The Matchup
Closing out the Canada West regular season with their best record in more than 30 years, the No. 10 UBC Thunderbirds (16-10-2) host the Calgary Dinos (12-13-3) in a best-of-three conference quarterfinal starting Friday, February 16 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
It's just the second time in the last 47 years the 'Birds have hosted a playoff series but the second straight year UBC and Calgary have faced each other in the quarter-finals. Last season the Dinos ended the 'Birds' season in Calgary with a 5-4 triple overtime win in game one followed by a 5-2 game two victory to complete the sweep.
This series marks the 11
th all-time post-season meeting between the Canada West rivals and the fourth in the last seven years. The Dinos hold a 9-1 edge with the 'Birds last beating Calgary in the 1970-71 conference semi-final which happens to be the last time a series was hosted in Vancouver.
The T-Birds and Dinos enter the post-season as perhaps the two hottest teams in the conference. Calgary has won six straight games while the 'Birds have posted eight wins in their last ten. UBC won the season series by a 3-1 margin.
Puck drop for game one is set for 7:30 p.m. PT with game two also scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, February 17. Game three, if necessary, will go Sunday at 5:30 p.m. PT, all at Doug Mitchell.
Last Action
UBC took three out of a possible four points against the then number one ranked Alberta Golden Bears. The 'Birds fell 5-4 in overtime Friday night and scored the final two goals in the third period Saturday for the 4-3 regulation win.
The Dinos closed out the regular season with a weekend sweep over Manitoba. Jordan Papirny made 32 saves in a 5-1 win over the Bisons Friday. Logan Fisher and Chris Collins each scored twice in a 4-1 win Saturday.
By the Numbers
83.9 – Since the start of January, the 'Birds have boasted an 83.9 percent penalty kill success rate. Combined with an impressive 22.4 percent power play, second best in the conference behind Alberta, UBC has had terrific special teams play all season long.
34 –The 'Birds' 34 points is the highest total in program history since the Canada West adopted a 28-game regular season back in 1985-86. UBC remained particularly strong at home with nine of the T-Birds' 16 wins in Vancouver.
Players to Watch
Jerret Smith (#29, D) – The second-year defenceman finished the regular season with a goal and three assists last weekend. The former Seattle Thunderbird's 21 points are tied for fourth in team scoring and alone in fifth among all Canada West defencemen.
Matt Revel (#10, F) – Ending the regular season on a five-game point streak, Revel led the Thunderbirds in points per game at an even 1, also good for second among all Canada West rookies. Eight of the Abbotsford native's 21 points came on the power play and he led all T-Bird forwards with a +4.
Coach's Take
The playoffs can definitely be a different animal, but UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon says his team just needs to keep doing what has brought them recent success.
"The key is going to be to stay within ourselves and not overthink it and not think that because it's playoffs you have to do anything more," said Butenschon who guided the 'Birds to their seventh straight playoff appearance. "All our lines have been chipping in and it's good to see. It's a good recipe for success because if they want to match up and key in on certain players, that's fine, other guys will have to step up."
The Dinos have had a clear edge over the T-Birds over the past number of years but both teams enter this series off a terrific second half of the season which makes for an intriguing matchup.
"They've had our number for sure, they've been on a real hot streak and it's going to be a tough test," said Butenschon. "They've got great goaltending, great defence and some high end skill up front. If we can shut their defence core down and shut their top line down I think we got a real good chance."
