UBC’s women’s hockey dominated the University of Alberta Pandas in a 5–1 win on Saturday at Father David Bauer Arena, extending their season-opening win streak to six games. The match came at the heels of a tense 3–0 win against Alberta on Friday night — with UBC sweeping the weekend series against the team that ousted them in the Canada West final last year.
The Friday night confrontation between the inter-provincial rivals was a tense match that saw UBC dominating the Pandas, with goalie Mya Lucifora, making 20 saves on the night in her second career shutout. This shutout came despite UBC’s proclivity for taking penalties, especially in the third period — with the ‘Birds having to kill off two separate five-on-three opportunities in the final five minutes of the game. Despite those moments of tension, UBC’s players were able to show just how talented this roster is, with head coach Graham Thomas complimenting his team’s depth.
“You can put anybody out there at any given moment.”
In Saturday’s game, they showed just how far their all-around level of skill goes, by dominating the Pandas for most of the match.
The first period started with UBC getting plenty of shots on goal, while Alberta struggled to keep the puck in the ‘Birds offensive zone. These early struggles may have been deja vu for the Pandas. Alberta faced a similar challenge to retain possession against UBC on Friday — with limited scoring chances, especially in the first period. With the ‘Birds establishing themselves quickly, an early lead felt inevitable.
The scoreboard was first lit seven minutes into the frame, with the ‘Birds breaking out on a three-on-two rush that had forward Grace Elliott find forward Vanessa Schaefer by herself. Schaefer then proceeded to sink the puck into the Pandas’ net, scoring her third goal of the season.
After opening the scoring, the period continued with UBC having plenty of opportunities for shots on goal, while the Pandas still couldn’t get going on offence. They only managed to get two shots in the period, with one coming on an attempt during their first power play that was easily saved by fifth-year goalkeeper Elise Hugens.
With less than a minute left in the first period, Schaefer got in a battle on the boards for the puck and threw it backwards, where forward Annalise Wong was waiting alone. She sped towards the goal and got thrown down by an Alberta defender, but not before scoring UBC’s second goal of the match, sneaking it through five-hole while falling to the ground.
The line’s joint effort on the play, with Schaefer blindly throwing the puck backwards — knowing that someone was going to be there to catch it — cements not just the amount of collective talent on the T-Birds, but also how deep the connection is between the players.
The second period played out very similarly to the day before, with the Pandas becoming more competitive after the first intermission. Yet, despite the Pandas’ efforts to push back, they still couldn’t establish a presence in the ‘Birds zone.
While the period finished with 14 total shots on goal for UBC, Alberta only had five, despite having three power plays in the frame.
Yet, despite their shot advantage, the ‘Birds didn’t go into the locker room pleased with their performance in the middle frame. Despite having four power play opportunities, the T-Birds, in a similar vein to Alberta, remained scoreless in the second period.
“ The second [period was] way too scrambly — same [as] yesterday. We kind of let them back in the game,” said Thomas. “ We[‘ve] got to focus on the present and the now … [we had to] finish strong and, and credit to [the team], that's what they did.”
While the final frame initially seemed like it would continue the scoreless drought for both teams — having the same number of penalties as the second period — the third period of the match proved itself to be the most eventful, with four goals overall, with the three UBC goals being scored in the span of four minutes.
Early in the period, the Pandas came close to cutting into UBC’s lead during a power play, but the ‘Birds defence was quick to snuff out any chances of Alberta scoring while the ‘Birds were shorthanded. Across the entire weekend, their penalty kill was a strength, not allowing a single power play goal despite giving the Pandas plenty of opportunities.
The visitors kept pushing, but the Thunderbirds’ defense didn’t budge, and their offence continued to pressure the Pandas. The T-Birds finally looked to put their opponents way when the ‘Birds’ third goal came eleven minutes into the period, during a power play for UBC.
Forward Jacquelyn Fleming received a set-up pass from rookie defender Presley Zinger along the low boards, and just before an Alberta player was able to steal the puck, she got it to forward Karine Sandilands, who had sneaked past the opponents’ defence and was standing alone right beside the Pandas’ goal, sinking it into the net.
The next goal came only 50 seconds later after a freak accident benefitted the ‘Birds. When an Alberta defender attempted to clear their zone with a pass, her stick broke, with the puck sliding right to ‘Birds forward Hanna Perrier. The defender — now without a stick — tried to push Perrier, but she was unsuccessful in stopping her. Alberta’s goalie Grace Glover scrambled forward to clear the puck, but her pass went straight to Wong, leaving the net open for her second goal on the game, and third in the season.
Despite the four-goal advantage for the home team, Alberta continued to put pressure on the ‘Birds on the ice, while players on the bench shouted encouragement for their teammates.
Unfortunately for the visitors, that wasn’t enough to stop the Thunderbirds from scoring one last time five minutes before the end of the game. Elliott, the reigning U Sports player of the year, took a chance shot from a tight angle on the left side of the ice, sliding through four different players into the Pandas’ net.
With a little more than a minute left on the period, Alberta finally broke their goal drought on the weekend with forward Emma Power catching a rebound from Hugens and sinking it into the Thunderbirds net before the goaltender could get up. While the ‘Birds weren’t able to get their second-straight shutout, the goal meant little, with UBC’s lead being far too large to overcome.
After sweeping this weekend’s series at home, the next challenge ahead of the Thunderbirds will be in Saskatchewan, taking on against the University of Regina Cougars in their next contest on Friday, Oct. 31.
