CALGARY – A late third-period goal from the Alberta Pandas wasn't enough to overcome the University of Calgary Dinos women's hockey team, who held firm defensively to secure a 2–1 win Friday night at Father David Bauer Arena.

"I think that was a character win," said Dinos head coach Josh Gosling. "We didn't start great. We dealt with some beat-up players, but we stuck to it. Our standard stayed high, and I'm really happy with the way we pulled through that one."

Although the first Battle of Alberta matchup this season started slow on the scoresheet, the Pandas came out swinging on all fronts. Despite having the 10-3 shots on goal advantage over the Dinos in the first period, the visitors could not find space behind Calgary goaltender Amelia Awad. A big part of that was thanks to the home team's defensive play, blocking everything in their path.

"That's part of our identity," Gosling said. "We know that we need to get in front of pucks, so that's how we're going to play. We're going to block pucks, we're going to stay in the lanes, and we're going to make it really hard on their offence. As a team, it shows how much we care when they block the way they do."

The Dinos found their rhythm in the second period. Midway through the frame, A backhand pass from Evelyn Lawrence rebounded and wound up on Hannah Reagh's stick, who had no problem launching it past Glover for the first goal of the night, giving the Dinos a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes of play.

At 9:32 of the final frame, April Klarenbach doubled the advantage. After Glover's pad stopped her initial shot, Klarenbach picked up her own rebound and buried it on the second attempt to make it 2–0.

The Pandas cut the deficit with less than a minute remaining when Annie King found the loose puck in front of the net and tucked it past Awad, but that was as close as they came.

"I've just been really meshing with my teammates lately," said Lawrence, who had two assists on the night. "We had a rough first period, but we bounced back. We brought the energy, the good vibes, and crashed the net."

"Tomorrow is a fresh day," added Gosling. "We can build off this one. There are things to clean up, but it's a new opportunity."

The Dinos and Pandas wrap up their home-and-home set on Saturday night at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m.

-UC-