The UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team begins their quest to get back to the national championship tournament as they host the Lethbridge Pronghorns Friday and Saturday, October 5th and 6th to open up the Canada West regular season at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
After seeing their season end last year in a semifinal loss to Saskatchewan, the T-Birds are motivated and reinvigorated with a strong recruiting class as they aim for their third conference title in the last four seasons.
The turnover rate from last year isn't high for the 'Birds with nine of last season's top-ten scorers returning for 2018-19 along with both
Amelia Boughn and
Tory Micklash, the top goaltending duo in the Canada West.
The Pronghorns, meanwhile, are looking for a fresh start after a three-win season in 2017-18 that saw them finish last in the conference and out of the playoffs for a sixth straight year.
UBC's season opening weekend coincides with the IIHF World Girls Hockey Weekend. The Grindstone Award Foundation will be on hand for Saturday's game as well as hosting a special youth girls on-ice clinic.
Puck drop for the T-Birds' season opener is 7:00 p.m. PT Friday with Saturday's rematch against the 'Horns set for 2:00 p.m. PT.
Last Meeting
The 'Birds swept the 2017-18 season series with the Pronghorns winning all four games by a single goal. In fact, the T-Birds have an eight-game win streak over Lethbridge with their last defeat coming back in January 2016.
By the Numbers
60 – With 60 goals scored during the 2017-18 season, the 'Birds finished the year with the third highest total in the conference. Despite this, UBC is hopeful added forward depth will increase their goal total in 2018-19.
144 – UBC's penalty kill was tested a total of 144 times last year, the most in the Canada West. The 'Birds tend to play an aggressive style, but discipline will need to be better this season.
Players to Watch
Amelia Boughn (#20, G) – Entering her fifth and final U SPORTS season, Boughn had another impressive campaign in 2017-18 with a 7-3-3 record and a .943 save percentage along with three shutouts. Her seven career shutouts is two shy of UBC's all-time record.
Hannah Clayton-Carroll (#22, F) – Pacing the T-Birds with 12 goals last season, tied for the conference lead, the fourth-year forward finished second in team scoring with 16 points.
Coach's Take
The 'Birds have already been on the ice as a group for seven weeks which included a three-game preseason Minnesota road trip. Now that the Canada West regular season is here, the excitement has been built to a pretty good level.
"We feel really confident, we're really excited about this year's group," said UBC head coach
Graham Thomas who enters his seventh season with the T-Birds. "We're coming together and learning a lot of things quicker than last year. Everyone has come ready and prepared, it's been a long preseason but it's been a purposeful one and a productive one."
After three conference titles in five years and U SPORTS silver and bronze medals, UBC is looking to get back to the big dance after last year's Canada West semifinal loss.
"A national championship is a goal of ours and we've been really close and learned a lot but we need to stick to the process," said Thomas. "We need to make sure we keep building the group and stay focused on one thing at a time. We have to get through the Canada West which is an extremely competitive league before we can even think about anything else."
