Coming off of a two-game sweep of the Calgary Dinos during the weekend, the UBC women’s hockey team had another night to celebrate after a 4-1 victory against the Chinese National Team on Monday night.
“It was … probably the largest crowd we’ve played in front of,” said UBC head coach Graham Thomas after the game. “I think just the international experience was fun.”
The T-Birds kicked off the first period with high-octane offence, outshooting Team China 14-3. UBC got onto the scoreboard with 7:38 remaining in the frame, when Mathea Fischer fired a shot from the left circle that beat Chinese goalkeeper Wang Yuqing. As the first period winded down to the final three minutes, Fischer struck again to bring the ’Birds up 2-0.
With a 2-0 deficit to start the second intermission, Team China cut UBC’s lead in half three minutes into the frame. After a shot by Tian Naiyuan was deflected off the blocker of goalkeeper Amelia Boughn, teammate Lu Yue picked up the loose puck and rifled it past Boughn.
Only three minutes later, the ’Birds restored the two-goal lead when forward Katie Zinn backhanded the puck from the slot. Four minutes before the end of the second frame, UBC lit the lamp again when fifth-year Jenna Carpenter-Boesch rebounded a backhand shot by forward Melissa Goodwin.
“I’m actually new to defence this year. I’ve played forward my entire life, so it’s all pretty new to me. But it seems like things are coming together,” said Zinn.
The final frame again saw strong offensive play by both sides of the ice, with both teams producing many close scoring changes, including a shorthanded breakaway by Team China’s Fang Xin. Still, the third period ultimately ended as a scoreless affair, securing the 4-1 win for UBC. Shots on goal by the end of the game were 35-14 in favour of the T-Birds.
“[Team China’s] goalies played well. Some of those chances we got were pretty decent in front of the net and they made some nice saves,” said Thomas.
The ’Birds did run into a few penalty troubles during the last frame, but managed to keep the visiting team in check.
Despite the loss to UBC, Yu Baiwei — captain of the Chinese National Team — saw the game more as a learning experience for her team.
“I was very excited and expected to play well,” said Yu in an interview translated from Mandarin. “But really, we go into every game treating it as a learning experience, not to expect a specific result. To play a good game is all that matters.”
After the game, the Chinese National Team came out on top in the three-round shootout that followed. Zhang Mengying and Fang Xin produced goals for Team China, while UBC’s only shootout goal came from first-year Tiffany Chiu.
UBC’s will play its next game on the road against the Alberta Golden Bears on Friday, October 21.