Need to Know

The UBC Thunderbirds men's hockey team (11-13-4, 6th in Canada West) are set to take on the Mount Royal Cougars (17-8-3, 3rd in Canada West) in the best-of-three Canada West playoff quarterfinals.
 
All three games of the series will be packed into one weekend, as the two sides are set to clash daily from Friday, February 19 to Sunday, February 21 (if necessary). Each game of the series, all of which will be played at Mount Royal's Flames Community Arenas, will feature a start time of 6:00 p.m. (PT).
 

Last Week

The 'Birds are coming off of a split with the Manitoba Bisons, one which saw them take a 3-2 win on Friday before falling 5-2 in their regular season finale.

By The Numbers

27 – if there's one guy who can take over the series for the 'Birds, it's going to be Anthony Bardaro (Delta, B.C.). The third-year forward was the premier offensive catalyst for 'Birds this past season, leading the club in goals (10), assists (17) and points (27).
 
3 – Fourth-year winger Jessi Hilton (Sherwood Park, Alta.) could provide a bit of an x-factor in the series against the Cougars – not only does the 6-foot-2, 212 pound forward provided some much needed grit on the boards, but he also popped in three goals and four points in the regular season's final four games.
 

The Matchup 

Mount Royal and the T-Birds split their season series 2-2, with UBC taking the first two games back in October (4-3 in overtime and 2-1) and Mount Royal responding with two wins of their own in January (6-3 and 1-0).
 
Where the Cougars hold a clear advantage over UBC is on offense – Mount Royal scored 100 goals over the course of the 26-game regular season, 28 more than the T-Birds 72. It shows in their individual stat lines as well, as two players – Tyler Fiddler (second) and Cam Maclise (ninth) found themselves in the top 10 of conference scoring.
 

Coach's Take

"[Mount Royal's] offensive depth – especially their top six forwards, who might be as good as any unit in the league – are excellent," said UBC head coach Adam Shell. "The thing is though, we've had four games against them and won two apiece, so we know we have the ability to beat them. What they've been better at than us is that they've been more consistent – our highs have been really, really good, and our lows, well, not-so-good. We'll just have to find a way to be at our best this weekend."