The UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team extended their winning streak to three games this weekend with a pair of identical wins over the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.
The ‘Birds were on the offensive the entire game, managing to score in every period.
In the last three minutes of the first, Tatiana Rafter was able to bang in a loose puck off of an assist from Stefanie Schaupmeyer and Nicole Saxvik for her 11th of the season.
Only 20 seconds into the second period the three struck again. This time Rafter and Schaupmeyer assisted Saxvik, who found her way into the goal at the front of the net. Saxvik follows closely behind Rafter in the scoring race, as this was her 10th goal of the season.
Rebecca Unrau would help extend the lead to 3-0 just 12 seconds after the second goal. Firing the puck in front of the goal, this would be her 10th goal of the season as well.
The Pronghorns soon struck back, with Sadie Lenstra managing to get past Thunderbird goalie Samantha Langford. With the score at 3-1, the second period did not produce any more goals, mostly thanks to the net-minding of Pronghorn goalie Crystal Patterson.
In the third period Unrau scored again, with the team capitalizing on a power play. In addition, graduating senior Lisa Trainor scored her first goal of the season off of a rebound to put the ‘Birds ahead at 5-1.
Things got pretty heated in the third period. The Pronghorns fought hard to try and turn things around, which resulted in a fight breaking out towards the end of the game.
“I thought that we kept our cool for the most part,” assistant coach Mike Sommers said. “You’re going to get those moments near the end of the season”
Stephanie Schaupmeyer was the only one of the ‘Birds to fight back, having head-butted a Pronghorn, and sat out for the rest of the game in the penalty box.
Despite the Lethbridge attempts to even out, the score remained 5-1 and the Thunderbirds took home the weekend win in a clean sweep.
“They all came out really hard,” said Sommers. “Lethbridge played us really hard both nights but we’re committed going down the stretch. We’re taking things one game at a time, one weekend at a time, and we’ll look forward to the following week when it’s there.”
Next weekend the ‘Birds face off against the University of Manitoba Bisons at Thunderbird Arena. Puck drop is at 7:00 pm on Friday and 2:00 pm on Saturday.