The University of British Columbia Athletics

Vancouver, BC - For their final two games of the regular season, the UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team jets off to Saskatchewan this weekend to challenge the Huskies as the two playoff-bound teams vie for first-place in the conference overall and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Such a luxury would be a huge edge for the T-Birds, who have had phenomenal success at home this season having gone 13-0-1 at the 'Doug. Also on the line for the 'Birds is a crucial opportunity to secure a first round bye, advancing directly to the semi-finals.
 
"This is our playoff dress rehearsal. These are two big must-win type games that will be exactly the same pressure and atmosphere to get us ready," commented head coach Graham Thomas on Tuesday. "How we play this weekend and how we fine-tune as a team to work on our game will be a stepping stone into the postseason."
 
Assistant captain Sarah Casorso commented on what it would mean to play semifinals at 'The Doug'.
 
"Traveling can take its toll both physically and mentally, so winning these two games this weekend would put us in an optimal position going into playoffs. We're in our element at home; it's an environment that's comfortable and familiar to us – the bounces and the ice itself – which would give us that extra little bit of confidence," said Casorso.
 
Having posted a 20-5-1 record and 41 points so far, UBC narrowly sits in front of second place Alberta (39 points) and third place Saskatchewan (38 points). Such a small three-point margin leaves no room for error with the objective of finishing on top and staying at home for the playoffs.
 
The best case scenario for the 'Birds would be a two-game sweep over Saskatchewan to acquire four more points, putting them too far out of reach of Alberta no matter the Pandas' results this weekend. However, a loss or a tie could leave the situation at the whim of Alberta's performance entirely. It's that close. While a pair of victories to earn home-ice advantage throughout the post-season is the ultimate goal, at minimum the Thunderbirds need one point to bypass the quarterfinal round.
 
In the event of a tie for first place between UBC and Alberta, the Pandas would clinch the top spot after stealing away with a pair of regulation wins over the 'Birds last month, while earlier in the season the T-Birds had only one regulation win (and one shootout win) over Alberta. In fact because both teams have two wins against each other, so it would come to the second tiebreaker, goals for and against one another. A tiebreaker the Pandas would win, having outscored UBC 11-7 in the four regular season games.
 
This weekend's matchup couldn't be more evenly matched as the 'Birds and the Huskies rank one two for the top powerplay, with UBC's units at #1 and Saskatchewan's units at #2. Their rosters also boast the top two scorers in the conference – UBC's Tatiana Rafter and Saskatchewan's Cami Wooster.
 
The Thunderbirds hold the edge over their last ten match ups with a record of 5-4-1 versus the Huskies. Currently, UBC is in the midst of a four game winning streak and will look to keep that alive.
 
Puck drop on both Friday and Saturday is 5:00 pm (PST).