If there’s anything that the Thunderbirds have shown over and over this season, it is that they know how to create and capitalize on opportunities. They force turnovers and exploit their opponents’ weaknesses while simultaneously working on their own flaws throughout the season — such as their discipline, not taking as many penalties as the year went on.
The ‘Birds are also great at playing to their strengths — like converting on the power play. With the extra player, UBC is deadly, being the number one power play unit in Canada West.
It was that ability that turned the second game of the Canada West semifinals into a bloodbath. With the Trinity Western University (TWU) Spartans needing to win Game 2 to keep their season alive, UBC sealed their fate with two power play goals in the second period.
After Friday’s game, which saw the ‘Birds dominating the Spartans for most of the match, UBC’s cross-town rivals knew they had to hit the ground running if they wanted to recover from the 4–0 loss and take the series to a third game.
With the stakes clear, Trinity Western came out the gate battling hard for possession of the puck, testing fifth-year goalkeeper Elise Hugens early on. Even with TWU’s early jump, UBC pressed the issue on offence as well, continually forcing turnovers against the Spartans.
In the first few minutes of the period, both teams were neck-and-neck, not letting their adversary hold the puck for too long. But even without possession, UBC kept their momentum from Friday’s performance and seven minutes into the game, defender Jaylyn Morris broke the scoreless tie.
Taking a pass from the point, defender Ashton Thorpe passed the puck cross-ice to Morris at the opposite point, who shot it through traffic. It was dead-on. Perfectly picking the top corner, Morris beat TWU goalie Kate Fawcett to score her eleventh goal of the season.
“In playoff hockey, that first goal is important,” said head coach Graham Thomas. “[The first goal] puts them back on their heels ... so when you go down one nothing already and [you’re facing an experienced goalie], it just puts that doubt in their minds.”
Right after the Morris goal, UBC looked to capitalize on that creeping doubt. The following minutes saw the Thunderbirds spend more time in the offensive zone, getting plenty of shots on goal — but they were unable to beat the Spartans netminder.
With Fawcett standing tall for the Spartans, the game was still within reach for TWU. Fourteen minutes into the game, they were given an opportunity to tie things up, but off the power play, the visiting team was unable to get past Hugens. While that power play gave the Spartans some momentum — spending more time in the offensive zone in the final moments of the frame — any attempts to score were swiftly snuffed out by UBC.
If the Spartans thought they had gotten their groove going late in the previous period, however, the Thunderbirds were quick to dissuade that notion in the second.
In the following period, Trinity Western surrendered five penalties to the Thunderbirds, who capitalized on two of those opportunities to bring the score to a near-impenetrable 3–0.
The first of those power play markers came six minutes into the period, with forward Jacquelyn Fleming getting off a shot on goal that was blocked by a Spartan in front of the net. Unfazed, Fleming got the puck back and immediately sent it straight into the back of TWU’s net, bringing the score to 2–0.
UBC’s special teams unit wasn’t finished. Another power play a few minutes later helped the ‘Birds build their momentum, spending almost the full two minutes in the offensive zone, with multiple players getting chances to shoot on goal. The Spartans held on, though, keeping the game within reach. But while getting kills was key, they’d need to score.
In the TWU offensive end, while the Spartans continued to fight for chances to shoot on goal, none of their opportunities were particularly high-danger for the T-Birds. They’d need help to crack Hugens. Then, a head contact penalty to star forward Grace Elliott seemed to be the opportunity TWU was looking for. It quickly turned sour. A little over a minute into the TWU power play, Spartans defender Sadie Isfeld was sent to the box for bodychecking — forward Maisie Kozak was also penalized soon after. In a few minutes, a TWU power play turned into a level playing field at 4-on-4, before quickly becoming a 5-on-3 UBC power play.
TWU scrambled hard and fast, killing one of the penalties. But their tenacity wasn’t able to stop a skilled UBC squad from scoring one last time on the weekend.
UBC’s third goal came with less than thirty seconds left in the second period, at the end of the Kozak penalty. Finding space in the high slot, forward Ilona Markova sent the puck flying through all four Trinity Western penalty killers before making its way to the back of the net. This tally was her fourth career point, and her second in this playoff series — all goals.
“ I'm so proud of my team,” said Markova. “ We worked so hard with my line and with our power play and PK — we spend so much time [training] … [I’m] just so happy to help the team.”
The gravity of the situation seemed to finally dawn on TWU in the third period. They were down three goals, and had only nine shots on goal during the game, compared to UBC’s 23. Needing a miracle, they came out of the gates in the last period with all the energy they had — and then some.
Early in the period, the Spartans made back-to-back shots on goal, but forwards Kailey Ledoux and Kozak were unable to light up the scoreboard for the Spartans. Hugens would continue to be tested throughout the period, with Trinity Western greatly outpacing their shot totals from the first two frames, with five shots on goal in the first half of the period. They were even outshooting the ‘Birds, who only had three opportunities at that point. Hugens held, keeping her series-long shutout bid going deep into the third.
The visiting team’s efforts finally played off in the last few minutes of the game. During the power play, TWU head coach Peter Hay pulled Fawcett in order to make a 6-on-4 push. The risky tactic paid off when defender Presleigh Giesbrecht passed the puck to Isfeld, who ripped a slapshot from the blue line through traffic to score Trinity Western’s only goal of the weekend with a little over one minute left on the clock.
Keeping the goalie pulled, the visitors still got some more shots on goal in the final moments, but once the clock hit zero, there was no denying it. The Thunderbirds were going to their fifth straight Canada West final.
UBC will face a bit of a surprising opponent in the conference final, taking on the Manitoba Bisons, who defeated the Mount Royal Cougars in three in their semifinal series. Throughout the regular season, the Bisons had been a fringe playoff team, making the playoffs with only two points to spare. In the postseason, however, they’ve caught fire, taking out the Alberta Pandas in the first round before their upset of division-leading Mount Royal. While UBC will likely be heavily favoured, being the underdog hasn’t fazed Manitoba at all these last two weeks.
The Canada West final will be played at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre on Friday and Saturday at 7pm, with a third game being played on Sunday at 3pm if needed.
