Calgary, AB - The UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team is on the verge of clinching a playoff spot as they head to Mount Royal for a pair of games this weekend.
The Thunderbirds, at 11-7-4, have already surpassed the program's highest win total, but have their sights set beyond just a win total. The Thunderbirds want to host a playoff series, which the top four teams in the Canada West regular season all get the opportunity to do.
UBC currently sits in fourth, five points up on fifth place Manitoba, with six games to go. They're also just five points back of second place Alberta. The top two teams receive a bye through the first round of the playoffs.
Perhaps most importantly, though, is that UBC is 10 points up on Mount Royal, who represent the last team out of the playoffs. If UBC can secure at least two points this weekend, they'll be assured of a playoff berth.
If the opportunity to clinch a spot is good motivation, the opportunity to make a playoff push must be great motivation. That is the situation Mount Royal finds itself in, coming off a win against Regina last Saturday but sitting four points out of the current playoff picture.
“We can't underestimate Mount Royal,” said head coach
Graham Thomas. “They're well coached and they're going to be desperate because they need these points. They need to beat us to stay alive.”
UBC will be fully healthy this weekend, which is rare for them this year. They'll need all of their lines firing, as Mount Royal have their backs against the wall. Mount Royal also has two scorers in the top-20 in the conference in Chrissy Hodgson and Tanika Dawson.
The Thunderbirds counter with three top-20 scorers of their own in
Rebecca Unrau (Humboldt, SK),
Kaitlin Imai (Coquitlam, BC) and
Tatiana Rafter (Winnipeg, MB).
Between the pipes, UBC will rely on what has become perhaps the best goaltending duo in the Canada West. Experienced veteran
Danielle Dube (Vancouver, BC) has received the bulk of the starts and sports the conference's top save percentage at .941. Her counterpart in the goalie rotation,
Samantha Langford (Pense, SK), sports an equally impressive .918 save percentage and is coming off her first career shutout on Saturday night.
“It felt really good,” said Langford. “I'm always ready to go when called upon.”
For Thomas, it's a great situation to have, with multiple reliable goalies to deploy on a given night. Beyond that, Dube and Langford are fundamentally different in net, meaning it's a difficult transition for the opposition to switch from one goalie to the other.
“It's very nice going down the stretch,” said Thomas. “We have that option, to split them, and have success with both of them. And for other teams, they don't know what to expect or who to prepare for.”
Regardless of who Thomas sends out for each game, Mount Royal can expect to run into difficulty putting the puck in the net, as the Thunderbirds have allowed just seven goals in their past five games.
Getting two points from the weekend series might be the most immediate goal, as it would clinch a playoff spot. However, the Thunderbirds are aiming much higher and will look to take both games, four points, and step closer to hosting a playoff series for the first time in the program's history.
The puck drops at 6:00 pm PST on Friday at Flames Community Arena and at 1:00 pm PST Saturday.
