VANCOUVER - It's the UBC Thunderbirds first home weekend of 2011 and they're looking to pick up a pair of wins as they make their push towards the playoffs. They are 2-2 on the road so far in the new year but they'll need as many wins as possible down the stretch in the incredibly tight Canada West playoff race.
A LOOK AT THE T-BIRDS
The UBC Thunderbirds have had a couple of wild weekends on the road to kick off the second half of the regular season. They split their series with the then no. 1 team in the CIS, the Alberta Golden Bears and followed up their huge win with a 7-2 drubbing at the hands of the Calgary Dinos, only to come back the next night and defeat their hosts 5-3.
The ups and downs have left the team in a strange position – although the 'Birds are only four points out of second place in Canada West, they are also back in sixth place. That means that wins are at a premium against Regina, the conference's seventh place team.
For the Thunderbirds, the newly formed line of
Matthew Schneider,
Marc Desloges, and
Tyler Ruel has been making magic. The trio racked up nine points in their last game, including two goals and two assists by team captain Schneider. Ruel has shown up on the score sheet consistently as well, registering six points in his last four games, as well as a shootout goal to help his team topple Alberta.
Meanwhile, fellow forwards
Max Grassi and
Justin McCrae have continued their nearly point-per-game pace, which finds them among the top ten scorers in Canada West.
On the backend,
Nolan Toigo continues to give the Blue and Gold a steady presence, logging a ton of ice time and playing in every situation. His counterpart
Matt Pepe has been one of the hardest working skaters on the ice, and one of the toughest defencemen to play against in Canada West.
Between the pipes,
Jordan White continues his incredible season. He is the only goalie in the conference to have started every game. He has been on the ice for almost 200 more minutes than the next busiest goalie, and seen more pucks than any other netminder.
A LOOK AT THE COUGARS
Regina skates onto the ice at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre with a dangerous edge. Although they are in seventh place in Canada West, their playoff hopes are still alive, which makes them a desperate group. In their last meeting with UBC, Regina managed a split on home ice. They'll look to repeat that success on the road this weekend.
The Cougars are Canada West's most penalized team, which means that if UBC can play disciplined hockey and get their power play going, the 'Birds will be well on their way to a win. Regina is led by Terrance DeLaronde on offence with ten points in 16 games. Lucas Isley and the towering Dillon Johnstone have nine points each, with Isley's five goals tops among the Cougars.
Goalie Adam Ward plays the bulk of Regina's games in net, and sports a save percentage of .893.
COACH DRAGICEVIC ON...
The quest for the post-season:
“The bottom line is that we've put ourselves in a position where we feel like we control our own destiny in terms of making the playoffs. It's good to pick up points on the road, but we need to be a lot more consistent game in, game out if we want to make a big playoff push.”
The reason for hot-and-cold play:
“The last three weekends, it's been our Friday nights - a lack of desperation where we don't play very well, and then all of a sudden there's a sense of urgency for Saturday. We need that sense of urgency when the puck drops Friday night. We can't wait for the next night. We're working on some things to correct it. All of our players understand that we have to play two full games, not just one, because getting two points per weekend just isn't good enough. If we make a commitment and play desperate hockey like I know we can, then the results will take care of themselves.”
Facing a dangerous last place team:
“Regina's a good team. They're very physical. They play a really straightforward systematic game. They're tough to play against, they have good goaltending, and they have a power play that's very streaky. They present a challenge with their size. These guys are going to be very good as they're fighting for their playoff lives as well.”
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