UBC Thunderbirds beat Queen’s Gaels, will face McGill Martlets in semifinals

NAPANEE, Ont. — Nicole Saxvik’s goal at 17:17 of the third period broke a tie and lifted the No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds to a 2-1 victory over the No. 8 Queen’s Gaels on Thursday at the U Sports women’s hockey championship.

Stephanie Schaupmeyer also scored for UBC and Saxvik picked up an assist for a two-point outing. Amelia Boughn made 17 saves for the win.

Kaylie Dennis had the lone goal for Queens, which got a 35-save effort from Stephanie Pascal.

The Thunderbirds advanced to Saturday’s semifinals, where they will face the No. 4 McGill Martlets. 

“I’m proud of our group for sticking to the system, staying resilient and making sure we finished it off,” said UBC coach Graham Thomas.

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“We’re that much closer, (and) now we have to stick to the process, we’re excited for the opportunity to get back there.”

Gabrielle Davidson scored twice as the Martlets survived an early scare to beat the No. 5 StFX X-Women 3-1 in Thursday’s other quarter-final.

Kara Power opened the scoring for the X-Women just 41 seconds into the game, but Davidson drew McGill level at 13:38 of the first period.

The Martlets took over control in the second period, with goals from Jade Downie-Landry and Davidson.

“All in all, it’s obviously great to get the win, but I’m not sure we played our complete game,” said Martlets head coach Peter Smith. “We’re young, we were maybe nervous in the first period, so it’s good to get that first win under our belts.”

Rookie of the Year Tricia Deguire was steady in net for McGill, turning aside 22-of-23 shots. StFX’s Ariana Orasanin stopped 21-of-24 shots in taking the loss.

Quarter-final play continues on Friday. The No. 6 Alberta Pandas face the No. 3 Saint Mary’s Huskies, while the No. 7 Concordia Stingers plays the No. 2 Guelph Gryphons.

The Canadian Press