VANCOUVER – After a 3-0-1 start to the season and a share of first place in the Canada West, the UBC Thunderbirds face perhaps their stiffest test yet when they host the Saskatchewan Huskies Friday and Saturday, October 14 and 15 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Along with the Alberta Golden Bears, the T-Birds are undefeated in regulation to start the new campaign and have showcased their red hot offence – averaging 5.5 goals per game – and a power play that scored four times last Saturday alone.
But the Huskies themselves have enjoyed a nice start to the season, also posting three wins in their first four games, their lone loss coming against the Dinos last Saturday night in Calgary.
"I think anytime Saskatchewan comes into town it's a big weekend," said UBC Head Coach Sven Butenschon whose team won both meetings with the Huskies last season. "They've had such a good track record over the last 15, 20 years so it's always circled on your calendar and it's a great litmus test for the group. In saying that, we're still trying to find our game and fix things and fine tune things and get the most out of individuals and most out of the group at the same time, so it's still going to be about us."
Last year saw a rare early postseason exit by the Huskies who lost to the Dinos in the conference quarter-finals. With a new bench boss in charge in Brandin Cote, the Huskies will no doubt be highly motivated to get back to the conference finals and beyond, a situation they are familiar with having appeared in seven of the last ten Canada West Final series, winning three of them including 2020 over the T-Birds.
But the last couple years the head-to-head matchup between UBC and Saskatchewan has looked mighty different compared to the past with the 'Birds now firmly establishing themselves as one of the top teams in the country, currently ranked fifth in the new U SPORTS Top Ten list.
Helping lead that charge is the current U SPORTS Player of the Week, rookie defenceman Jake Lee, who enters this weekend tied for second in league scoring with four goals and three assists.
"Friday night in Manitoba he was outstanding, an unbelievable performance," said Butenschon as he praised his star blue liner. "He took what was given to him in every situation, he didn't force things, he wasn't selfish, he was just playing a perfect defensive game and moving the puck into the forwards' hands and then getting his shots through in the offensive zone. For me I think he still has more to give and he can find another level. He sure has been a pleasant addition back there."
The one thing the 'Birds will want to focus on going forward is cutting down on goals against. Despite picking up both wins in Winnipeg last weekend, Manitoba put a combined 11 goals into UBC's net, four of them on the power play.
But the team is confident a renewed effort in the D zone combined with strong starts will continue the excellent beginning to the season as far as results are concerned.
"We want to come out Friday night at puck drop and try to win the game in the first ten minutes. If the game does go sideways at one point, or doesn't go the way you want at the beginning, you can still find it because you were able to start with that. We really try to challenge the guys to start on time on Friday night and try to win the game in the first ten minutes and get momentum out of it, and it's been working."
Puck drop Friday night against Saskatchewan is set for 7:00 p.m. PT at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre with Saturday's rematch beginning at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are available now and both games will also be streamed live on Canada West TV.
