For the first time since 1978 the UBC Thunderbirds are playing for a Canada West championship as they face the No. 2 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies in the best-of-three series starting Friday night in Saskatoon.
After finishing off the three-time defending conference champion Alberta Golden Bears last weekend in Edmonton, the T-Birds refuse to let anything stop their post-season wave of momentum as they gun for their first conference banner in 49 years.
While playing in the Canada West championship is unfamiliar territory for the 'Birds, it's become nearly an annual expectation for the Huskies who are playing in a fifth straight final, their last victory coming in 2016. This is also the second straight year and fourth time in the last five years the conference championship will be decided in Saskatoon.
The Huskies had their way with the 'Birds in the regular season, sweeping the four-game series as UBC picked up a lone point by way of an overtime loss in Vancouver in early November. Saskatchewan has won eight straight games over the T-Birds including 3-2 and 5-2 victories one month ago in Saskatoon.
But the only numbers UBC is concerned about is what lies ahead of them, and the opportunity to claim their first ever Canada West championship. The last time the 'Birds clinched a banner came in 1971 when they beat the Manitoba Bisons in the then-called Western Canadian Athletic Association final.
Puck drop for game one of the best-of-three championship series is 5:00 p.m. PT Friday, February 28
th at Merlis Belsher Place. Game two goes Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and game three, if necessary, is set for Sunday, also at 5:00 p.m.
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Last Action
Stunning the home crowd in Edmonton last weekend, the T-Birds held off the Golden Bears with a 2-1 game three win Sunday night. UBC earned a 3-2 overtime win in game one before Alberta answered back in game two to push the series the distance. It was the 'Birds' first ever playoff series win over the Bears.
The Huskies advanced to their fifth straight conference final, and seventh in the last nine years, after sweeping the Calgary Dinos in last weekend's other semifinal. Saskatchewan edged Calgary 2-1 in game one while Carson Stadnyk scored the double overtime series clinching goal in game two.
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Players to Watch
Rylan Toth (#34, G) – He was the story of the series, making 40 saves in game three against Alberta. Game one saw the Saskatoon native put up a career-high 51 saves as Toth finished the series with a .943 save percentage and leads the Canada West post-season with a .923 save percentage and four wins.
Jake Kryski (#14, F) – Tied for the team playoff scoring lead with five points, Kryski assisted on
Austin Glover's game three tying marker and
Tyler Sandhu's game winner. Dating back to the end of the regular season, Kryski has 11 points in his last nine games.
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Coach's Take
While the semifinal win over Alberta also clinched a berth at the University Cup national championship, that fact has not diminished this weekend's Canada West final one bit for the T-Birds.
"We've accomplished a lot so far, we still have a lot to do," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon. "We haven't won anything yet, we haven't got any hardware yet, we want to win and bring a championship home. Then obviously it helps your seeding at nationals, so there's a lot to play for."
The 'Birds look a lot like a team fully expecting to win. It's a newfound level of confidence UBC's bench boss attributes to the quarter-final win over MRU.
"I think the Mount Royal series really proved to the guys they can do anything," Butenschon said. "The way we won that final game in overtime after giving up the 4-1 lead was huge mentally and it's done a lot for the belief. At the beginning of the season we had high expectations and the important thing was we learned down the stretch what it took to win."
Having said all that, the 'Birds also know they face another very tough challenge against a Huskies team that lost just six games all season.
"I still think there's a lot we can learn from Alberta and what it takes to close out a game, close out a series and bounce back after a loss."
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