Sporting an eight-game winning streak, the UBC women’s hockey team picked up two more wins at home to extend the streak to 10 and preserve the first-place spot in Canada West.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the ’Birds won by a score of 4-1, with goals from Haneet Parhar, Nicole Saxvik, Celine Tardif and Kathleen Cahoon. Goalkeeper Amelia Boughn again showed a brilliant performance in the net, stopping 26 of 27 shots.
The second game was a much closer contest, where UBC won 3-2. Although it was only a one-goal victory, the ’Birds did outshoot the Cougars by a rather large margin of 33-21.
“The team’s been working hard the whole season and again, it’s our relentless, resilient ability to get things done,” said Cahoon after the game.
Penalties were also a big part of the second game. Of the 18 total penalties, UBC’s Stephanie Schaupmeyer and Regina’s Merissa Zerr had the most with three each.
“It was a bizarre game. There were a lot of penalties … We just had to regain some emotional control and discipline, and I think once we did that, we were able to settle down and play,” said head coach Graham Thomas.
The ’Birds were first to get onto the scoreboard with four minutes remaining in the first period. Almost immediately after a face-off in the Regina zone, Parhar was able to find the puck in the right circle and bury it past Cougars goalkeeper Jane Kish.
With 38 seconds remaining in the first frame, Regina’s Sam Geekie received a penalty for crosschecking, putting UBC on the power play. Still, the ’Birds gave up a shorthanded goal only nine seconds after the face-off in the Cougars’ zone as Regina’s Jaycee Magwood carried the puck over to the attacking zone and equalized the game.
With the score tied at 1-1, the ’Birds fought hard in the second period to reclaim the lead, outshooting the Cougars 9-2. Still, the period ended scoreless, as Kish came out strong to make the stops.
The lead came again for UBC with 40 seconds remaining in a boarding penalty against Regina’s Jolene Kirkpatrick when UBC’s Mairead Bast rifled the puck from the slot to double the team’s lead.
As the game winded down to the final three minutes, the Cougars’ Kylee Kupper and Lilla Carpenter-Boesch went to the box for slashing and roughing respectively. Cahoon then capitalized on the two-man advantage, and picked up her second goal and fourth point of the weekend.
In the final minute of gameplay, the Cougars pulled Kish from the net for an extra attacker. With the help of a crosschecking penalty against T-Bird Stephanie Schaupmeyer, the Cougars were able to find the net as Merissa Zerr picked up the last goal of the game.
For Thomas, the most impressive part of the game was the fact that many of his players had to play through injury.
“A lot of girls played through bumps and bruises and some more serious injuries, so that was really impressive to see just the toughness,” said Thomas.
The ’Birds will play their next doubleheader next week on November 25 and 26, on the road against the Mount Royal University Cougars.