, just the second regulation home ice loss the T-Birds have endured in over two seasons.
The result put a slight damper on celebrations as UBC raised their third straight Canada West Championship banner in a pre-game ceremony at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Special teams proved to be the difference in the game, as the Cougars scored on two of their four power plays, the last of which began with just 14 seconds remaining in the third. The T-Birds had chances of their own with the advantage but were unable to generate enough offence, going 0-for-5 on the night.
"We've got to learn from this, we've got to learn from what happens when other teams want it more than we do," said UBC head coach
Graham Thomas after his team's first loss of the young season. "Credit to Mount Royal, they played a good team game and they just wanted it more than us."
Fifth-year Cougars goaltender Kaitlyn Ross (29 saves) was pivotal in her team's shutout victory. She posted her second shutout in as many starts, now having turned aside all 54 shots she's faced through two contests.
The defensively sound Cougars haven't allowed a goal in their three games played this season. Third-year Scout Anderson also posted a shutout against Trinity Western (0-2-0) last weekend.
The battle between division rivals remained scoreless until late in the second period. Cougars forward Aliya Jomha stole the momentum for her team on a breathtaking rush that saw her ring the puck off of the crossbar. Shortly after, Athena Hauck pounced on a lose puck to score her second goal of the season, putting her team up 1-0 on the power play.
UBC would generate offensive chances in the final frame, highlighted by fifth-year
Makenzie McCallum causing a turnover before speeding past the Cougars defence to create her own breakaway. However, Ross kept her team up 1-0 with a highlight reel save.
Mount Royal extended their lead on a third period power play as Jomha fed a slick backdoor pass to teammate Sydney Benko for her first goal of the season, putting the game out of reach.
Being shutout, especially at home, is an unfamiliar feeling for a UBC offence that has been prolific in the past three seasons. However, the second game of the back-to-back will give the T-Birds a chance to split the weekend series and put the Friday night loss in the rearview mirror.
Puck drop Saturday is set for 3:00 p.m. at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. The game will also be streamed on
Canada West TV.
