VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds are about to embark on their most important weekend to date during the 2022-23 season. On the heels of three straight losses, and a 4-4-1-1 record through 10 games, the blue and gold will look to turn to the tide when they begin a home-and-home double-header against their foes from Trinity Western University Thursday night (6:00 pm) at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbirds Sports Centre.
 
"It's definitely time for some soul searching, and to figure out how to find our game again and get back to the things we did at the start of the year that allowed us to win games," said UBC head coach Sven Butenschon. "You can't just go through the motions and say the right things. We have to be honest with ourselves right now and realize that [the recent effort] it hasn't been good enough."
 
The 'Birds are looking for answers after dropping a pair of games on the road last weekend in Calgary. Friday was the low point of the season to date – A 7-2 loss. Saturday, while better, was still not the exact response that the coaching staff was hoping for.


 
What does the correct response look like?
 
"Number one, hard work. Number two execution, and number three is preparing properly for each game," remarked Butenschon. "It was surprising that we came out Saturday with the kind of response that we did, especially given what happened the night before. Maybe you don't get the result, but at least you hope to get the right response."
 
Offensively, UBC has relied heavily on a pair of first-year players: Sasha Mutala and Jake Lee. Mutala comes into the weekend with a team-leading 14 points (2G, 12A). Lee sits second in team scoring with 10 points (6G, 4A) and his six goals rank him tied for first alongside Cyle McNabb. With 38 goals in 10 games, the 'Birds are tied for third in all of Canada West.
 
Shifting gears forward, the table is now set for a pivotal home-and-home weekend with their Valley foes, the Trinity Western Spartans. Despite a record of 1-8, the Spartans are a team on the rise, and are not to be taken lightly.


 
"We're not that far off. We're in it, we're close, we just have to stick together and find a way out of this," concluded Butenschon. "We're trying not to focus on our opponent. It's always about us. If we play to our strengths, we can beat anybody. Trinity is much improved. They've got good goaltending and they are in every game they play. We have to stay composed and we have to be prepared to find a way to win a hockey game."
 
The two B.C. rivals clash first on Thursday night before heading back to Langley for a Saturday rematch. Tickets for Thursday's tilt can be purchased here. You can also catch the game live via Canada West TV.