VANCOUVER – Following a disappointing last home weekend and a Canada West bye, the UBC Thunderbirds return to action for the first time in two weeks Friday, October 28 when they host the Grant MacEwan Griffins at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Since starting the season with three wins in their first four games with points in each of them, the T-Birds suffered back-to-back regulation losses to the Huskies, falling to 3-2-1 on the season, despite outplaying Saskatchewan in both games of the weekend doubleheader earlier in October.
While that above .500 record has the team sitting in sixth in the Canada West standings, the 'Birds have two games in hand on most teams ahead of them with this weekend providing the beginning of a 12-game stretch heading into the December break and the chance to make up some lost ground.
"A combination of rest, regeneration, catching up on school and then doing a deep dive on video, and on analytics," said UBC Head Coach Sven Butenschon, summing up his team's bye week. "It's been fun, it's been a nice challenge. We're really now looking forward to the weekend, it feels like it's been a long time since we played."
Though still relatively early in the season, the T-Birds offence has thus far been the class of the conference, with a Canada West leading 4.5 goals per game. Jake Lee leads all conference rookie defencemen with eight points and also boasts a +8 rating, tops among all blue liners. Led by Sasha Mutala's ten points in six games, five T-Birds in total are averaging at least a point-per-game.
"Part of hockey is offence and scoring goals so, sure, we can check that off but we have to put it all together," said Butenschon whose bigger concern right now is cutting down on the number of goals allowed, an aspect of UBC's game that was certainly improved against the Huskies.
"It's not easy to adjust to," Butenschon added when speaking about his two rookie netminders. "I don't know if I've ever seen a goalie step in and be an impact player in this league right from junior so that's what they should be focussing on – not putting too much pressure on themselves. And as long as they're progressing and trending in the right direction, we're happy."
Friday night will mark the first regular season meeting between the 'Birds and Griffins since last October when UBC swept MacEwan in their first visit to Vancouver as a member of the Canada West. The two did play in preseason action in Edmonton last month with UBC earning a 3-2 comeback win.
MacEwan heads to Vancouver after a weekend split with the number 10-ranked Mount Royal Cougars in Edmonton last weekend. Now in their second season in the conference, the Griffins have established themselves as a tough team to play against, securing points against every opponent they've faced thus far.
"They've gotten wins every single weekend this year, they've beaten everybody they've played. So if we have any thoughts of getting points this weekend…we can't let up, can't be soft, can't cheat on anything, we have to do whatever it takes to get the job done."
Puck drop Friday at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre is set for 7:00 p.m. PT with Saturday's rematch beginning at 3:00 p.m. PT next door at Father David Bauer Arena. Tickets are available online and both games will be streamed live on Canada West TV.
