Box Score

THUNDERBIRDS CAPITALIZE ON MOUNT ROYAL'S DEFENSIVE BREAKDOWNS


Calgary â€" The Mount Royal Cougars (2-6-0) lost to the UBC Thunderbirds (5-2-1) tonight by a score of 4-1. Emily Harrison scored for MRU. Rebecca Unrau, Hannah Heisler, Nicole Saxvik, and Tatiana Rafter added goals for UBC.

Both teams came out hard in the first, combining for three goals. Even though Mount Royal outshot the Thunderbirds 9-2 in the first ten minutes, the Cougars still trailed the Thunderbirds after Rebecca Unrau's goal at the 4:11 mark. The second half of the period was dominated by Thunderbirds, as they took control of the puck, and outshot the Cougars 11-3.

Near the end of the first, the game really opened up into fast-paced end-to-end hockey. It was all started when the Cougars broke out on a 2 on 1, and Maggie Shykula-Ross fed a nice pass to Emily Harrison for the Cougars first goal of the game. It didn't take long for the Thunderbirds to respond, as Hannah Heisler was able to breakaway from the pack and shoot one past Jess Ross. This gave UBC a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.

The second period started off where the first left off, with fast paced hockey. On an early Mount Royal power play, UBC's Nicole Saxvik was able to use her speed to break out shorthanded, and fire one past Jess Ross for a UBC 3-1 lead. After Saxvik's goal, both teams had their fair share of chances, but both Danielle Dube, and Jess Ross stayed strong in net.   

Defensive hockey was the trend of the third period. UBC really locked it down, and forced Mount Royal to take a lot of their shots from the outside. Mount Royal pushed hard, but couldn't find a way to solve the UBC defense. UBC was able to add to their lead on a late in the third period, just as their power play expired. Tatiana Rafter took a hard one-time pass from Nicole Saxvik, and fired home the Thunderbird's fourth goal.

Throughout the game, UBC did a great job of taking advantage of the Mount Royal defensive breakdowns. Capitalizing on these breakdowns was the key to the Thunderbird's victory.

Mount Royal now holds a record of 2-7-0. The Thunderbirds are now 6-2-1.

These teams will play the second match of their doubleheader tomorrow afternoon at 2:00pm at the Flames Community Arenas.