VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (3-0-0-0) tallied three third-period goals to secure a 4-0 victory over the visiting Trinity Western Spartans (1-2-0-0) in their home opener at Father Bauer Arena on Friday night.
Rookie sensation
Maggie Rauckman (2G, 1A) continued a torrid start to her U SPORTS career, scoring twice in her first home game as a T-Bird.
"We have a lot of our new players stepping up, and [Rauckman] is definitely elevating her game and really making an impact right away," UBC head coach
Graham Thomas said, of the standout rookie.
Rauckman has goals in all three games played this season, and leads all Canada West skaters with five goals, and six points thus far.
Third-year Thunderbird
Mya Lucifora (20 saves) was stellar between the pipes, recording her second shutout and third victory in as many games.
"Key saves (in) key moments, she was just a rock back there, calm and confident," Thomas continued. "That's exactly what you need to settle our group down, she did her job and gave the team a lot of confidence."
The T-Birds wasted no time giving the home crowd something to cheer for, scoring just 58 seconds into the contest. Fourth-year
Hanna Perrier (1G, 2A) collected the puck off of an offensive zone faceoff and sniped home her first of the season past Spartans goalie Olivia Davidson (26 saves). The Thunderbirds outshot the visiting Spartans 13-6 in a hard-fought first period, but would not score again until the final frame.
Trinity Western responded to UBC's strong start, outshooting the T-Birds 10-5 in the second-period. Although the Spartans appeared to tie the game on a Sadie Isfield shot that found the back of the net, the goal was disallowed due to a Spartan being in
Mya Lucifora's crease.
A whacky third-period saw the cross-town rivals combine for 20 minutes in penalties. The teams gave the penalty box a workout all night, combining for a total of 46minutes in penalties in the game.
T-Birds rookie
Hannah Dods (1G, 1A) scored her first goal in a UBC uniform on a 5-on-3 powerplay. The T-Birds' powerplay (2/5) would strike again just 17 seconds later, as
Maggie Rauckman's second goal of the period put the game out of reach. The Spartans were unable to convert on their four powerplay chances.
The two teams are back at it Saturday afternoon, as the weekend series shifts to the Langley Events Centre.
"They're going to come out with even more fuel than they did today, (and we'll) make sure we're ready to match it." Thomas said, of the Saturday grudge match.
Puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m. (PT) and the game is available to stream, live or on demand, on Canada West TV.
