EDMONTON - Just over eight years to the day that the University of Alberta Pandas last met the University of Calgary Dinos in Canada West conference action, Jennifer Jubb, Leah Copeland, and Sarah Hilworth combined for eight points in a 6-0 Alberta victory, Friday night at Clare Drake Arena.
Leading the #3-ranked Pandas in game-winning goals before entering tonight's action, Calgary native Copeland got her fourth when she opened the scoring at the 9:39 mark of the opening frame by firing a screened wristshot that bee-lined for the top shelf behind Dinos' netminder Katie Urness.
The senior Calgary native remained under fire in the first period, as the Pandas put 18 shots towards the Dinos' goal, including a soft shot from defenseman Andrea Boras and a deft point-blank tip from Jubb that went five-hole to make the score 3-0 at the end of 20 minutes.
Calgary got some life in the second when Alberta's top rearguard, Stephanie Ramsay, got a breakaway coming out of the penalty box but was stopped in tight by Urness on a backhand deke. Play then continued down to the Alberta end, where sophomore forward Taylor McLeod rang a shot off the crossbar.
The Dinos continued to pressure for the rest of the middle stanza and managed to finish the period with only a 10-7 shot difference in favour of Alberta, but without scoring a goal, their momentum disappeared and the Pandas resumed control in the third.
In a span of 1:44, Jubb scored her second of the night on a backhand from the faceoff dot and Canada West scoring leader Tarin Podloski got her 12th goal of the season, and second in two games, when she was sent in on a partial breakaway by Hilworth.
The Vancouver native entered the game riding a three-game goal-scoring streak of her own and pushed it to four on the goal of the game. Linemate Copeland deked out two Dino defenders along the Calgary goal line and drew Urness towards her before sifting a perfect pass to Hilworth to pop the puck into the open net for her sixth goal of the season and 11th point.
The 13-0 Pandas finished the night with a 38-11 advantage on the shot clock and went 1 for 4 on the power-play. The 1-10 Dinos, who lost their 10th straight game, went 0 for 5.
The two teams travel to Calgary for the second half of the home-and-home series, puck drop at 3:00 PM MT.
