CALGARY – Another excellence performance in goal from Elise Hugens combined with stellar special teams play led to a convincing 5-1 UBC Thunderbirds victory over the host Mount Royal Cougars Saturday at Flames Community Arenas.

Despite the hosts outshooting UBC 38-20, the visiting Thunderbirds (17-2-1) went a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill while Grace Elliott scored twice on the power play.

The win extends UBC's win streak to six while expanding their lead atop the West Division to six points over the second place Cougars (13-4-3).



Fifth-year forward Mackenzie Kordic opened scoring for the T-Birds partway through the opening frame. Meadow Carman's point shot sifted its way through traffic with Kordic getting a piece of it to redirect the puck into the net.
 
The Thunderbirds doubled their lead seven minutes into the second with a goal off the stick of Hanna Perrier. 
 
However, UBC's 2-0 lead lasted just 16 seconds. A Thunderbird turnover put the puck right on Cougars' captain Lyndsey Janes' stick, giving MRU a 2-on-1. Janes slid a pass over to Gabby Lindsay who went bar-down to give Mount Royal their first goal of the weekend.


 
Despite a marginal shift in momentum after Lindsay's marker, the T-Birds were able to recapture control of the game after restoring their two-goal lead.
 
Grace Elliott showed why she's regarded as the league's best player, going end-to-end and tucking the puck past the outstretched leg of MRU netminder Scout Anderson.
 
Kordic scored her second of the game late in the second by collecting her own rebound and swiftly shoving the puck underneath Anderson.
 
The Cougars suffered another setback when veteran forward Ava Metzger was forced to exit the game after sustaining an injury.
 

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Finishing 0-for-13 on the power play over the course of the weekend, the Cougars weren't without their opportunities but simply couldn't get anything past Hugens, or the slew of bodies getting in front of shots.
 
Elliott added an empty net goal for her second of the game and league-leading 15th of the season to make it 5-1, sealing the win and the UBC weekend sweep.
 
The T-Birds will take their six-game win streak into next weekend's home-and-home series with the Trinity Western Spartans beginning Thursday night in Langley and concluding Friday afternoon for Winter Classic 2025. Tickets for the biggest indoor festival of the campus calendar are on sale now.