The Matchup

The hunt for a first-round playoff bye continues for the No. 5 UBC Thunderbirds (13-5-3-3) who are back in Vancouver for the final home weekend of the regular season Friday and Saturday, February 1 and 2, hosting the Mount Royal Cougars (7-14-3-0).

After picking up a single point in Saskatoon last weekend, the 'Birds are now two points back of Alberta for second place in the conference and tied with Saskatchewan for third.
 

All minor hockey players get in free to the @UBCWHKY game wearing your team's  jersey on Saturday, Feb. 3. It's UBC's last home series before the playoffs start! @ubctbirds pic.twitter.com/wJT1qExyEb

— BC Hockey (@BCHockey_Source) January 29, 2018

The Cougars have yet to clinch a playoff berth as this will be a critical weekend for Mount Royal with a four point lead on both Calgary and Regina while the three battle it out for the final two post-season spots.

UBC swept the Cougars in Calgary back in November with 2-1 and 3-1 wins.

Puck drop Friday night at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre is 7:00 p.m. PT. The 'Birds will honour their four graduating seniors in Kathleen Cahoon, Alexa Ranahan, Kirsten Toth, and Cassandra Vilgrain just prior to Saturday's rematch which begins at 2:00 p.m. PT.
 

Last Action

UBC dropped both contests against the Huskies in Saskatchewan last weekend breaking a six-game win streak. The 'Birds were shutout 1-0 Friday night before losing 2-1 in a shootout on Saturday.

The Cougars traded shutout wins with the Dinos dropping last Thursday's Crowchild Classic 1-0 but then returned the favour the following night with a 1-0 win of their own.
 

By the Numbers

19 – The T-Birds have put up a total of 19 wins over the Cougars since they entered Canada West in the 2012-13 season compared to just three losses.

29 – With 29 goals through 12 games, the 'Birds are tied with Alberta as the highest scoring team on home ice.
 

Players to Watch

Logan Boyd (#21, F) – Scoring UBC's only goal in last Saturday's shootout loss, the fourth-year science student is tied for second in T-Birds goal scoring and has hit double digit points in each of her Canada West seasons. Boyd also leads all UBC forwards with a +8 rating.



Amelia Boughn (#20, G) – The fourth-year goaltender made a whopping 39 stops for a .975 save percentage in Saturday's loss to Saskatchewan. On the season, Boughn is now working on a .946 save percentage and a 1.47 goals against average.
 

Coach's Take

After dropping both games to the Huskies last weekend to fall back to third in the Canada West, UBC head coach Graham Thomas believes his team has been served with a needed wakeup call.

"I think it's given us some fire and some purpose to get us going this week," said Thomas who has guided the 'Birds to a sixth straight home playoff berth. "We have to be more desperate. We have four games left and we pretty much have to run the table if we have a chance at achieving our regular season goal."

That goal would be clinching one of two first-round byes and home ice for the conference semi-final. Either way, Thomas views this weekend as critical to properly prepare for whatever post-season scenario the 'Birds are faced with.



"This is a potential playoff matchup," said Thomas. "They play us hard, they have good goaltending, they're really well structured and they work really hard. We have to know that going in and match it."

UBC's four graduating seniors will all be honoured prior to puck drop Saturday and Thomas will be looking to strike the right emotional balance by keeping the need for a win in mind.

"We have to find a way to stay businesslike," said Thomas. "We still need to be able to honour our seniors but with a priority focus on the game."