VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds put the finishing touches on a record-setting regular season with a 3-1 victory over the University of Calgary Dinos women's hockey team on Saturday at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

The victory cemented the 2024-25 version of the Thunderbirds (25-2-1) as the winningest regular season team in Canada West history.

The Thunderbirds came out flying. Their relentless forecheck created numerous scoring chances, but Calgary goaltender Amelia Awad made 10 saves in the first period, many of them spectacular.

UBC finally broke through at 13:17, when McCallum deflected Sophia Gaskell's point shot into the Dinos goal.

Calgary did a good job of tilting the ice in the second period and was rewarded at 15:37 when Sydney Mercier stole the puck in the UBC zone and slid a pinpoint pass to Brooklyn Anderson in the low slot. With a lightning-quick release, Anderson snapped the puck top shelf past UBC goaltender Elise Hugens, knotting the game at one.

Both teams did an admirable job defending the neutral zone to start the third, with neither team creating much until the hockey gods smiled on UBC at 7:35. Ashton Thorpe's dump-in attempt hit a rut in the ice near the face-off circle and took a fortuitous bounce up and over Awad's right shoulder. 

The good fortune seemed to light a fire under the T-Birds, who struck again on the power play barely two minutes later at 9:57. Jacquelyn Fleming showed great vision and patience in feathering a cross-crease pass on to Grace Elliott's tape. Diving to the ice, Elliott drove the puck into the back of the net, giving UBC the critical 3-1 insurance goal.

A season after losing three former all-stars to graduation, the Dinos finish the 2024-25 campaign with an 8-18-1-1 record. Rebecca Clarke and Kate Wagner, who spent six years with the program, played their final games with Calgary on Saturday. 

The Thunderbirds will begin the quest for those bigger goals in two weeks at home when they play the winner of the first round Canada West playoff series between Manitoba and Trinity Western.