For the second straight year, the UBC Thunderbirds are on the prairies for the Canada West semifinal, this time visiting the defending national champion Manitoba Bisons as they look to get back to the Canada West championship for the first time since 2017.
This weekend marks the first playoff series between the 'Birds and Bisons since the 2016 Canada West final where UBC won the conference championship in three games.
While the T-Birds are coming off a heated quarter-final series win over the Regina Cougars, the Bisons have been off since the second weekend of February having earned a first round bye with their second-place finish.
UBC split their regular season series with the Bisons with three of their four meetings going to overtime. The 'Birds earned a 2-1 regulation win in Vancouver in November along with a shootout loss. UBC then lost in overtime in Winnipeg late in the season while picking up a shootout win of their own.
Game one of the best-of-three series is set for Friday, February 22 at 5:00 p.m. PT. Game two is scheduled for Saturday at 5:00 p.m. PT with game three (if necessary) going at 2:00 p.m. PT Sunday, all at Wayne Fleming Arena.
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Last Action
UBC swept the Regina Cougars to advance to a seventh straight Canada West semifinal series. The 'Birds outscored the Cougars by a 10-1 margin.
Manitoba split their final regular season series against the Saskatchewan Huskies. The Bisons managed just one regulation win in their final four games that included a shootout loss and an overtime victory against the T-Birds.
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Players to Watch
Mathea Fischer (#26, F) – The fourth-year Norwegian native earned Canada West female Athlete of the Week after a six-point performance last weekend against the Cougars. Fischer leads conference playoff scoring and has a +3 rating through just two games.
Tory Micklash (#31, G) – Named a Canada West first team all-star, Micklash allowed just a single goal after getting the start in net for both games against Regina. The third-year goaltender brings a .969 save percentage from last weekend into the conference semifinal series.
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Coach's Take
After having their way with the Cougars in the quarter-finals, the Thunderbirds know they're in for a much stiffer test against the defending champions, with the series likely to be far tighter in many respects.
"The Bisons are a veteran team and have experience going through the playoffs, so for us it will be about staying consistent with our plan and paying attention to all of the little things that makes our team successful," said UBC head coach
Graham Thomas. "Being the underdog is something that is engrained in our identity. We have played consistent on the road this year and just need to stick to our process and a one game, one period and one shift at a time mentality."
Perhaps more impressive than scoring ten goals against the Cougars last weekend was the fact those goals came from eight different scorers.
"Scoring comes down to building goals, that starts by doing all of the little things correctly right from possession to the time we score," added Thomas. "We are very proud of our girls and they are all in the right place at the right time and our scoring is very diverse."
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