The UBC Women’s Hockey Team under the the expertise coaching of Graham Thomas is entering his 7th seventh as the bench boss behind the Lady T-Birds hockey that saw the team split the opening of the 2018-19 season.
The CIS season was kicked-off at the Doug Mitchell Sports Centre with the home team playing host to the Lethbridge Pronghorns.
Friday match-up saw the T-Birds go against the hot hand of “Keeper” Alicia Anderson as she faced 41 shots, many of which were outstanding saves that saw her lead her team to a 2-0 shutout victory.
The visiting Pronghorns struck twice in the opening period both on the PP managing to get goals from Tricia Van Vaerenbergh (8:31) opening the scoring followed by a a second that saw Kyra Greig give the visitors the lead with 6 minutes remaining.
The Pronghorns played a smart game taking the chances when given to them while being stingy in their own zone.
The other end saw Alicia Anderson virtually set up a wall that seemed to be unstoppable preserving the Lethbridge win.
The rematch the following day saw UBC come out strong playing a much more disciplined game at both ends of the ice managing a 3-1 victory avenging the loss the previous night.
This game saw the Pronghorns open the scoring with Tricia Van Vaerenbergh collecting her second of the weekend at 7:21 of the first.
T-Birds Hannah Clayton-Carroll tied the game sending one past Jessica Lohues at 9:40 breaking a scoreless drought for UBC during 69:40 tying the game at one heading to intermission.
The Thunderbirds managed their first lead of the game in the second when Shay-Lee McConnell gave them a 2-1 lead with three minutes remaining as they headed to the final period.
The third saw UBC’s Hannah Clayton-Carroll score her second of the game six minutes in giving the home team a 3-1 lead.
The afternoon matinee saw the T-Birds pull off their first victory as they prepare to hit the road for a pair of games against Mount Royal next week before returning home to face the Calgary Dinos October 20 and 21st.
Graham Thomas is in his seventh season as Head Coach of the T-Birds and has drastically changed the playing style since coming aboard in the 2012-13 season.
Along with his staff they have managed to take the T-Birds to the National Championships on three occasions during his first 6 years behind the bench.
In his term as Head Coach of the UBC Women’s program his regular season record is 113 wins, 37 losses and 18 OTL/SOL and in the postseason
The Birds continue to “fly” in the standings and they are again looking to grab another title.
Graham mentions to Sportswave media Bruce Nolte “It’s all about believing in your players, becoming a team and focus on the future – not the past.””
Congratulations to Graham on this milestone accomplishment!
