For the seventh straight season, the UBC Thunderbirds begin the Canada West playoffs at home as they host the Regina Cougars in a best-of-three quarter-final series starting Friday, February 15 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

The T-Birds and Cougars will enter the series very familiar with each other having just battled it out last weekend with UBC earning the sweep, making it six straight wins over Regina who will be hungry to get some redemption when it matters most.

This weekend marks the first playoff meeting between the two since the 2015-16 conference semifinal where the T-Birds defeated the visiting Cougars in three games before securing the Canada West title and eventually the U SPORTS silver medal.
 

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IT'S THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR! Come out this weekend to cheer on your Thunderbirds as we host the Regina Cougars in the Canadawest quarter finals. Ticket link in bio — see you there ?? #hournow #gobirdsgo #thunderbirds #ubc #hockey #vancouver

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UBC has played some of their best hockey of late, entering the post-season on a three-game win streak with six wins in their last seven. The 'Birds finished 21 points ahead of the sixth-place Cougars to conclude the regular season, boasting a +26 goal differential on the year compared to Regina's -29.

Puck drop for game one is set for 4:00 p.m. PT Friday with game two scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PT Saturday and game three (if necessary) on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. PT.
 

Last Action

The T-Birds completed the season series sweep of the Cougars with two very different results. UBC scored six goals for the first time in over two years in a 6-1 victory Friday night, followed up by a 1-0 win Saturday to end the regular season.
 

Players to Watch

Hannah Clayton-Carroll (#22, F) – Clayton-Carroll scored the hat trick Friday and finished the regular season with 10 goals, tops on the T-Birds for the second consecutive year. The fourth-year forward also led the 'Birds in points with 17 and power play goals with four.



Logan Boyd (#21, F) – The fifth-year forward also had a three point weekend with a trio of assists to finish the regular season with 11 points and a career best 10 assists. Boyd finished her regular season Canada West career having never missed a game, setting a new conference record with 144 appearances.
 

Coach's Take

Facing the same team as a week ago doesn't necessarily make preparations for the quarter-final easier as both teams can expect to make adjustments. But the 'Birds are trying to focus simply on themselves and not let Regina dictate anything.

"We all have to be bought in and just worry about that, not worry about potential of next weekend or (the U SPORTS national championship)," said UBC head coach Graham Thomas. "We have to stick to our process and play our game. It's really simple at this point, we don't want to overcomplicate it or do too much different."

Last Friday was a blowout win in favour of UBC but Saturday the 'Birds had to work much harder for it, something that could end up benefitting them and their level of focus this weekend.

"It was a good experience for us, it kept us sharper and more consistent."