VANCOUVER – The Alberta Pandas are one win away from clinching their first Canada West title since 2020 after earning a 1-0 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds in game one of the conference final series Thursday night at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
A goaltending duel between two of the top netminders in the country forced a scoreless game beyond 60 minutes in a contest that had every indication of being a long night. But just 2:40 into the first overtime period,
Abby Soyko, who scored twice in Alberta's semifinal clinching win just four days ago, got the puck past a screened Elise Hugens.
"I don't know if we're a more skilled team but I know we're a team that believes and works hard for each other and that's starting to build some resilience as a result of similar situations throughout the course of the year," said Alberta head coach,
Howie Draper, after a game in which his team appeared sluggish early but gained momentum as things wore on. "Adversity's kind of what we've experienced all year."
UBC held a wide margin in puck possession and scoring chances throughout the game, but just couldn't manage to get one past Canada West Goaltender of the Year,
Grace Glover, who finished the night with 33 saves for her second shutout of the playoffs.
The lone goal of the game came off a set faceoff play in UBC's zone.
Jadynn Morden won the draw back to the point to
Brooklyn Tews who left for Soyko. The third-year forward then cut to the middle, and while a screen developed in front, unleashed a wrister for her third of the playoffs.
The three-time defending conference champion T-Birds outshot the Pandas by a 33-19 margin overall, 13-2 in the opening period alone. But a squad that scored 28 power play goals in the regular season had just one opportunity Thursday, as did the Pandas, in what was a low event contest in all respects.
The T-Birds now face their first elimination game of the post-season heading into game two of the Canada West Final. Puck drop is set for Friday night at 7:00 p.m. PT at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
