The Matchup
The number-one ranked UBC Thunderbirds begin their quest for a national title this weekend hosting the Saskatchewan Huskies in a Canada West semi-final series beginning Friday, February 24th at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Having secured first-place in the conference, the T-Birds received a bye through last weekend's quarter-finals and welcome the Huskies back to Vancouver for the first time since the regular season opening weekend. The season series between the two was remarkably close with each team posting a pair of victories with their final two meetings in Saskatoon last month going to overtime. UBC officially finished 1-1-1-1 against the Huskies, their lone regulation win coming in the first game of the season.
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The Thunderbirds have already set a number of team records this year including the most wins in a single season. Now UBC will be looking for yet more history in their quest to secure a first national championship, but first they need to secure a trip to the conference final. The Huskies finished the regular season 11-10-4-3 and gave UBC fits at times making for an intriguing matchup.
Puck drop for game one of the best-of-three series is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m. PT at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre with game two scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT Saturday. If necessary, game three will begin Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. PT.
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Last Action
UBC is fresh off their first-round bye having last played back on February 11th, suffering a 1-0 loss to the visiting Mount Royal Cougars. It was just the third loss on home ice for the T-Birds all season and the only time they have been shutout in Vancouver. The T-Birds had won their previous five in a row.
The Huskies booked their ticket to this weekend's semi-final after sweeping the Regina Cougars in the quarter-finals last weekend in Saskatoon. Kaitlin Willoughby completed the hat trick in a 4-3 game one victory while Cassidy Hendricks made 31 saves in a 2-1 game two win on Saturday.
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By the Numbers
1 – The T-Birds scored a conference leading 32 power play goals in the regular season but only one of those were against the Huskies. Saskatchewan boasted the Canada West's second best penalty kill at 91.1%.
261 – UBC boasts an incredible 261 combined games of playoff experience on their roster compared to 142 games for Saskatchewan. Experience often plays a big factor in the post-season as two of the more veteran Canada West teams face off against each other.
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Players to Watch
Cassandra Vilgrain (#91, F) – Vilgrain finished the season as the Thunderbirds leader in both assists with 19 and points with 27.
Kelly Murray (#5, D) – Despite missing four regular season games Murray finished as the Canada West's top scoring defenceman with 20 points. Along with forward
Haneet Parhar, Murray led the T-Birds in plus/minus with a +16 rating. Â Â Â
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Coach's Take
With the bye last weekend UBC head coach
Graham Thomas says it was an opportunity to rest up and prepare both mentally and physically for what he and his team hopes will be a long post-season.
"We feel good, we feel healthy," said Thomas. "We just need to be mentally and physically tough at this time of year. The break was really positive for us and we feel ready to go."
The Huskies took more points away from the T-Birds during the regular season than any other team and so UBC is fully aware of what they're up against.
"The Huskies are a hard-working team with high pressure and speed and have great goaltending," said Thomas.
While the T-Birds have a lot more playoff experience and recent playoff success compared to the Huskies, Thomas says it will help but it can't be something his team can rely on either.
"(Experience) will help us but at the same time this is a new team and a new group and we have to make sure we're trusting each other and coming ready to compete and battle."
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