Need to Know

Two sides will have a shot at the conference crown this weekend, as the UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team (13-9-3-3, 2-1 in playoffs) will clash with the Manitoba Bisons (13-13-0-2, 4-2 in playoffs) in the Canada West Playoff Finals, a three-game series that will be held at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
 
Games will run daily from Friday, March 4, to Sunday, March 6, Friday and Saturday's contests starting at 7 p.m. (PT) while Sunday's game, if necessary, is set to 3 p.m. (PT).
 

Last Week

The T-Birds showed their resiliency in their semi-final series against the Regina Cougars. Falling behind in the series after a 3-0 loss in game one, the 'Birds rallied with 1-0 and 3-2 wins in the next two contests to take the series.
 

By The Numbers

1.00 – Danielle Dube came in after the first game of the Regina series, and was spectacular – her 1.00 goals-against-average over two games is the best in the Canada West playoffs.
 
15.2 – The 'Birds top Canada West in penalty minutes, averaging 15.2 PIMs-per-game in the post-season.
 
9 – Nine T-Birds hit double digits in points during the regular season
 

The Matchup 

The 'Birds and Bisons split their regular season series 2-2, including a two-game set that served as the season finale for both clubs in the middle of February. That final series saw the 'Birds take a 4-2 decision before Manitoba claimed the second contest 4-3.
 
However, the Manitoba side that has won four playoff games isn't the same one that the 'Birds saw in the regular season – the Bisons top trio of Venla Hovi (two goals, six assists, eight points), Lauryn Keen (3-5-8), and Alanna Sharman (2-4-6) have been on fire in the post-season, with all three sitting atop the Canada West playoff scoring race.
 
Manitoba will also be riding some significant momentum into the contest with UBC, as their triumph in the semi-finals saw them take out the regular season champion Alberta Pandas in three games, the last of which was a thrilling 4-3 overtime win.
 

Coach's Take

"It's a really good matchup," noted UBC head coach Graham Thomas. "They're a really talented team – they play tough, but they're really skilled. I think we matchup well, but with them, I think they've really decided to turn it on of late. In my eyes, they are one of the top teams in the country, but I feel that because we're so deep on offense, we can match them. Even we don't always know where our scoring is going to come from on any given night, but it will come. That we can score from anywher in our lineup bodes well for this series."