After the split against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, the Thunderbirds women’s hockey team picked up two comeback wins on the home ice against the University of Calgary Dinos — winning 4-1 and 3-2.
In the first game on Friday, the T-Birds won by a score of 4-1. UBC got into a 1-0 deficit early in the game, but came out on top in the end after a four-goal flurry from Nicole Saxvik, Kathleen Cahoon, Mairead Bast and Logan Boyd in the final period.
After the win on Friday, the ’Birds picked up another victory on Saturday, this time on a comeback from a two-goal deficit.
“It’s a sign of really good team … a character team that can come back from adversity, challenges and things that happen within a game,” said Graham Thomas, UBC head coach.
The start of the second game saw a similar situation to the first, with an early goal from the Dinos. Only 19 seconds into game, the Dinos mounted strong offensive pressure in the attacking zone, which ended in a backhand shot by Sara Craven from the slot that beat T-Bird goalkeeper Tory Micklash.
With the 1-0 lead going into the second frame, Calgary doubled its lead midway in the period when Madison Turk rifled the puck from the right circle to put the biscuit in the basket. Less than a minute later, the ’Birds cut the Dinos’ lead in half with a goal by Alexa Ranahan.
In the latter half of the second period, UBC had a total of five penalties, but their strong defence kept the Dinos from extending their lead.
With the 2-1 deficit, Mathea Fischer got the equalizer for the ’Birds midway in the third frame, firing the puck from the slot after receiving a drop pass from Haneet Parhar.
After Fischer’s goal, the Dinos picked up three penalties, the last being one for body checking against Megan Grenon with 3:45 remaining. As the ’Birds went on power play, defenceman Bast lit the lamp for the second time of the weekend, picking up the game-winning goal for UBC.
“It’s nice to see when you get some offensive from your backend,” said Thomas. “We’ve been preaching a lot about having our [defence] … being a secondary threat in the offensive zone.”
Thomas was also impressed by his team’s offensive firepower in the last period. Although the Dinos outshot the ’Birds 15-11 by the end of the second frame, shots on goal by the end of the game were 26-16 in favour of UBC.
For rookie defenceman Bast, scoring the first two goals of her varsity career in one weekend was a special feeling.
“I’m trying not to think too much into it, but to make a difference already is pretty huge and I’m really honoured,” said Bast.
UBC will be back in action on Monday, October 17 to take on the Chinese National Team.
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