VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's hockey team is embarking on a road to the American Midwest to battle three NCAA Division I schools.
“We are very excited to be playing against some of the NCAA teams in Divison I,” said UBC head coach Milan Dragicevic. “This is our fourth year in a row going to Minnesota and it is a trip that all our players look forward to playing, playing in front of ten thousand fans is exciting and the atmosphere is second to none.”
On Saturday, October 1, UBC will battle the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, ranked 14th in the USA Today/USA Hockey pre-season hockey poll.
The next night, UBC will visit Mariucci Arena to face off against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The final game of the trip will take place October 3 against the Minnesota State Mavericks in Mankato.
Both Minnesota and Minnesota State are members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Last year on this exhibition road trip, UBC lost 6-1 to Nebraska-Omaha, 6-0 to Minnesota and 1-0 to Minnesota State.
“We just want to get better everyday and improve on our specialty teams,” said Dragicevic of this trip.
There won't be much time for the Thunderbirds to rest after coming home from Minnesota. UBC will open the Canada West regular season on October 7 against the Calgary Dinos at the Doug Mitchell Sports Centre.
