Vancouver, BC - In continuation of their preparations for regular season play, the UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team will hit the ice to take on the Kazakhstan National Team on Thursday September 18th and the Team BC Under-18 squad on Friday September 19th at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Though Kazakhstan failed to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi this February, the team visits UBC to train in Canada and compete against challenging opponents.
Their best result at the IIHF World Women's Championships came in 2009 when the team placed 6
th. Their current international ranking stands at 7
th worldwide.
Team captain Viktoriya Sazonova and team point leader Natalya Yakovchuk will be ones to watch this Thursday when they take on the 'Birds.
Kazakhstan's head coach Aleksandr Maltsev is himself a prominent Eastern European hockey icon, having played for the USSR in three winter Olympics as well as in the legendary 1972 summit series versus Canada. His expertise will be an invaluable contribution to the Kazakhstani women's hockey program.
Then, on Friday night the crème-de-la-crème of BC's youth female hockey players will square off against the Canada West defending champions.
The Team BC Under-18 squad is part of a development program that trains players at an elite level of competition to prepare them for the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence. This game against UBC will be Team BC's final preparation prior to the U18 National Women's Championships in November where they will compete in Calgary against other elite provincial teams.
This year Team BC boasts four forwards and one defenseman who concurrently compete for the Team Canada Under-18 squad, including Hannah Miller, a power forward who won gold for Canada last year. Other Team Canada players to keep an eye out for will be forward Sarah Potomak, and two-way players Lauren Spring, Brielle Bellervie, and Micah Hart.
These games mark the last weekend of free admission to preseason competition at home before regular season games begin after UBC returns from a four game road trip to Minnesota.
GAME INFO:
vs. Kazakhstan National Team - Thursday, September 19 @ 6:30pm (PST),
vs. UBC vs. Team B.C. Under-18 - Friday, September 20 @ 6pm (PST)
Both games will be played at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
