Vancouver - After sweeping the Calgary Dinos last weekend in the quarterfinals, the third-seed Thunderbirds take off to Saskatoon where they will face the second-seed Saskatchewan Huskies this weekend in the best-of-three Canada West semi-final. The victor of the series advances to the Canada West Championship.
Game 1 - Friday February 21, 5:00 pm (PST)
Game 2 - Saturday February 22, 5:00 pm (PST)
Game 3 (if necessary) - Sunday February 23, 5:00 pm (PST)
UBC head coach
Graham Thomas hopes to maintain the energy that carried his team to two electrifying wins over the Dinos.
"Every line, every defender, every forward – we all need to be working together playing a team game, putting in a team effort, looking to build on our character wins [over the Dinos]. We need everyone to be playing their role at their best to ensure success for our team this weekend."
Ranked #6 nationally, the 'Birds battled #10 Saskatchewan just two weekends ago, however the outcome was not in UBC's favour as they lost both games. But now that the stakes are exponentially higher, having something to prove this time around could only serve as an energizing purpose for UBC.
"We're really looking forward to this opportunity and a second chance to go back to play a full 60-minute team effort. They're a really good team, and we're excited to battle it out and play some good, exciting hockey."
In their last meeting, the Huskies drew penalties like straws from a hat, so needless to say special teams will be a crucial factor with discipline also playing into the equation. During the regular season UBC and Saskatchewan's powerplay units ranked one-two, respectively, while the #1 UBC penalty kill ranked far higher than Saskatchewan at #6.
A major ingredient to Saskatchewan's success is Cami Wooster, who finished the regular season second in points only to UBC's
Tatiana Rafter in the Canada West. Shutting down the scoring and playmaking abilities of Wooster will be paramount to tempering the Huskies' momentum.
In the other Canada West semifinal, the top-seeded Alberta Pandas will host the sixth-seed Regina Cougars, who eliminated Manitoba in the quarterfinals in two games. The winners of these two semi-final series will advance to the Canada West championships to play for the conference banner and a berth in the CIS National Championships in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
All three games are scheduled for 5:00 pm (PST) at Rutherford Arena in Saskatoon and can be seen live on
canadawest.tv.
