Montreal, QC – The No. 7 ranked STFX X-Women fell 3-2 in overtime to the No. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds in the U SPORTS quarterfinal game Friday afternoon.
Thunderbirds defense Sophia Gaskell scored her second goal of the game 5:57 into the overtime period to seal the win for the Canada West champions.
The X-Women had overcome a two-goal deficit in the third period to force overtime but were unable to seal the win as the Thunderbirds will be moving onto the semifinal.
After a tentative start for both squads in the opening five minutes of the game, the teams settled in and got some shots on net.
STFX's Kamdyn Switzer and Ellie Brown had a good scoring chance for X early on.
UBC struck first as they had back-to-back power plays midway through the period. Captain Rylind MacKinnon put in a rebound after a scramble in front of the STFX net at the end of the power play with five minutes left in the period.
The X-Women got into more penalty trouble as UBC had five power play opportunities in the opening frame.
X-Women captain Josie Chisholm commented in an intermission interview that her squad needed to stick to their game. "It is an adjustment playing in a different province and with different referees, so we just need to adjust to the refs."
Shots favored UBC 10-7 in the opening period.
The X-Women had a power play three minutes into the second period but were unable to solve the top penalty kill unit in the Canada West conference.
Burbidge had a great chance for X with a high slot shot seven minutes in, but Thunderbirds goaltender Elise Hugens stood her ground.
In the STFX net, Jamie Johnson had several key saves in the game, including two big saves on UBC's Chanreet Bassi as she stacked the pads and kept the puck out.
The period remained scoreless as shots favored the Thunderbirds 9-5 and they hung onto the 1-0 lead after 40 minutes.
In the third period, X-Women forward Ellie Brown thought she scored for the X-Women seven minutes in but the goal was called off as the net was knocked off.
Thirty seconds later the momentum shifted and the Thunderbirds scored their second goal of the game as Sophia Gaskell's point from the shot went in off a STFX skate.
STFX answered back just over a minute later as Anna MacCara brought the puck up the right side on a two-on-one with Brown and fed a nice pass that Brown one-timed past Hugens.
The AUS finalist X-Women tied up the game at the 11:41 mark as U SPORTS first team all-Canadian Lauren Dabrowski bagged in a shot from the point.
The X-Women had a 5-on-3 power play opportunity later in the period but were unable to score the go-ahead goal.
Shots in the third period were 12-6 in favor of STFX as the game closed out 2-2 at the end of regulation.
Both teams exchanged shots in the 10-minute four-on-four overtime frame and UBC hit the post three minutes in. Gaskell's goal came on a point from the shot that was screened and beat Johnson in the STFX net.
X-Women head coach Ben Berthiaume noted that he thought it was a really good game. "We got into penalty trouble in the first but were able to fight through that and kill it off. It shows the resiliency of this team."
"We were down 2-0 and continued to fight through and tied it up. We had a number of chances at the end of the game and in overtime and missed on them but that's the way sports goes, it's a game of inches sometimes."
Johnson had 24 saves in the X net and earned Nike player of the game honours for her team. MacKinnon was the Nike player of the game for the Thunderbirds.
With the win, UBC advances to the U SPORTS semifinal game on Saturday at 7:30 pm EDT, facing off against the winner of the Nipissing-Concordia match. The X-Women will play the losing team in the consolation semifinal Saturday at 1:00 pm EDT.
Coach Berthiaume commented, "Obviously we're really proud of them and proud of what they did and how they played and how they worked. The message heading into this next game is that the motivation has to come for playing for your senior players now. We want to work hard for them and play hard for those teammates."
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Recap courtesy Krista McKenna, STFX Athletics
X-Women Nike Player of the Game Jamie Johnson