VANCOUVER– The No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds scored three straight goals to come from behind to defeat the Trinity Western Spartans 4-2 Friday night at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver, B.C. The loss drops the Spartans to 11-11-1-0 in Canada West play, while the win improves the first-place Thunderbirds to 21-2-0-0.
 
Scoring for the Spartans were fourth-year forward Kara Yackel (West St. Paul, Man.) with her seventh of the season, and fifth-year forward Kailey Ledoux (Saskatoon, Sask.) with her fourth of the season.
 
Scoring for the Thunderbirds were Vanessa Schaefer with her sixth of the season, Cassidy with her first of the season, Annalisa Wong with her fifth of the season, and Presley Zinger with her first of the season.
 
Trinity Western fifth-year goalie Kate Fawcett (Tottenham, Ont.) made 29 saves in the Spartans' loss. UBC's  Elise Hugens made 11 saves in the Thunderbirds' win.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now return to the Langley Events Centre tomorrow evening for the second game of the home-and-home series. The game has a 7 p.m. (PT) puck drop and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
  
QUOTABLE
Peter Hay, TWU Head Coach
"We executed the game plan. We worked hard and gave ourselves a chance to win for two periods. In the third, some undisciplined penalties changed the tide, giving UBC the momentum and opportunities to seal the game. That being said, we will take the two good periods and try to make it three periods tomorrow and claw our way to a split."

AS IT HAPPENED
The game began with early penalties, as Mia Bierd of UBC was sent off for slashing at 1:10, giving the Spartans an initial power play, though they failed to capitalize. The period remained scoreless until late action unfolded when Mya Healey took an interference penalty at 17:04, putting TWU back on the power play. Yackel promptly converted at 17:11 with assists from Sadie Isfeld and Kyra Anderson, marking her seventh goal of the season. However, just 12 seconds later, UBC responded with Vanessa Schaefer's goal, assisted by Annalise Wong and Ashton Thorpe, leveling the score at 1–1 as the period ended.

The Spartans Ledoux opened the second period with a goal for Trinity Western at 2:30, putting them ahead 2–1. UBC quickly responded at 3:22 when Rhodes scored her first goal of the season, assisted by Madisyn Wiebe and Grace Elliott, leveling the score. UBC then took the lead at 8:35 with a power-play goal from Wong, assisted by Grace Elliott and Jacquelyn Fleming, making it 3–2. Despite a late power-play opportunity for the Spartans, the period ended with UBC maintaining their one-goal advantage, up 3-2.
 
Zinger got the insurance goal and extended UBC's lead to 4–2 at 6:01 of the third period, capitalizing on assists from Wong and Thorpe. Trinity Western had several power play opportunities afterward, including a two-minute advantage starting at 6:33 due to an interference penalty on Meadow Carman, but failed to convert. The period wound down with a series of penalties from both teams, but neither side capitalized on the chances. UBC maintained control, successfully navigating penalty kills and holding their two-goal margin to secure the win.
NOTABLE

• The Thunderbirds outshot the Spartans 33-13.
• TWU was 1-6 on the power play, while UBC finished 1-5.
• The Spartans are currently 2-28 lifetime against the UBC Thunderbirds.
• The Spartans are 0-4 against the Thunderbirds this season. In their last meetings, TWU lost 3-2 and 3-0 in a home-and-home series on December 5-6.
• Last week, the Spartans split with the Manitoba Bisons, winning 5-4 in overtime, and losing 4-1 in Winnipeg, Man.
• Last week, the Thunderbirds swept the Calgary Dinos, winning 5-1 and 3-2 in overtime at home in Vancouver, B.C.

 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as in the NAIA in track and field and cross country and as an independent team in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 33 Canada West team championships.

About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in U SPORTS. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  
 
-TW-