Looking at the home crowd for the Winter Classic, it would be easy to mistake it for a rowdy rock concert. On Friday afternoon, Jan. 23, students and community members lined out the doors and spilled into the hallways of Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, excited for the match ahead.
The loud music blasting from the speakers and the rhythmic banging of plastic buckets echoed the excitement coursing through the home crowd. Even before the puck had been dropped, UBC’s crowd showed exactly why the Winter Classic is one of the most awaited events of the year. For the T-Birds women’s hockey team, heading into their match with the Trinity Western University Spartans with the home crowd behind them, they had to feel good about their chances.
After all, the odds weren’t exactly in the Spartans’ favour. The T-Birds women’s team has won all their Winter Classic games since the women’s match was added into the event in 2023. Adding on top of that, the Thunderbirds have dominated the Spartans in recent years, with a 17-game win streak that goes back to Sept. 2023.
That imbalance is also reflected in this year’s standings. The Thunderbirds are first in Canada West with 22 victories, two losses, and plenty of momentum, coming off a victorious weekend against the Calgary Dinos — one of the better teams in the conference — scoring eight goals, while their opponents were only able to score three.
Meanwhile, Trinity Western, placed sixth in Canada West, has only 11 wins all season, coming off a split weekend against the 8–14 Manitoba Bisons.
Although both teams were coming into the Winter Classic with very different records, for head coach Graham Thomas, every game counts the same.
“We [have to] use every one of these games to the absolute fullest to get the most out of our group, figuring out some chemistry and continuing to build on our game,” said Thomas. “We just need to focus on getting better and being more consistent, so we're ready to play playoff hockey.”
The game started with both teams playing conservatively, but still getting shots on goal early into the period. The visiting team seemed anxious, with players making unnecessarily dangerous shots and losing pucks, turning it over to the ‘Birds. UBC got chances off those giveaways, but didn’t seem to be playing with the offensive effort that had been present earlier in the season.
As the period progressed, the Thunderbirds slowly asserted themselves as they spent increasing amounts of time at the offensive zone and created opportunities to shoot on goal. In the opening frame, they outshot the Spartans 13–2 — the chances were there.
But chances don’t mean much if you can’t convert. With only three minutes left in the period, the visitors quickly showed their grit by lighting up the scoreboard seven seconds into a power play with forward Kara Yackel’s immaculate snipe into the top right corner. The tally came right after the faceoff, with defender Sadie Isfeld receiving the puck and swiftly passing it to Yackel, who found space right above the outstretched glove of goalie Elise Hugens to give the Spartans an early lead.
But before the team from Langley could savour their lead, forward Vanessa Schaefer snuffed it out only 12 seconds later. After a dribbling shot popped back out on the rebound, Schaefer got hold of a loose puck and made a shot that flew between four TWU players and into the net, making the fans go wild.
The second period started with the Spartans hitting the gas pedal and looking to regain the lead, spending more time in the offensive zone. However, the T-Birds were quick to turn up the heat as well. Early in the frame, they marked their presence in the offensive zone with a solo dash from defender Jaylyn Morris. While Morris was stripped of the puck, the ‘Birds quickly got possession back, following it up with a shot on goal between defenders by UBC forward Mya Healey, who was denied by Spartan goaltender Kate Fawcett.
These strong offensive efforts by the Thunderbirds meant little. In their own zone, the ‘Birds breakout attempt was denied by TWU forward Kailey Ledoux, who forced a turnover and quickly cashed in, shooting the puck in between Hugens' legs, restoring Trinity Western’s lead.
This one-point deficit was a much-needed shock to UBC’s system, with players coming out of the ensuing faceoff with renewed energy and aggression. Forward Karine Sandilands had a golden opportunity with a two-on-one, but was unable to convert. Still, the T-Birds applied pressure on the visiting team’s defence until it finally cracked.
After a battle on the boards for possession, T-Birds forward Cassidy Rhodes shot the puck in between two TWU players and found the back of the visitor’s net to equalize the scoreboard for the second time in the match. While UBC had been down in this game, they were never down for long. After answering the Spartans’ opener within 12 seconds, Rhodes’ goal brought the ‘Birds even after only trailing for 52 seconds.
They wouldn’t be even much longer. The Thunderbirds’ momentum continued to grow only a few minutes later, during UBC’s first power play of the match. After Morris set up a good chance with a pass to forward Jacquelyn Fleming just outside the crease, captain Annalise Wong managed to get the rebound and sink it in TWU’s net, lighting up the scoreboard for UBC for the third time in the match.
After getting the lead for the first time in the game, the Thunderbirds became nearly unstoppable. They spent long stretches with possession of the puck and in the opponent’s offensive zone, rendering them unable to push for the equalizer.
The Spartans’ best chance would come at the end of the second period, with forward Grace Elliott — the top goal-scorer in the country — in the box, but the Thunderbirds still held their own. Despite finding a few opportunities to shoot on goal, they didn’t let the Spartans score thanks to some spectacular goal tending by Hugens, who managed to get her glove up while sprawled out on the ground to block a shot off a loose puck, cementing the T-Birds’ lead.
“It was a tough first couple goals, tough first half of the first period [for Hugens] … but then she settled in and did her thing,” said Thomas. “She's made the timely saves and has been a rock for us, just [being] consistent and stepp[ing] up where she needed to.”
Right out of the gate in the third period, UBC continued their dominance on offence. The home team would finish the period with 29 shots on goal, while the visitors would end up with only 11. Trinity Western could only muster one shot in the final 20, with the visiting team rarely going far into the ‘Birds offensive zone.
While their defence did the job to close it out, the T-Birds got an insurance goal six minutes into the period, with defender Presley Zinger rushing across the ice after receiving a long pass from Wong — who was still inside the ‘Birds defensive zone. With speed, the first-year skated in between two TWU defenders to find open space and score her first career goal.
In this Winter Classic, UBC proved once again why they have been such a dominant team in the Canada West: they have grit and resilience, which allows them to continue to work hard on the offensive zone, even when the score isn’t in their favour.
“ We scored within a shift or two both times,” said Thomas. “That was [a] great response from our group. That's exactly what you're looking for, right? For them to be resilient and respond when we go down or get scored on.”
They’ve been willing to learn from past mistakes. In previous games, the tension of the game would lead to crucial late-game penalties, which in turn brought a great vulnerability for UBC. But in this game, the ‘Birds mostly stayed out of the box in the third, with only one UBC penalty in the final ten minutes — which was quickly nullified by an offsetting Spartans infraction three seconds later. Even when down a player, they have been giving adversaries less scoring opportunities, as evidenced by the Spartans’ paltry shot total in the final period.
This momentum continued into their Saturday game against the Spartans, with UBC taking that one by a final score of 4–0. The Thunderbirds’ next challenge will be against MacEwan University on Jan. 30 in Edmonton.
