VANCOUVER – Heading into their final weekend of the 2022 regular season, the UBC Thunderbirds (8-3-2) are in complete control of their Pacific Division playoff destiny. Mike Mosher's club has rattled off three consecutive victories and hold a two-point lead on the second placed Thompson Rivers Wolfpack (7-3-3). Simply put: Two wins for UBC and they'll clinch first in their division. Any other results would further muddy the waters of an already supremely competitive division.
 
Last weekend, the 'Birds took to the road needed a pair of road victories, and accomplished precisely that with a 3-0 victory Friday against Fraser Valley, followed by a thrilling come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Trinity Western University on Saturday.
 
"It's not an easy trip going to play those teams in the Valley. It was a situation where we needed two wins to give ourselves control of our own destiny. Good on our guys for persevering [in the second game] and we just kept going after them," said Mike Mosher.


 
With a win or draw in seven of his team's last eight matches, Mike Mosher's team appears to be 'peaking' at the right time.
 
Coach Mosher adds, "We're in a pretty good place overall. I like what I've seen in terms of the performances from our group over the last many weekends. We're generating a lot of chances and we haven't given up a lot, so I'm quite comfortable with where we're at. But we have to keep pushing as we go into the final regular season weekend."
 
Offensively the 'Birds will continue to rely on the veteran tandem of Victory Shumbusho (nine goals) and Logan Chung (five goals) who have combined for 14 goals so far this season. Shumbusho has provided four goals in his past four matches along with one assist, while Chung has added two goals and one assist for three points his past three appearances.
 
 Up first on Friday is UBC Okanagan (4-5-4, 16 points), who are currently ranked fifth in the Pacific Division, and need two victories (plus help from elsewhere) this weekend to keep their playoffs hopes alive. Back on August 27^th in Kelowna, the 'Birds secured a convincing road victory on the strength of a two-goal, three-point effort from Victory Shumbusho.
 
Then on Saturday, Thompson Rivers comes to town for a match that could very well decide first place in the division. The Wolfpack begin their weekend on the road in Victoria, but depending on things go Friday, Saturday could very well end up being a 'win and you clinch first place' scenario.


 
"It has to be one game at a time for us," explained Mike Mosher. "In the way that things work for us, with two games each weekend, you have to take care of that first opponent which in this case [UBC-O] is a desperate team. So first it's about Friday, before we can turn our attention to TRU. Our goal from the beginning of the season was to finish first and our goal is unchanged. The goal is to go and win every game regardless of the situation or scenario."
 
Tickets for both matches this weekend can found HERE. If you can't make it to Thunderbird Stadium, you can watch the action unfold live on Canada West TV.