VANCOUVER – Following a rare two weeks off mid semester, the UBC Thunderbirds are back in Canada West action Friday and Saturday, November 19th and 20th, as they host the Alberta Pandas for a pair of battles at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Perhaps the T-Birds' (4-2-0) biggest test yet of the season, the two rivals meet for the first time since late February of 2020 when the Pandas (4-1-1) ended UBC's season in the conference semifinals.
Much has changed since then, but the rivalry between two of the Canada West's top programs over the past decade has certainly not.
"They're always a disciplined team, they're always a fast team, and they're always competitive," said UBC Head Coach
Graham Thomas. "This will be a great opportunity to play a top team from out of province and we're looking forward to it."
The Pandas enter this weekend one point ahead of UBC for third in the conference standings and while not much has separated the two as of yet, one clear advantage for the T-Birds is their ability to score. Through the first six games of the season, UBC has put up 25 goals with a +17 differential, second only to the Canada West leading Mount Royal Cougars in that category.
"Consistent performance right now is what we're focussing on," added Thomas. "If we can play back-to-back consistent games no matter who we're playing, we're going to have a level of success we're looking for. In this league any team can win on any given night and it's been proven again and again, so regardless of the outcome we're just focussing on the process and our performance level."
A two week break from conference action isn't always welcomed, especially for a team which has enjoyed a positive start to the campaign. But all things considered, and coming off a split with the MacEwan Griffins in their last weekend series, the T-Birds took full advantage of the schedule's opportunity.
"We just created some competitive situations with our team to keep ourselves sharp. But given the rigours of school, it was kind of nice to have a bit of a break. We did some team builders, it was just a nice mix of getting some downtime and practice on a few things we needed to work on."
Puck drop for the first regular season game between the T-Birds and Pandas in nearly two full years is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m. PT with Saturday's rematch scheduled for 3:00 p.m. PT at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Tickets for both games are free but must be reserved in advance. Both games will also be streamed live on Canada West TV.
