The Matchup
After seeing a season-high seven-game win streak snapped last weekend, the UBC Thunderbirds (15-10-1) are ready to start fresh hosting the No. 1 Alberta Golden Bears (22-3-1) Friday and Saturday, February 9 and 10 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre for the final weekend of regular season play.
The 'Birds have already locked up home ice for the Canada West quarter-finals but this weekend provides a good playoff tune-up opportunity against the top team in the country.
Alberta has clinched first place in the conference while the 'Birds can still finish as high as third, but currently sit three points back of Manitoba.
UBC dropped both meetings against the Golden Bears in Edmonton back in November. The last time Alberta was in Vancouver early last season the 'Birds earned a weekend split with the eventual conference champions.
The 'Birds' three graduating players are set to be honoured prior to puck drop Friday night. Goaltender
Matt Hewitt, forward
Nick Buonassisi, and UBC's captain, defenceman
Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, will all be playing in their final regular season series which kicks off at 7:00 p.m. PT. Saturday's rematch and the regular season finale is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PT.
Last Action
The 'Birds extended their win streak with a 5-1 victory over the Mount Royal Cougars in Calgary last Friday before suffering their first loss in a month the following afternoon by way of a 3-0 shutout.
Alberta swept the Saskatchewan Huskies to clinch home ice throughout the Canada West playoffs with 4-1 and 3-1 victories to extend their current win streak to six games.
By the Numbers
8 – The 'Birds have been perfect at home in 2018 going 4-0 in Vancouver with a +8 goal differential, outscoring the opposition by a combined 14-6.
101 – UBC has seen just 101 power play chances throughout the course of the season, or an average of 3.9 per game, the second fewest man advantage opportunities in the conference. Conversely, the 'Birds have been on the penalty kill 124 times, the second most in the Canada West.
Players to Watch
Tyler Sandhu (#19, F) – Tied for second in team scoring, Sandhu continues to put up impressive numbers in his rookie season with the 'Birds. His 14 assists leads all Canada West rookies and his 20 points has him tied for third. Nine of his points have come on the power play.
Michael Stenerson (#5, F) – The fourth-year forward just keeps producing. Stenerson's 11 goals and nine assists both far exceed his totals from last season and his 20 points are good for a piece of second in team scoring with Sandhu and
Nick Buonassisi.
Coach's Take
After the 'Birds saw their seven-game win streak snapped by Mount Royal last weekend, UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon views this weekend as an opportunity to get back to what made his team successful during the streak.
"It's going to be a huge task for us and after the way we played on Saturday we need to dial it in and find our game," said Butenschon who is more concerned about the process and approach to these games against the Golden Bears. "Having said that, it sure would be nice to get a win or two this weekend going into the playoffs, confidence wise. Alberta's number one in the country so it couldn't be against a better team."
When it comes to a playoff tune-up, this weekend should set the bar for the 'Birds who are looking to do some damage when the post-season begins in a week's time.
"We need to be on our toes and mentally ready to defend, back check, and play that good D zone that we have been doing," added Butenschon. "We're going to have to be ready to skate and have good puck management, against Mount Royal we lost a bit of that. Good puck management and we'll be fine."
