It's the final week of the 2019 portion of the Canada West season and the unofficial halfway point of the year as the UBC Thunderbirds head back on the road to visit the number two ranked Alberta Golden Bears Friday and Saturday, November 29^th and 30^th in Edmonton.

Frustrating is perhaps the best word to describe the T-Birds' first half of the season, a roller-coaster affair that saw a weekend sweep of Lethbridge in dominant fashion followed up by a pair of losses last week to Mount Royal where UBC managed to score just twice all series.



The 'Birds (4-7-3) have been playing pretty well overall, generating more than their fair share of scoring opportunities while outshooting the opponent 30.8-27.2 on average. Despite this, UBC has a team shooting percentage of just 8.1 percent.

Special teams, however, continue to perform exceptionally well as the T-Birds boast the league's second-best power play at 29.6 percent. UBC's penalty kill has also been very strong of late with a 90.5 percent success rate over their last five games.

The 'Birds and Bears (12-2-0) last met in the first week of the season with UBC picking up a single point by way of an overtime loss.

Puck drop Friday night at Clare Drake Arena is 6:00 p.m. PT with Saturday's final game before the December break also set for 6:00 p.m. PT.
 

Last Action

The T-Birds were handed consecutive 4-1 losses by the Mount Royal Cougars in Calgary last weekend. Maxwell James scored yet another power play marker to open up the game Friday night but the Cougars rallied with four unanswered goals. Saturday saw MRU stake out a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period.



The Bears split last weekend's series against the Bisons with Saturday's 5-3 loss in Winnipeg ending Alberta's eight-game win streak. The first place Bears enter this weekend with the conference's best goal differential, top penalty kill, and best team goals against average of 1.86.
 

Players to Watch

Carter Popoff (#42, F) – Currently on pace to match his previous season points total, the fourth-year T-Bird has 10 points (2G, 8A) and sits tied for second in team scoring. The former Vancouver Giant had a four-game point streak snapped last Saturday against the Cougars.



Kyle Becker (#13, D) – The veteran defenceman has scored twice in his last four games and his +3 rating leads all T-Bird blue liners.
 

Coach's Take

It's been tough sledding results wise for the T-Birds, but what adds to the frustration is the fact the team has been performing quite well, aside from getting pucks across the goal line.

"The bigger the sample size the more the true results will come out," said UBC head coach Sven Butenschon who has the added challenge of getting those results in a short 28-game schedule, working with analytics in a condensed time frame. "It's a little trickier in our league but I still believe in having more zone time than the other team, creating scoring chances in the middle of the ice, and exits out of your zone."

Last weekend, for example, the 'Birds out-chanced the Cougars both games, yet lost both convincingly on the scoreboard.



"It's a fine line," said Butenschon of translating their efforts into success. It's right there, there's a lot to be excited about, there's a lot to believe in. We just have to put it together and score some goals 5-on-5."

With the holiday break just around the corner, nothing would please the 'Birds more than getting some hard-earned points against the top team in the conference.

"Regardless what's happened the last couple months or what's coming in the future, this weekend's going to be a battle, it's going to be tight. We need everyone on the same page and everyone's going to have to do more than they've been doing. There's nothing better than getting a win in a situation like that."