VANCOUVER – After suffering their first loss of the Canada West campaign last weekend at Alberta, the UBC Thunderbirds (13-1) successfully bounced back Friday night with a 4-1 win over the visiting Saskatchewan Huskies (6-4-2) at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
With a much-needed win hanging in the balance, UBC rallied behind its netminder
Elise Hugens, who proved exactly why she leads the conference in all-time wins, turning aside 20 shots to help the T-Birds soar to the victory.
"We don't like the feeling of losing and it just reminded our girls that this can happen if we don't come sharp and ready," said UBC head coach,
Graham Thomas. "Tonight was our response and the message at the end of is that we need to go out and earn it every single night."
The opening period featured back-and-forth action as both teams applied pressure with a forecheck that created a battle for every inch of open ice. Fifth-year winger
Mia Bierd entered the game with four goals in her past five outings, and picked up exactly where she left off, finishing off a slick pass from
Presley Zinger to wire home her fifth of the season.
The Huskies had a chance to respond later in the period after a
Mya Healey hooking penalty, but Hugens stood tall to preserve the lead entering the second frame.
After a few near-miss chances in the first, Saskatchewan would not be denied in the second. A sustained attack in the T-Birds' zone created a flurry of opportunities early in the period, leading to Kahlen Wisener sneaking behind the defence to tip-in an Avery Gottselig shot from the point to knot things even at 1-1.
"They were clogging up the middle, blocking shots and outhustling us for pucks. They executed where they needed to and beat us to chances and made it difficult for us in that period," Thomas said.
The remainder of the second had a playoff-like atmosphere as both teams traded scoring chances, but it would be the Huskies who put their stamp on the period, and if not for the play of Hugens, would have taken the lead entering the final frame.
Every point matters in Canada West with playoffs around the corner. With divisional positioning at stake, UBC entered the third eager to cash in on the powerplay. Held scoreless last weekend,
Grace Elliott crashed the net and jammed home a rebound to help UBC break the gridlock.
"We needed that. We were playing a little tight and inconsistent. After not their best period, this group responded and played hard to help us get the win down the stretch in the third."
Elliott's tally proved to be the spark that the T-Birds needed as Wong and
Kailee Peppler added goals of their own to fuel a 4-1 victory.
The T-Birds look to defend home ice Saturday afternoon as they wrap up the weekend slate against the Huskies with puck drop scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
Tickets are available online and the game will also be streamed live on
Canada West TV.
