VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (6-0) put the finishing touches on a weekend sweep of the visiting Alberta Pandas (2-2-2) thanks to a first period scoring outburst that provided all the cushion UBC would need for a 5-1 victory Saturday afternoon at Father Bauer Arena.
Alberta entered Saturday's contest looking to bounce back after suffering its first regulation loss of the season, however, it would be UBC that struck first courtesy of a perfectly executed three-on-two rush that saw
Grace Elliott find
Vanessa Schaefer in the slot to tap in her third goal of the season.
Looking for a response, Alberta struggled to maintain possession in the offensive zone and did not register a shot on goal until their first powerplay opportunity of the game. Fifth-year netminder
Elise Hugens got the start for UBC and although she was rarely tested in the first frame, she was calm when called upon in the opening 20 minutes.
UBC continued to press after opening scoring. Late in the period, the veteran duo of
Annalise Wong and Elliott showcased their chemistry. Elliott pulled the puck off the boards and found Wong behind Alberta's defenders where she tucked in her second of the season past Grace Glover to give the T-Birds a 2-0 lead heading into the second.
"Tonight, we challenged that line (Elliott, Schaefer, Wong). In these big games our best players need to be our best players and we're going to keep pushing them all year to do that so we're ready for the big moments," said UBC head coach,
Graham Thomas.
The Pandas found their stride in the second period on the back of some great puck possession from veterans Abby Soyko and Natalie Kieser, who both had chances on the powerplay but were thwarted by Hugens, who swallowed up any scoring chances thrown her way.
Neither team was able to convert on its opportunities in the second period, despite a combined seven penalties being drawn as a scoreless frame paved the way for an exciting finish down the stretch with Alberta hungry for a comeback.
The Pandas came out firing in the third, nearly capitalizing on a penalty taken by
Elle Lorenz, but UBC was able to kill it off and regain their first period scoring punch. The T-Birds opened the floodgates with three goals over a four-minute span to secure more than enough insurance to close out the game. A powerplay tally from
Karine Sandilands at 11:04 was followed by Wong's second of the game and Elliott's fourth of the season.
"The second was way too scrambly – same as yesterday, we kind of let them back in the game," Thomas said. "We got to focus on the future, we got to focus on the present and the now, so let's go out there and finish strong. Credit to them, that's what they did."
Alberta broke its scoring drought late in the game as Emma Power banged home a rebound past Hugens, but it would prove to be too late as UBC closed out the third to improve to 6-0 on the season.
With her three point performance,
Grace Elliott broke the 100 point plateau and now has 55 goals and 47 assists in 107 career Canada West games played.
"A lot of milestones and she's not done yet. Really proud of her, she's put in a lot of work and she's representing this university, our league, Canada West and U SPORTS."
The T-Birds will enjoy a bye week before heading to Regina at the end of the month for a weekend series against the Cougars starting Friday, October 31.
