SASKATOON, Sask. - Following a 1-1 series last week against the MacEwan Griffins, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies were looking for a few more wins at home to close out their season as they took on the U SPORTS No. 1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds.

The start of the first period saw the Thunderbirds get on the board first as they were able to sneak one past Huskies goalie Emma Backman and put the Dogs on the back foot early. Similar to last weekend, defence was the name of the game for the Huskies in the opening 20 minutes of the bout. Despite being out shot 7-3 in the first half of the period, the tenacious Huskies defence was not willing to let UBC back on the board.

Despite some penalty trouble on both sides of the ice and some high-danger scoring chances for the Dogs, the score going into the 2nd remained 1-0 thanks to Saskatchewan's Emma Backman who stood on her head to keep the Thunderbirds at bay. 

After a close first period, the second opened with two quick UBC goals from the nation's top goal scorer in Grace Elliott and Ashton Thorpe to put the Dogs down 3-0. But the scoreboard didn't reflect how the Huskies performed on the ice. 

The Dogs fought hard and didn't give the Thunderbirds an inch to work with, generating some great scoring chances. 

Halfway through the second period, the Huskies found themselves on back to back power plays and were looking to strike. Despite the dogs efforts and a great up close chance from fifth-year Jasper Desmarais, they weren't able to sneak one behind UBC's Elise Hugens who would record her 6th shutout of the season. 

The Thunderbirds would explode for three more goals in the period, bringing their advantage to 6-0 going into the third after Karine Sandilands, Mya Healey, and Chanreet Bassi all found the back of the net.

The Huskies showed no signs of quitting at any point in the game, and the third period was no exception. Despite the game being seemingly out of reach, they continued to fight against the top team in U SPORTS women's hockey, a pattern for the team this season. Despite the Dogs best efforts, a three-goal third period would sound the final buzzer for a 9-0 UBC win. Goal scorers in the final frame were Jaylyn Morris and Mackenzie Kordic who recorded the final two goals of the night.

The two teams will be back at it tomorrow night for a 5:00 puck drop at Merlish Belsher Place. Tomorrow's game will serve as the Huskies "Senior Night" with the Dogs recognizing a trio of graduating student-athletes prior to puck drop. As always, you watch live on CanadaWest.TV presented by BioSteel, or listen at HuskieFAN.ca.