NISKU, Alta. – The Alberta Pandas (2-7-1) earned their second win of the season on Saturday, and they did so on the back of a career-high 41 saves by goaltender Grace Glover, who stymied the Thunderbirds (7-3) for most of the night.
Despite outshooting the Pandas 43-15, the T-Birds found themselves playing from behind for much of what was a very scrappy game. The two teams combined for 15 penalties and 13 power play opportunities, seven on the side of UBC, but each managed just one goal off of them.
The T-Birds' power play marker came midway through the first when Hanna Perrier found the back of the net for the second time on the weekend. That was after Abby Soyko had opened the scoring for the Pandas, and Soyko scored again late in the first to restore the advantage.
There were no goals in the second, with the Thunderbirds outshooting the Pandas 19-2 in what was the most lopsided period of the night in terms of ice tilt. They couldn't beat Glover, however, and were made to rue that fact when Sarah McNabb scored for Alberta just 24 seconds into the third.
While Leila Sinclair cut the deficit in half off a shot from the point with just over 10 minutes to play, the Thunderbirds were unable to find the tying goal despite relentless pressure. A pair of empty net markers finished off the night and left the T-Birds with a series split.
The blue and gold now head back home following a very road-heavy start to the season, and will face off against the Regina Cougars on November 20 and 21 inside the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
