VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (9-12-1-4) hit the road to face the Mount Royal Cougars in Calgary (10-14-2-0) to close out their Canada West regular season and finalize their playoff positioning. Game one goes Friday, February 7, at 6:00 p.m. PT with game two scheduled for Saturday, February 8, at 2:00 p.m PT at the Flames Community Arenas.
With their berth in the postseason now secured, the 'Birds (33 points) have an opportunity to better their conference seeding and surpass the Cougars (34 points) as the fourth, fifth and sixth place spots are still to be decided in the Canada West.
Fifth-year senior Hannah Clayton-Carroll currently leads T-Birds with 10 goals and eight assists on the season, while fellow graduating senior Mathea Fischer is second in points with three goals and nine assists through 26 games.
The last time these two Canada West foes went head-to-head, the Cougars came away with an overtime victory followed by a shutout win at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.Â
Last Action
The Thunderbirds clinched their postseason ticket with a 2-1 win over the Lethbridge Pronghorns (8-14-1-3) when Jaedon Cooke potted the game winner late in the third on home ice. UBC fell 3-2 in double overtime the previous evening to the Pronghorns despite outshooting the visitors 32-19.
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Mount Royal split their home-and-home series with the Calgary Dinos last weekend - losing 4-1 on night one before earning a double overtime victory on night two to solidify their spot in the postseason.
Coach's Take
"The group is motivated, fired up and tired of losing," said UBC head coach Graham Thomas after finally booking a ticket to the playoffs. "We've been through a lot of adversity this year, probably the most in my time here, and it's just going to bring us together and make us stronger. I think there was a lot of stress and pressure about making playoffs with how things were going so I think that's just a relief and we're ready for the second season and looking forward to our last dress rehearsal this weekend."
Thomas credits his team for playing more as a cohesive unit down the stretch of the regular season.Â
"We've found success in this last little bit because everyone's bought in and pulling in the same direction. That's something that we've really been harping and it's something the players have been gaining confidence from keeping it simple and sticking to the game plan. It's been good to be at home but now it's nice to get on the road to finish and get away from some of those realities and just be with the team and focus."
