VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds put the finishing touches on a record setting regular season with an inspired 3-1 victory over the Calgary Dinos Saturday at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
The victory, their 14th straight, cemented the 2024-25 version of the Thunderbirds (25-2-1) as the winningest regular season team in Canada West history, with 25 wins overall.
Before the opening face off, the T-Birds honoured senior student-athletes
Mackenzie Kordic,
Chanreet Bassi,
Sierra LaPlante,
Kasundra Betinol,
Makenzie McCallum and
Kennesha Miswaggon for their five years of service to the program, along with team trainer Christina Capitiano, who is graduating from UBC Kinesiology.
The significance of the moment was not lost on 'Birds bench boss,
Graham Thomas.
"It was an emotional game, knowing how much these players have put into the program," said Thomas. "I was impressed by how we stayed in moment and had a good start."
The Thunderbirds came out flying. Their relentless forecheck created numerous scoring chances, but Calgary goaltender, Amelia Awad, made 10 saves in the first period, many of them spectacular.
UBC finally broke through at 13:17, when McCallum deftly deflected
Sophia Gaskell's point shot into the Dino goal.
Calgary (8-18-2) did a good job of tilting the ice in the second period and were rewarded at 15:37 when Sydney Mercier stole the puck in the UBC zone and slid a pinpoint pass to Brooklyn Anderson in the low slot. With a lightning quick release, Anderson snapped the puck top shelf, past UBC goaltender
Elise Hugens, knotting the game at one.
Both teams did an admirable job defending the neutral zone to start the third with neither team creating much, until the hockey gods smiled on UBC at 7:35.
Ashton Thorpe's dump-in attempt hit a rut in the ice near the face off circle and took a fortuitous bounce up and over Awad's right shoulder.
The good fortune seemed to light a fire under the T-Birds who struck again on the power play barely two minutes later at 9:57.
Jacquelyn Fleming, whose inspired play had drawn the Dinos into a roughing minor, showed both great vision and patience in feathering a cross-crease pass on to
Grace Elliott's tape. Diving to the ice, Elliott drove the puck into the back of the net, giving UBC the important 3-1 insurance goal. With the secondary assist, Bassi tied UBC great Tatiana Rafter for the all-time scoring lead in program history with an eye popping 116 career points.
Bassi was a few feet and a bounce or two from breaking Rafter's record in the game's dying seconds, with the Calgary net empty for the extra attacker. But in the end, the two UBC legends are now fit to be tied in the program's record book.
Finishing first overall in Canada West, UBC has earned a bye through the first round of the playoffs and will get some well-deserved rest and time to strategize on what lies ahead.
"I really liked our focus and effort in the third period," added Thomas. "There was a lot going on tonight and I thought our game got a little flat in the second. But we kept after it and secured a good win. Now we can concentrate on our bigger goals."
The Thunderbirds will begin the quest for those bigger goals in two weeks at home when they play the winner of the first round Canada West playoff series between Manitoba and Trinity Western.
