VANCOUVER – Friday night's tilt between the UBC Thunderbirds (25-2) and Alberta Pandas (10-8-7) proved yet again why both programs are two of the hungriest in the Canada West as both teams battled for every inch of ice, but ultimately it would be the host blue and gold earning a hard-fought 3-0 victory.
The shutout was Elise Hugens' sixth of the season and 12th combined for UBC this campaign, setting a new program record, Hugens and Mya Lucifora both with six shutouts on the year.
Friday kicked off an action-packed weekend in celebration of UBC's graduating class as 12 UBC skaters were set to don the blue and gold for the final regular season contests of their U SPORTS careers.
Hugens was her usual steady self in the first period, thwarting three Alberta powerplay chances in the frame. Not to be outdone was
Mackenzie Dojahn, who kept the game knotted at zero thanks to a stellar save off a rebound that saw Annalise Wong try to snap the puck into the open cage, only for Dojahn to slide post-to-post in desperation to keep the game even.
It was only fitting on senior night that the game's crucial first tally came off the stick of Carman, a steady blueliner who has helped quarterback UBC's defence for the past two seasons. Midway through the second frame, the Nova Scotian collected the puck in her own end and made two dazzling moves in the neutral zone before rifling a wrist shot under the armpit of Dojahn to break the gridlock.
Carman's first goal of the season sent the crowd into a frenzy and it would be all UBC the rest of the second period as Canada West's top ranked powerplay went to work. Mia Bierd parked in front of Dojahn and provided the perfect screen for Ilona Markova to sneak a wrister that deflected into the net to extend the T-Birds' lead to 2-0 entering the third.
UBC continued its momentum in the final frame to keep Alberta on its heels. Jacquelyn Fleming darted off the wing and found a trailing Bierd who wired home the insurance marker to seal the victory for UBC.
Hugens turned aside 17 shots from the Pandas to improve to a perfect 15-0 on the season.
Tomorrow's puck drop is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and tickets are available online or at the door. The game will also be available to stream on Canada West TV.
