VANCOUVER - It's not often that so much can still happen on the last weekend of the regular season, but that's the case for the UBC Thunderbirds as they travel to Edmonton to take on the Alberta Pandas on Friday and Saturday.
The Thunderbirds face an array of potential playoff scenarios based on their results and the results of other teams in Canada West. UBC currently sits in third with a 15-7-4 record but they're just one point behind Regina for second and one point up on Albert as well. The top four teams are all assured of hosting a playoff series, but the top-two receive a bye. In addition, the team finishing third avoids top-ranked Calgary until the Canada West finals, should they make it that far.
The standings are so tight that any combination of results from this weekend could drastically change the playoff bracket. As it stands right now, UBC would host Saskatchewan while Alberta would host Manitoba, but Manitoba and Saskatchewan are also separated by just a point.
It's certainly messy, but here are the ways that UBC could finish in different positions in the standings:
Second (first-round bye): Win both games, Regina loses at least one game in regulation; win one game in regulation, Regina loses both in regulation; get three points, Regina gets one point or less.
Third (host playoff series): Win both games, Regina gets three points; Get three points, Regina gets two points; get two points, surrender three points to Alberta, Regina loses both games.
Fourth (host playoff series): Lose both games; Win one game, surrender three points to Alberta, Regina gets at least one point.
That's not to mention the different ways UBC's first (and possibly second) round match-ups could change with a few different outcomes. For the Thunderbirds, though, the important thing is just to stay hot. After all, UBC is 8-0-1 in their past nine games, having surrendered just 12 goals during that span. They have a better record than any Canada West team during that streak, and the girls are now confident enough that playoff match-ups don't matter nearly as much as maintaining that positive momentum.
“I think for us, we can't get ahead of ourselves,” said head coach
Graham Thomas. “Whatever comes our way, whether it's a bye or third or fourth, we have to focus on our work during the week and our preparation.
“We're excited for what we've accomplished so far but now it's the most important weeks and we need to be playing our best. If we prepare and focus like we have been, the rest will take care of itself.”
In the past month, UBC's charge in the standings has been led by the goaltending duo of
Danielle Dube (Vancouver, BC) and
Samantha Langford (Pense, SK). UBC has allowed the third fewest goals in the conference, and both goalies rank in the top-four for goals against average and save percentage.
They'll be running into a tough goaltender in the opposing net, though, with Alberta's Michala Jeffries also among the league leaders in those categories. Alberta is one of the only teams to allow fewer goals than UBC on the season, an impressive feat for the historic hockey program that has been without their captain Sarah Hilworth for most of the season. Karla Bourke has taken on the captain's “C” and the scoring burden in her absence, ranking 10
th in the conference with 22 points and an excellent +17 rating.
UBC has three scorers joining Bourke in the top-20 in
Rebecca Unrau (Humboldt, SK),
Tatiana Rafter (Winnipeg, MB) and
Kaitlin Imai (Coquitlam, BC), thanks in large part to their successful power play production. UBC sports the conference's top unit with the man-advantage, scoring on 18.3% of their power play opportunities.
“We've been really focused on it, studying video and working in practice,” said Thomas. “Our power play realizes it's a privilege and they've been outworking the other team's penalty kill. Sometimes you get too relaxed with the extra player and we haven't been doing that.”
The penalty killing unit has also been strong, ranking second in the conference with an 86.8% success rate. Perhaps just as important as effort and scheme has been that UBC has avoided the penalty box, limiting chances for the opposing power play units to get comfortable. Last year UBC averaged 13.2 penalty minutes a game and has cut that all the way to 10.1 this year, one of the most disciplined marks in the conference.
“We really try to focus on out-working the other team and making the team-specific adjustments,” said Thomas. “A big part of the penalty kill has been the goaltending, too, and they help out a lot in that regard.”
The Pandas grade out as average on special teams, perhaps providing an advantage for the Thunderbirds as they look to solidify their position as a team to watch out for when playoffs begin next weekend.
The puck drops at Clare Drake Arena at 6 p.m. on Friday and at 5 p.m. (Pacific) on Saturday.
-30-
