VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds open week four of the Canada West season feeling pretty good about themselves as they look to extend their five-game winning streak against a pair of visiting Prairie division teams. For a second straight week the T-Birds tour the Prairie division but this time it will be on home turf in welcoming the MT. Royal Cougars Friday, September 21 for a 5 p.m. kickoff at Thunderbird stadium. The following night will see a venue change as the 'Birds meet the MacEwan Griffins Saturday September 22, at 7:30 p.m. at Ken Woods Field.
UBC has maintained top spot in the Pacific Division thanks to their current hot streak and it's been noticed across the country with the T-Birds climbing two spots in the rankings to number three overall on this week's U SPORTS top 10 list.
Last Action
UBC earned all six points on the road last weekend to improve to (5-0-1) following a 3-0 blanking of the Saskatchewan Huskies early last Saturday afternoon before the 'Birds dispatched the Calgary Dinos 4-1 on Sunday afternoon.
The T-Birds will face the Prairie divisions third place (3-3-0) Cougars who earned a much needed 2-0 shutout victory over the UBC Okanagan Heat in their last action to snap a three-game losing streak. Meanwhile, MacEwan who sits in second spot in the Prairie division is looking to erase the memory of conceding two late goals after equalizing and dropping a 3-1 decision to the University of Victoria Vikes last Sunday.
Players to watch
Caleb Clarke (#19, F) – The first-year forward is finding the back of the net with regularity and was named both a Canada West first star of the week as well as a U SPORTS athlete of the week thanks to his four-goal weekend. The Richmond, B.C. product scored one marker in UBC's 3-0 win over Saskatchewan on Saturday before adding a hat-trick in Sundays 4-1 victory over Calgary. Clarke sits in in a tie for the CW lead in both goals (6) and points (8).
Zach Verhoven (#8, F) – The third-year forward who's tied for fourth spot in team scoring with two points on the season was very active in creating offence in week three. The shifty playmaker combined for 11 total shots on goal in victories over Saskatchewan and Calgary while counting one assist against the Dinos.
Coach's Take
"We had a very good prairie road trip, the two wins and six points are great but most importantly the boys played very well throughout the two-games with fairly complete performances in each contest," said T-Birds head coach
Mike Mosher when referring to last weekend's results. "I think we are starting to really find the group growing together both on and off the field and a road trip like this one where you spend so much time together can great to facilitate that."
Mosher would like to continue building on the early season momentum, especially with a set of games in familiar territory.
"Every game and every weekend in Canada West can be different and with the nature of our schedule games often come fast and furious," added Mosher. "We want to continue to grow and improve as a team each week. We go into the heart of our league schedule over the next few weeks and hopefully we can take advantage of the fact five of our next six games will be at home."
