SASKATOON, Sask.
– The top-ranked team in U SPORTS has just clinched their division, and in style to boot. The UBC Thunderbirds (22-2-1-0) smoked the Saskatchewan Huskies (5-14-4-2) 9-0 at Merlis Belsher Place on Friday night, officially securing the West Division title in the inaugural season of Canada West's divisional realignment. The T-Birds also control their own fate as far as securing the top overall seed in the conference, needing to win two of their final three games to lock that up for the third straight year.
The decisive win also marks the 11
th consecutive victory for the blue and gold. The team has not lost since mid-November and has not lost in regulation since the second series of the season, in mid-October.
The start of the first period saw the Thunderbirds get on the board first as
Jacquelyn Fleming snuck one past Huskies goalie Emma Backman
Emma Backman and put the Dogs on the back foot early. Despite the T-Birds having a significant shot advantage, and some penalty trouble for both sides, the score remained 1-0 at the end of the first frame.
The second period opened with two quick UBC goals, one from the nation's top goal scorer in
Grace Elliott and the other from
Ashton Thorpe, to put the Dogs down 3-0.
Halfway through the second, the Huskies found themselves on back-to-back power plays and were looking to strike. Despite the Dogs efforts, they weren't able to put one past UBC's
Elise Hugens, who would record her sixth shutout of the season.
The Thunderbirds would explode for three more goals in the period, bringing their advantage to 6-0 going into the third after
Karine Sandilands,
Mya Healey, and
Chanreet Bassi all found the back of the net.
A three-goal third period would cap a dominant performance for this visitors, finishing off a 9-0 UBC win. Goal scorers in the final frame were
Jaylyn Morris and
Mackenzie Kordic, the latter recording the final two goals of the night.
The two teams will be back at it Saturday afternoon for a 3:00 p.m. (PT) puck drop at Merlis Belsher Place. Catch all of the action, live or on demand, on Canada West TV.
