UBC and U of S battle hard at Merlis Belsher Place

“We played the right way”, said Huskie head coach Steve Kook. The U of S women’s hockey team went toe-to-toe with the best team in Canada West women’s hockey on Friday night. The UBC T-Birds posted a 2-1 shoot-out win over the Huskies at Merlis Belsher Place, thanks to Shanreet Bazzi’s winning goal in the fifth round.

Both goaltenders were sensational, as UBC’s Elise Hugens made 23 saves, then turned aside four Huskies in the shoot-out. Saskatchewan’s Camryn Drever turned aside 29 T-Bird shots. The 5th-year Edmonton product made some big saves in the 5-minute overtime period when the T-Birds were on the power play. “I thought Cam and our (penalty kill) were the stars of the game”, said Kook.

The visitors were 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Huskies were 1 for 5 as Isabella Pozzi scored at the 6:55 mark of the third period after MacKenzie Kordic scored for UBC in the first minute of the final frame.

“It was pretty much as advertised”, said Kook. “It was going to be a penalty filled game. I disagree with some of those calls. Man, our kill did a heck of a job. I also thought our young defenders played well against a team that put a lot of pressure on the D Zone.”