VANCOUVER – Every game matters with the Canada West playoffs around the corner and UBC knew it would have its hands full with a Trinity Western squad hunting for crucial points on Friday night at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Trinity Western (11-11-1) tested the T-Birds (21-2) in front of a full house for the annual Winter Classic, but UBC prevailed 4-2 courtesy of goals from four different goal scorers.
"We need to use every one of these games to the absolute fullest to get the most out of our group and figure out some chemistry," said UBC Head Coach,
Graham Thomas. "If we focus on getting better and being more consistent, we'll be ready to play tomorrow and for playoff hockey down the road."
The Spartans entered Friday's tilt with just a one point lead over Alberta in the Canada West's west division standings, while the T-Birds looked to maintain top spot in the conference with Mount Royal not far behind. With playoff positioning at stake, UBC applied pressure and tested Spartans netminder Kate Fawcett early and often, but the fifth-year was up to the task and kept TWU in the game.
After a series of near-miss UBC rushes, the Spartans were able to battle back and gain momentum thanks to a strong forecheck and forcing a couple of penalties from the T-Birds. With
Mya Healey in the box, Kara Yackel corralled the puck and rifled a shot into the top corner past
Elise Hugens to open the scoring for TWU.
Seeking a response, UBC sent out its top line to pave the comeback trail and got exactly what it wanted as
Vanessa Schaefer batted home a loose puck to knot the game 1-1 heading into the second.
The seesaw affair continued in the second. The Spartans were able to restore the lead after Kailey Ledoux capitalized on a turnover and snuck a snap shot through the legs of Hugens. But the T-Birds would not go down without a fight. Less than a minute after Ledoux's tally,
Cassidy Rhodes restored UBC's momentum by snapping a laser off the post and in to tie the game.
"That was a great response from our group – that's exactly what we're looking for when we go down or get scored on," said Thomas. "The group was able to push back and take away any momentum when Trinity pushed us."
Rhodes' marker proved to be the jolt the T-Birds were looking for as UBC was able to draw its first powerplay of the game. Having an extra attacker paid dividends as captain
Annalise Wong finished off a centering feed in front by sneaking in her fifth of the season to give the hometown squad its first lead.
An exciting first two periods paved the way for a climactic ending and it would be
Presley Zinger who would step up to seize the moment and seal the game for UBC. The first-year from Red Deer, Alberta showed her offensive prowess when she found an open stretch of ice and cashed in a highlight reel solo rush by wiring her first career U SPORTS goal to provide much-needed insurance for UBC.
"What a memorable goal for Zinger's first tonight. We need our depth to help us out in tight games like this and we saw the full lineup step up tonight."
Zinger's goal put the final touches on a thrilling Winter Classic as the T-Birds picked up their fifth win over the Spartans this season.
Both teams are back at it tomorrow, Saturday, January, 24th, for a rematch at the Langley Events Centre to wrap up the weekend series.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game is available to stream on
Canada West TV.
