VANCOUVER – Following a long and challenging offseason, the UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team is finally facing some external competition as they prepare to battle Delta Academy on Saturday, October 31.

The exhibition contest will come exactly 252 days since the end of the T-Birds' 2019-20 season.

"It's the best news we've had in a long time," said UBC head coach Graham Thomas, currently in his ninth year with the blue and gold. "For everybody, for mental health, it's just really nice to be able to go and compete together and have some fun and have a little slice of normalcy during these unprecedented times. There are a lot of other provinces and schools that aren't able to play right now so we just feel lucky and excited that we're able to compete together and I'm really looking forward to it."

Saturday's game will be the first of what's expected to be a half-dozen competitions within their four-team cohort over the coming month including the newest Canada West women's hockey program, the Trinity Western Spartans.

While this exhibition series will certainly look different than what normally would be the heart of the Canada West regular season, the 'Birds expect to be playing with the same compete level.

"Our team identity won't change as we go into games and those expectations of our players and our program," Thomas explained. "But at the same time, we'll have a bit of a lighter approach. The players probably won't feel that same kind of pressure to perform and it's really nice right now to just go out there and play the game and make mistakes and learn and not to have as much pressure on all of us. I think that will be a positive that comes out of us going into next season."

Training under COVID-19 protocol for many weeks now, the Thunderbirds have been making good use of the extra time away from competition to focus on skill development and overall direction.

"We're not practicing as much so it's given us as coaches an opportunity to take a step back and look at things we never would have the chance to do normally. So we're taking advantage of it as a staff and working at programming and planning and bigger picture things with systems and concepts and skills."

Perhaps the biggest part of finally returning to game action is being able to compete and provide a sense of normalcy – and fun – to what's been a most challenging year.

"The players love coming to the rink right now. When they get there they're smiling with a lot of energy and happy to be together and that's the way it should be for the sport you love, to be with your teammates and have comradery and get to go out and play the game you love."