VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (0-2-0) are back at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre for their home opener on Friday, October 11 when they host the Calgary Dinos (2-0-0) at 7:00 p.m. PT. The two Canada West foes face off again on Saturday, October 12, at 3:00 p.m. PT as the 'Birds return to the comforts of home ice after a tough opening weekend of conference play on the road.
Coming into the 2019-2020 season, the 'Birds were ranked No. 2 in the Canada West preseason coaches poll after finishing third in the conference and reaching the semi-finals a season ago. The Dinos found themselves on the outside of the playoff picture last season after a five-win campaign, and were ranked eighth in the preseason poll.
In their last head-to-head matchup a season ago, the T-Birds fell 2-1 in Calgary before storming back to a 4-1 victory for the series split.
Last Action
UBC was swept by the defending Canada West champions as they began their season on the road against the Alberta Pandas (2-0-0) last weekend. Second-year Hannah Koroll was the only 'Bird to find the back of the net as the Pandas demonstrated their potent offence with seven total power play goals in 7-1 and 7-0 victories.
Calgary took care of home ice as well to start their season, shutting out the Regina Cougars 2-0 last Friday before scoring four goals in the second period to top the Cougars 4-2 on Saturday. Sara Craven put up two goals and two assists for the Cougars while Elizabeth Lang added three goals on the weekend.
Coach's Take
UBC head coach Graham Thomas says his team is excited to play in front of their home fans and bounce back from a lackluster week one performance.
"It'll be nice to get back into our normal routine," said Thomas. "We're putting last weekend behind us but also taking it with us in some ways - driving us to be better, sharper and have a stronger compete level. It was tough. We've never had a weekend like that in my time here, but we're not going to be defeated or let it define us. We need to get back to playing Thunderbird hockey. We were a little lost, and we need to make sure our identity is the foundation of how we play."
Thomas also expects to see an improved Dinos squad with the return of a key asset.
"They're better, in my opinion, than that preseason poll. They got one of their top freshmen back in Lang who is just on fire with them. They've got a good core group, great goaltending and are well coached. I think they're going to be a lot better than last year, so it should be a good series and a good challenge for us to see how we respond this weekend."
