CALGARY – Gabriella Durante made 37 saves to help the University of Calgary Dinos women's hockey team earn a point in a 3-2 shootout loss to the defending Canada West champion UBC Thunderbirds.

Karine Sandilands scored a pair of goals and buried the shootout winner in the season opener at Father David Bauer Arena.

"We feel good," said Dinos head coach Josh Gosling. "Our group worked hard; we pushed back, and now we challenge ourselves to find another level."

UBC outshot Calgary 40-21 on Friday night. During a scoreless first period, Durante made 14 saves, including a handful worthy of the highlight reel. 

The second period is where the match picked up. Just five minutes into the stanza, defender Emma Tait notched the first goal of the season for the Dinos with an incredible shot from the blue line thanks to a feed from Kate Wagner and Sydney Mercier.

"I couldn't do it without the group in there," Tait expressed. "They're all special players."

The Dinos had the lead for a good chunk of the second, before Sandilands put a tally on the board for the Thunderbirds, with the assist going to Mackenzie Kordic in the late stages of the middle frame.

Not even two minutes into the third, Sandilands and Kordic connected on a two-on-one rush with Sandilands finishing the play and giving UBC the lead.

Kyla Mitenko responded mid-way through the third period. With a beautiful backhand, she went top shelf to beat UBC goaltender Elise Hugens.

After neither side could find the back of the net in overtime, the game went into a shootout where only Sandilands found the scoresheet.

Both teams will be back at Father David Bauer Arena for their second matchup of the weekend on Saturday, Oct. 5. Puck drop is 3 p.m.

-UC-