VANCOUVER – After a disappointing 2-0 loss to the visiting Mount Royal Cougars in their home opener Friday night, the UBC Thunderbirds fell 4-3 in Saturday afternoon's rematch at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Consecutive regular season losses have been rare for the three-time defending Canada West champions as the pair of Cougars (4-0-0) wins mark the first time the T-Birds (2-2) have been swept in a weekend series since 2020.
Despite a strong start to the game, outshooting their opponents 14-2 in the first period, UBC would trail 1-0 after 20 minutes. Cougars forward Aliya Jomha found a loose puck in a scramble in front of T-Birds goalie Kayla MacDougall to pot her second goal of the season. Jomha later scored the game winning goal and now leads the Canada West scoring race with seven points through four games played.
"We brought a better game, a more consistent game, a better effort, but it still just fell a little short," said UBC head coach
Graham Thomas following the loss. "(Kaitlyn) Ross had a great weekend, we were able to crack her and score some on her. I think it's a little bit more on team defence and just some lack of awareness and some mental side, just not mentally being sharp."
Midway through the second, MRU forward Gabby Lindsay extended the Cougars' lead, stepping out of the penalty box and behind the T-Birds defence, converting a breakaway to make it 2-0.
UBC answered less than a minute later on the power play as
Grace Elliott tipped a
Jaylyn Morris point shot past Ross, cutting the lead to 2-1. Elliott's goal was the first scored on the Cougars this season, and ended the fifth-year goaltender's shutout streak at 151:25.
The division rivals combined to score five goals in an action-packed second-period. However, a T-Birds blunder late in the second frame would prove costly. Fourth-year
Grace Elliott's shot attempt bounced back into the T-Birds end, and UBC defender
Kennesha Miswaggon lost an edge, falling and turning the puck over. Cougars forward Sydney Benko took advantage, feeding a pass to Jomha who scored with just two seconds left in the period. The goal extended Mount Royal's lead to 4-2 and would prove to be the eventual game winner.
"Some of these goals, some of these breakdowns, you're just shaking your head," Thomas added. "You're in disbelief that this is happening."
Second-year T-Bird
Jaylyn Morris had an outstanding performance, her second goal of the game cutting Mount Royal's lead to 4-3 in the third period, but it would be too little too late for UBC.
Mackenzie Kordic and
Chanreet Bassi highlighted UBC's scoring troubles as the team's 2023-2024 leading scorers were held off the scoresheet on the weekend. The last time neither Bassi or Kordic registered at least a point in a game was December 2, 2023, and it's been almost two years since both the fifth-year players have been held pointless in a weekend series.
"You know they have the skill, you know they have the ability. They've done it in the past. They just didn't come ready to execute and perform, unfortunately. You've got to learn from it."
Next up the T-Birds will face the Trinity Western Spartans (0-2-0) on Friday, October 18th at the Langley Events Centre for the first half of a home-and-home series which concludes Saturday at UBC.
The undefeated Cougars kick off a home-and-home series of their own with the Calgary Dinos starting Friday night at Flames Community Arenas.
