For the first time in six years, the UBC Thunderbirds are headed to the Canada West semifinals after dispatching the Mount Royal Cougars in thrilling fashion last weekend.

Just as was the case the last time the 'Birds made it past the quarter-finals, they'll face the number one seed Alberta Golden Bears in the best-of-three series with a berth in the conference championship and the national championship tournament on the line.

There's no doubt the Bears are the favourites to advance to an eighth straight Canada West final appearance having finished the regular season with an impressive 23 wins and just five losses, four of those wins coming against the T-Birds.



But while all the outside expectations are on the Bears to win this weekend, with that comes all the pressure. Meanwhile, the 'Birds are playing as a confident group knowing their own brand of hockey can be equally as dangerous.

Not only are the T-Birds riding high after an emotional three-game series win over the Cougars, but they head to Edmonton having won five of their last seven games overall.

This Canada West semifinal marks the eighth all-time post-season series between the 'Birds and Bears with Alberta boasting a perfect 7-0 record in those meetings to date. Needless to say, UBC feels it's high time to turn the tables on the Golden Bears' dominance.

Puck drop for game one of the best-of-three semifinal is set for 6:00 p.m. PT at Edmonton's Clare Drake Arena on Friday, February 21^st. Game two goes Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and game three, if necessary, is scheduled for Sunday at 6:00 p.m. All games will be available on Canada West TV.
 

Last Action

The T-Birds advanced to their first semifinal since 2014-15 when Austin Vetterl scored on the power play in overtime of game three against Mount Royal. The 'Birds took game one of the quarter-final 4-2 before MRU bounced back with a 5-3 game two victory to push the series the distance. It was the first ever series victory for UBC over Mount Royal.


Alberta earned a bye through the quarter-finals thanks to their conference leading 23-5-0 record. The Bears ended the regular season on a four game win streak. Sweeping UBC in the regular season series, Alberta has won seven straight against the T-Birds dating back to the early part of the 2018-19 season.
 

Players to Watch

Colton Kehler (#25, F) – With two goals, including the game one winner, and an assist in UBC's series with the Cougars, the second-year forward kept his late season hot streak going as the former Edmonton Oil King has eight points in his last seven games combined.



Ryan Pouliot (#43, D) – The rookie forward had his first multi-point game as a Thunderbird in the biggest contest of the season as he scored in game three against the Cougars and added an assist. Pouliot leads all T-Bird blue liners at a +3 in the post-season and has quickly become a big piece of UBC's D corps.
 

Coach's Take

The Golden Bears finished the regular season with twice the amount of points and more than twice as many wins as UBC, but those numbers aren't bothering the 'Birds one bit.

"We feel real good about our chances," said UBC head coach Sven Butenschon, fresh off his first series win as T-Birds bench boss. "We feel Alberta has some weaknesses that we can expose and if we can bring that playoff mentality we had on the weekend we give ourselves a chance. We've considered ourselves a top four team in this league all season, the analytics and the stats showed that. We just needed to prove it last weekend and now we just have to take it one more step."

When it comes to preparing to face Alberta, there are quite a few similarities to the Cougars in terms of the make up of the team. But the number one thing for the 'Birds is replicating the tenacity they showed against MRU.



"The way we played gives you success against anybody," Butenschon insisted. "Alberta's got a lot of offensive punch but we put Mount Royal right up there with Alberta as far as skilled forwards so it's a similar opponent in terms of high end scoring, lots of offence, so a similar game plan."

In both games the T-Birds won last weekend, a tremendous start was a key factor and something they know they need to repeat.

"If you don't have a good start and don't start on time, no matter what happens in the game you're not sure if you can get to that level again. You got to show yourself, your teammates you're ready to start on time and willing to do whatever it takes."