VANCOUVER - Canada West women's ice hockey now has its own version of Diego Maradona's famous Hand of God goal.
While not quite as controversial and with no clear video evidence to confirm the incident, it appears the UBC Thunderbirds were the victims of a kicked-in game winning goal in overtime Saturday night. The goal, scored by three-time Olympic gold medalist Hayley Wickenheiser, gave the Calgary Dinos a 6-5 overtime victory.
BOXSCORE
It was a disappointing finish to what had been a very strong performance for the Thunderbirds, as they gave the defending CIS Champions all they could handle. A night after losing 5-2 in a game that was closer than the final score would indicate, UBC came out with even more intensity, putting the Dinos on their heels early and often.
The Thunderbirds were backstopped by sophomore
Samantha Langford (Pense, SK), the third UBC goalie to see game action already this season. The final tally of six goals for the Dinos masks what was a fantastic performance from Langford, who made 35 saves and was at the core of several important penalty kills.
“We want to be able to go with any goalie on any given night,” said coach
Graham Thomas, discussing his three goaltenders all playing well to start the year. “It's a great problem to have.”
UBC struck first 4:31 into the contest when
Kaitlin Imai (Coquitlam, BC) found
Rebecca Unrau (Humboldt, SK) with a nice cross-crease pass for a one-timer. Unfortunately, the Thunderbirds couldn't capitalize on their three other power plays, missing an opportunity to expand their one-goal lead.
Imai scored just 1:42 into the second frame, another power play marker, but the momentum wouldn't last long. Calgary would score three straight goals over a span of seven minutes and had UBC reeling.
However, just 21 seconds after the Dinos had taken the lead, Genevieve Carpenter-Boesch (Regina, SK) answered back to even the score.
The third period would prove to be one of the more exciting frames of the young season, as the teams traded goals and penalties, with Langford making 16 saves to steady a Thunderbirds unit that was under heavy pressure.
After
Tatiana Rafter (Winnipeg, MB) was rejected on a shot attempt,
Stephanie Schaupmeyer (Kelowna, BC) buried the rebound to make it 4-3. UBC managed to kill a 5-on-3 disadvantage, and Langford also turned away Wickenhesier on a breakaway.
After a sloppy defensive zone turnover on the power play by UBC, Russian National Team player Iya Gavrilova responded with her second goal of the game, burying the feed from Wickenheiser to tie the game at four.
With four minutes to go, Rafter netted a power play goal to give UBC yet another lead, this time at 5-4. But after an untimely penalty and a pulled goalie gave the Dinos a 6-on-4 advantage, Stephanie Ramsay would tie the game and force overtime with just 1:12 remaining.
It was in the four-on-four extra frame that Wickenheiser drove the net and appeared to score the game's deciding goal with her foot, securing the victory for Calgary. The Thunderbirds were clearly disappointed, but the crowd gave the team a nice ovation for their effort after the Dinos had left the ice.
Regardless of the unfortunate ending, the game was a big statement for the young Thunderbirds team. After all, the Dinos are the defending champions and a highly touted team, and taking a point from them (not to mention matching last season's point total in just their fourth game) is something the Thunderbirds should be able to build on.
“We've gotta let this drive us,” said a proud Thomas. “We can't get complacent, we want more and we expect more.”
UBC will have a chance to build on a relatively successful first two weeks as they hit the road for the first time this season next weekend to play Lethbridge for a pair of games. The loss moves UBC's record to 1-1-2, while the Dinos sit atop the Canada West conference with a record of 4-0. Calgary heads back home to host Regina next weekend looking to extend their undefeated start to the season.
