VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (8-7-3) will face the Alberta Golden Bears (12-5-1) in Canada West men's hockey action this weekend in Edmonton. Last weekend, UBC dropped two contests at Mt. Royal to split the season series with the Cougars.

Leading Thunderbirds scorer forward Anthony Bardaro (Delta, B.C.) recorded two points against MRU, to up his total to 19 in 16 Canada West conference games. Forward Austin Vetterl (Surrey, B.C.) has 17 points in 18 outings, which has him second on the UBC roster, third in Canada West rookie scoring and 14th overall in the league. Luke Lockhart has 15 points in 18 games.

In goal, Matt Hewitt (New Westminster, B.C.) and Eric Williams (Langley, B.C.) have split the work, with each making nine appearances so far this season. Hewitt is fourth in the conference with a 2.54 goals-against average, and second in save percentage at 0.918. Williams has a 2.95 GAA and a 0.907 save percentage.
 
Alberta goaltender Luke Siemens owns the top GAA, 2.28, in the entire Canada West, and has played in all but one of the Golden Bears' 18 league games. He is supported by the conference's highest-scoring offence and stingiest defence. Alberta has potted a league-best 74 goals in 18 games, while surrendering just 41. The team has six players inside the Canada West top 20 in scoring. Jordan Hickmott leads the bunch with 23 points in 18 games.
  
In November, the Golden Bears earned two victories over the T-Birds at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, by scores of 5-2 and 8-5.
 
UBC Sports Information Assistant Thomas Guenther caught up with head coach Adam Shell to discuss his first year with the Thunderbirds and his coaching philosophy, as he readies his team for the stretch run and the postseason.
 
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
 
TG: What would you say in your coaching strategy that worked well so far this season?
AS: I think my patience. I think me not getting upset. I think at certain points they expected me, if we didn't play well, to, you know, lose my mind, kick something, throw some sticks, whatever I could see. And I'm patient. I understand where the group is. There's building process. Me losing my cool...doesn't really help and that's only something you can do once in a while when really necessary.
So I think, overall, the calmness, my positive outlook to being here because I want to be here, I think that's probably the best, what's helped me the most I think.
 
TG: So where does your patience come from?
AS: I think naturally I am. I think it's partly genetic. My mother was a teacher of the blind so…it's a very patient activity to get the results. So I don't know if I've learned it through that. I like the group; they're good people. You know, so they work hard, they're trying so I believe that, and as long as they are then it's my job to help them not tear them down. So, in that's, I think it's a little bit of both.
 
TG: What about on the other side, in the past half-season, what hasn't worked in your strategy?
AS: What hasn't worked? I mean there are some tactical things. I think sometimes changing lines, you know, we established a bit of a routine or a bit of a way we play or a way I used everybody, and then, you know, Alberta came to town and I juggled the lines in order to find a checking line against their No. 1 line and it sort of threw off our rhythm. So probably not sticking sometimes to the formula that's been working even though maybe we haven't played as well last couple of games, that kind of thing. So, that's probably it. I like to adjust. I like to, you know, if there's a problem how can we solve it right away and sometimes you just have to stick with it a little bit.
 
TG: How often do you go back to Martin Raymond, your coaching mentor, and ask him questions?
AS: "We talk once a week probably, sometimes it's just chitter-chatter you know, just "how's it going", just whatever. Sometimes it's, you know, "My power play isn't doing this, what are you thinking?"
 
So, you know, I'd probably say once every two weeks is maybe a serious technical adjustment or just asking him some things. But, we talk once a week just even, as much as it's even just sort of the messaging, you know. He's a great leader so, just, you know, how he handles his group and what he's doing that way even as opposed to saying, you know, "we can't get dead in the zone on the power play. What do I do?" It's somewhere in the mix but I try and talk to him once a week if I can. It's a good refresher for me.
 
TG: You say he's a great leader, how do you see that? How has that rubbed off on you?
AS: I think great leadership is hard to define. You know what those people are but in a sense...I know he cares; I understand what he's after. I think he treats people the right way but he gets out of them what he wants. Guys will go on and want to play for him, they want to play hard, and they get better. So I think it's those attributes, and I wanted to do the same.
 
TG: So, you say that players want to play for him; they want to play hard, how do you encourage that kind of drive here?
AS: I think you create an environment where they can be at their best. Like, yes you have to push and get the most out of them, but guys have to want to come to the rink. You have to treat them like adults. I treat them as I want to be treated, as I wanted to be treated as a player. I give them the benefit of the doubt that...they don't need me to tell them, "You're terrible right now. Do this." You know, "Let's fix this."
 
If there's an issue with behaviour or effort then we have a problem, but I haven't really noticed that at all for the most part. I mean, we have our down days of course. It's a tactical adjustment, if it's something we're doing wrong then that's about me changing it and coaching it, but no one likes to be berated. No one needs to be put down. So you treat them as you expect to be treated and hope you get rewarded in the end for that.
 
TG: Going back to a more historical question, your father was very big on physical activity and that was very big for your family. How did hockey become your sport?
AS: That's a good question...It was the biggest sport in the neighbourhood. Toronto football wasn't very big, so they put me in skating. My Dad did play hockey and he thought every kid should know how to skate, and then started from there.
 
Baseball was actually, probably, my first love in terms of sport, because I was better at it than I was at hockey initially. You know, like, it's easier because my Dad and I would throw the ball a lot as a kid. So it's easier to get good at baseball right away. So, I think that was it. But baseball was a shorter season so, that. So why hockey? You know I can't answer. I learned how to skate; I started to play; I made some friends; I liked it and then I loved it.
 
TG: But choosing to go from playing hockey to coaching hockey is not quite the same thing. So why coaching?
AS: I love to coach. I love that aspect. I love dealing with the players. I love seeing people get better. I love the team aspect. I love being around teams and that stuff. So, I like teaching. Maybe I should have been a teacher over an accountant; I do love that. So, this is the best way for me to do it. Plus, I love, I like hockey and, you know so all those things. But that was it, I always knew I liked that part.