It's a new year full of high hopes for the UBC Thunderbirds who kick off the unofficial second half of the Canada West season at home against the Mount Royal Cougars Friday and Saturday, January 4 and 5 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
The 'Birds (7-3-3-3) will be looking to pick up where they left off in 2018 having won four of their last five games to close out the calendar year. As a result, UBC enters this weekend in sole possession of third place in the conference, five points behind second place Manitoba and seven back of the leading Alberta Pandas.
Mount Royal (6-8-1-1) currently holds down the sixth and final playoff berth with a seven point buffer over the Lethbridge Pronghorns.
The last time these two teams met, UBC took both games of an October doubleheader in Calgary. In fact, the T-Birds have won 14 straight contests over Mount Royal dating back to the start of the 2012-2013 season.
Puck drop for the first game of 2019 goes at 7:00 p.m. PT Friday night with Saturday's final regular season meeting against Mount Royal scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PT, both at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Last Action
The T-Birds split their final weekend series of 2018 with the Pronghorns. After suffering a 2-1 regulation loss on the Friday night, UBC bounced back with a convincing 3-0 victory the following afternoon.
Mount Royal also split their final series before the break suffering a shutout loss to Regina followed by a 4-3 overtime win in the final regular season battle of the Cougars.
Players to Watch
Amelia Boughn (#20, G) – The fifth-year goaltender made 25 saves for her second shutout of the season in UBC's 3-0 win over the Pronghorns. It was also Boughn's ninth career Canada West shutout, tying a team record previously set by Melinda Choy.
Hannah Clayton-Carroll (#22, F) – UBC's goals (six) and points (12) leader had a strong finish to 2018 with a three-point weekend against the Pronghorns with two goals and an assist. The fourth-year from Vancouver also leads all T-Bird forwards with a +10 rating on the season.
Coach's Take
With just 12 games remaining in the regular season, the playoff picture is starting to take shape with the T-Birds looking to not only remain in a home playoff berth but eye the opportunity for a first round bye which comes with a top two finish.
"Every game is huge, every point is huge and both teams know that," said UBC head coach
Graham Thomas. "For us, we just want to try to create a little bit of separation within games. Having said that, we're getting better at playing in close games and in overtime it's getting more comfortable for us."
Prior to winning four of five heading into the break, the T-Birds had lost four of their previous five. It's an indication the young group is gaining cohesion and growing as the season progresses.
"We're playing a little bit more loose and we've been focussing more on the process," added Thomas. We've been developing some good chemistry with our lines and just getting better at playing the style and type of game we want to. In turn, it's showing in our results."
