After a successful home stand that saw the No. 8 UBC Thunderbirds go 3-1 and move into a tie for first in the division, the 'Birds are back on the road visiting the UNBC Timberwolves Friday, September 28
th and the MacEwan Griffins on Sunday, September 30
th.
It's the most challenging road trip of the season for the T-Birds who will log 2,500 kilometres in the air over four separate flights while facing some challenging opposition including the Griffins who sit just two points back of UBC in the Pacific.
The 'Birds have never lost to the Timberwolves with a 6-0-1 all-time head-to-head record. This is just UBC's third ever visit to UNBC having won their last two meetings there by a combined 8-1 margin.
MacEwan expects to be a good test for UBC with the Griffins boasting the best defence in the division allowing just five goals against through six games.
Kickoff Friday against the Timberwolves in Prince George is 6:00 p.m. PT at Masich Place Stadium. Sunday's game in Edmonton against the Griffins is at 11:00 a.m. PT at Jasper Place Bowl.
Last Action
The T-Birds put up a pair of clean sheets with 2-0 and 3-0 wins last weekend over the visiting UBC Okanagan Heat and the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, respectively.
UNBC lost a pair of one-goal contests in the Fraser Valley last weekend, 2-1 to the Cascades on Friday followed by a 4-3 decision to TWU Saturday.
The Griffins are riding a three-game win streak having defeated the Spartans 3-2 last Friday in Langley followed by a 3-0 victory Saturday over Fraser Valley.
Players to Watch
Michelle Jang (#13, F) – The rookie from Calgary scored in both UBC wins last weekend including the game winner Friday night over the Heat. Jang has four points on the season, good for second in team scoring and seventh overall in the Canada West.
Sarah Johns (#33, GK) – UBC's rookie goalkeeper earned her second win of the season Saturday night making five saves to remain perfect on the season now with eight saves on eight shots. Between Johns and
Emily Moore, the 'Birds have a 0.86 goals against average.
Coach's Take
This weekend features some tough travel for the 'Birds, but it's not a scenario they're unfamiliar with.
"All travel is tough, we go to Saskatchewan in a couple weeks but this is a difficult trip," said UBC head coach
Jesse Symons. "We've done it before though and had a lot of success with it so we're going to have the same focus and hopefully momentum from the past weekend will carry over into this one."
Exactly halfway through the regular season, the 'Birds have positioned themselves well to potentially be at or near the top of the conference come the post-season, but there's still plenty of work left ahead.
"Every game is really a fight for the top spot in the conference, we need to make sure we're right there in the end to hopefully host a playoff game," added Symons who has been impressed with the number of his players who have stepped up and improved since the start of the campaign. "There are still players fighting for position. Overall, everyone's got a good mindset to compete and when they do get called in they're going to perform at a high level."
