March 12, 2017

’Birds clinch second straight Canada West title, prepare for U Sport championship

Written by Bill Situ

Ben Geisberg

After defeating the Saskatchewan Huskies in the Canada West semifinals, the UBC women’s hockey team went on to capture their second straight Canada West championship title. They won the final series 2-1 against the University of Alberta Pandas.

Alberta held a 21-4-3 record during the regular season, placing second in Canada West. They also held a 13-game winning streak going into the series. Alberta had swept the third-seeded University of Manitoba Bisons in the Canada West semi-finals.

The ’Birds ran into a deficit at the start of the weekend series, dropping a 2-0 decision in the first game. T-Bird goalkeeper Amelia Boughn made 23 saves, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Pandas, who saw goals from Amy Boucher and Hannah Olenyk.

“To be honest, we weren’t happy with the effort that the team gave," said UBC head coach Graham Thomas. "It wasn’t the typical and consistent effort that we usually expect.”

With Alberta leading the series 1-0, the pressure was on for UBC to win the second game.

“We were definitely feeling stressed about playing, and feeling the pressure of having to bounce back and win two games in a row against a really good team,” said Thomas.

Despite trailing by a game, the ’Birds successfully equalized the series in the second game, winning 3-1. Kathleen Cahoon, Haneet Parhar and Melissa Goodwin had the three goals for UBC, while Boughn made 25 saves on 26 shots.

With a 1-1 tie in the series, the Thunderbirds' moment of triumph came during the third game as UBC picked up a 1-0 victory to defend their Canada West title.

The lone goal of the game came midway through the second period on an odd-man rush. UBC forward Logan Boyd fed a centering pass to Cassandra Vilgrain, who then put the biscuit in the basket from the slot.

With the win against the Pandas, the ’Birds will now be setting their sights on the U Sport championship in Kingston, Ontario. For the team’s eight graduating seniors, it will be their last chance at a national championship.

“We want [the national championship] bad. There’s a lot of heart in the group. It’s a really special group and we've got to get really fired up,” said Thomas.

With a week remaining before the national championship, Thomas believes that giving the team rest will also be important.

“We’re going to get some rest. We just played two different tough series,” said Thomas.

“It is definitely important for us right now to get the break.”

The U Sport championship will take place from Thursday, March 16 to Sunday, March 19. The ’Birds' opponents are still to be determined.

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