Photo courtesy: Huskie Athletics/Electric Umbrella Images Ltd.

By Ryan Flaherty

feisty affair

No love lost as Huskies drop scrappy tilt with Thunderbirds

Nov 29, 2025 | 1:32 AM

The Huskies women’s hockey team showed plenty of moxie but the UBC Thunderbirds came through with a strong finish to secure a 4-1 victory in a bitterly contested battle on Friday night in Vancouver.

The Dogs stayed with the T-birds for the first two periods before the top-ranked team in the nation pulled away with three goals in the final frame of a contest that developed a significant edge as it wore on, culminating in a 10-player scrum at the final whistle that led to over 100 minutes in penalties being handed out.

The game started off rather quietly, however, with just one minor penalty for hooking assessed to each team in an opening period that saw UBC take an early lead on Mia Bierd’s fifth goal of the season just shy of the five-minute mark.

Saskatchewan leveled the score at 2:25 of the second when Kahlen Wisener deflected an Avery Gottselig shot past UBC netminder Elise Hugens for her third goal of the year.

Tempers flared late in the period when Gottselig was whistled for boarding after a hit on Bierd. A scrum erupted and when the smoke cleared, Gottselig and Shelby Williamson along with UBC’s Olivia Buckley and Kailee Peppler were each given two-minute roughing minors. The extra penalty to Gottselig gave the Thunderbirds a power play that carried over to the final stanza, where Canada West leading scorer Grace Elliott cashed in to put the T-birds back on top.

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The Dogs worked to produce an equalizer but Thunderbirds captain Annalise Wong shoveled a rebound past Colby Wilson at 13:45 to give the home side some insurance. Peppler added an empty-net goal to complete the scoring with 30 seconds remaining.

But the action didn’t end there. With the game in hand, Buckley went after Gottselig again and delivered a cross-check that was penalized with five seconds left on the clock. And at the final buzzer, every player on the ice aside from the goaltenders piled into a scrum, with Buckley leaving the penalty box to join the fray.

When the dust settled, all nine skaters who were legally on the ice received 10-minute misconducts and Buckley was handed two minutes for leaving the bench and a game misconduct. UBC was also given an additional 10-minute misconduct, assesed to the coaching staff. Peppler and Huskies forward Bronwyn Boucher each got double minors for head contact to round out the penalty bonanza.

In terms of actual power plays, Saskatchewan was 0-for-4 and UBC scored once on three chances. Wilson made 37 saves in defeat while Hugens stopped 19 shots to earn the win. The Huskies are now 6-5-2 on the season. The Thunderbirds improve to 14-1 with the victory.

With the backdrop of Friday’s wild finish, the teams will meet again on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT (5 p.m. Sask) at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Fans can listen to the broadcast on the free HuskieFAN app and huskiefan.ca.

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by Ryan Flaherty