Jan. 30, 2017

Powered up: Women's hockey shuts down Pronghorns, regain season momentum

Written by Bill Situ

The UBC women’s hockey team picked up back-to-back shutout wins against the Lethbridge Pronghorns on their return to home ice.

The first game of the weekend doubleheader ended in a 1-0 win for the ’Birds, with the lone goal from defenceman Katie Zinn during the second period. Although UBC outshot Lethbridge 33-13 and had 10 power plays, a strong goaltending performance by Pronghorns netminder Alicia Anderson kept the game to a one-goal victory.

In the second game, UBC earned a 3-0 shutout over Lethbridge on three power play goals in three separate periods. Shots on goal were again heavily in favour of the T-Birds, this time by 36-17.

“It was definitely a huge weekend for us to gain a little momentum back,” said Nicole Saxvik after the game. “We were really relentless in this game, so it really paid off.”

The first of the three goals came from Saxvik in the final 18 seconds of the first frame. After a tripping penalty against Lethbridge’s Isabel Johnson, the ’Birds mounted strong offensive pressure in the Pronghorns' zone. Stephanie Schaupmeyer landed a shot from the left circle before Saxvik rebounded it from outside the crease to pick up her 12th goal of the season.

Midway into the second period, Johnson again went to the box for a tripping penalty. This time, it was Celine Tardiff who got the goal for UBC, firing a one-timer from the slot to beat goalkeeper Jessica Lohues.

As the game winded down to the final two minutes of the third period, a body checking penalty against the Pronghorns' Sarah Spence put the ’Birds on power play for the 11th time, allowing UBC to strike again. After a scrum in front of the Lethbridge net, Schaupmeyer was able to find the puck in the slot and bury it past Lohues to secure the 3-0 win for UBC.

“[The power plays] were crucial today. Yesterday we were a little frustrated with not converting, so today it was nice to see the power play goals go through,” said UBC head coach Graham Thomas after the game.

With the win against the Pronghorns, the ’Birds now hold a 20-3-1 record and have tied the school record in most wins in a single season. UBC has also earned the first-place spot in the U Sports championships.

“With four games left … we got a good chance at setting a new record and setting a new bar for us as a program ... and getting that first place, which has never been done,” said Thomas.

The ’Birds will travel on the road next week to play their second-last doubleheader of the regular season against the Regina Cougars. 

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