Rian Santos gets a point-blank chance on UBC's Mya Lucifora on Saturday (Rich Lam photo).
Rian Santos gets a point-blank chance on UBC's Mya Lucifora on Saturday (Rich Lam photo).
November 16, 2025

Griffins blanked by Thunderbirds in weekend rematch

Box Score

UBC Athletics

VANCOUVER – The MacEwan Griffins (2-10-2) tested the UBC Thunderbirds (12-0) Saturday at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, but the T-Birds' depth paid dividends as goals from throughout the lineup fueled a 5-0 victory, extending the team's season-long win streak to 12 games.

"We juggled the lines going into the weekend for a little shakeup and we got the results we needed," UBC head coach Graham Thomas said. "When all four lines are contributing and creating, it is tough to play against. 

Both the Griffins and T-Birds swapped their goalies for the Saturday night match-up as Mya Lucifora and Lindsey Johnson took the reins between the pipes for UBC and MacEwan, respectively. 

It was the top line for the Griffins that applied pressure early as Rian Santos almost singlehandedly broke the scoring, but was turned aside on back-to-back plays by Lucifora. 

After dodging a couple MacEwan scoring opportunities, the trio of Olivia Buckley, Mya Healey and Mia Bierd picked up right where they left off on Friday. Healey took a hit to make a pass up the boards to Buckley, who darted on net from the wing and sniped a wrist shot into the top corner to give UBC a 1-0 lead entering the second period. 

Thomas has been challenging his roster this season to produce secondary scoring. His T-Birds squad rose to the occasion as three different scorers cashed in with a flurry of unanswered goals in the second as Grace Elliott, Madisyn Wiebe and Bierd scored off a series of pretty passing plays.

All three goals were scored within a two-minute span that proved to provide an insurmountable lead for the Griffins, who were unable to solve Lucifora. She turned aside 16 shots for her second shutout of the Canada West season and third of her U SPORTS career to date.

"She (Lucifora) made a couple of those saves to bail us out and she just made timely stops that were consistent and smart," Thomas said. "Both of our goalies have been really solid for us throughout this season."

Karine Sandilands scored the lone goal of the third to put the finishing touches on a decisive win for the T-Birds, who improve to 12-0 as UBC continues its hottest start in program history. 

The Griffins will be back on the road next weekend as they visit the Saskatchewan Huskies.