VANCOUVER – In the Canada West Final for the second consecutive season, the UBC Thunderbirds are on a mission not just to put themselves in the best possible position to succeed at the upcoming U SPORTS National Championship, but to claim a conference title for the first time in over 50 years as they visit the Alberta Golden Bears in a best-of-three series starting Friday, March 18.
After defeating the Mount Royal Cougars in the third and deciding game of the conference semifinal two weeks ago, the T-Birds clinched a berth in the final series in back-to-back seasons for just the second time in program history. It's the sixth ever conference final appearance for UBC and the fourth time facing the Bears who return to the biggest stage for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
That one miss in the past decade was thanks to the T-Birds who, in their last playoff matchup with Alberta, downed the reigning conference champs in an epically fought three game semifinal series.
"It's a very different vibe than when we were in this situation two years ago," said UBC Head Coach Sven Butenschon who has guided his team to wins in three of their last four playoff series. "I think we were going into Saskatchewan (in the 2020 conference final), everything was going so fast and we didn't really stay in that fight, in that competitive mode. I'm not saying we got complacent, but it's just not the same vibe that it is right now. Right now I don't see any complacency with the group. I think everyone is still laser focussed on going into Alberta and winning the first game Friday night."
With their series win over the Cougars, following a tremendous regular season, UBC proved to the rest of the conference their run to the 2020 University Cup was no accident. In that same vein, Alberta's dominant semifinal series sweep over the Dinos in which the Bears outscored Calgary by a combined 12-3 margin, proved the perennial contenders from Edmonton remain a considerable force to be reckoned with.
The T-Birds haven't faced the Bears since mid-November when UBC picked up a single point in the two-game weekend series, falling 2-1 in double overtime, followed by a 4-3 regulation loss the following night.
"We were in both games, we had a lead, we went to overtime and took a penalty so it could have gone either way, I really liked our two games up there," said Butenschon of how the 'Birds matched up against Alberta. "In saying that, they've added (Noah) Philp, I think Luke Smith wasn't playing and Dawson Davidson wasn't playing so they've added key players, big time players, since that weekend. So, we can't really take too much from that series just because they're a different team. They're flying right now, they've gotten better every weekend this year and they're probably feeling pretty confident, so it just shows the first period and the first ten minutes how important it's going to be."
Much has changed since that November weekend, and even more since the T-Birds last found themselves in the conference final back at the end of February 2020 when they fell in two games to the Saskatchewan Huskies. But the veterans in UBC's dressing room remember all too well their lost opportunity from that year when the National Championship was abruptly cancelled, denying them their shot at glory.
"When you look around that room and you see those five fifth-year guys who've handled the last two years about as well as anybody could and to find ourselves in a similar situation being able to finish the job that was taken away from them is a pretty beautiful story. If you're a young guy in there and you see that, you probably want to do whatever it takes to help those guys."
Those veterans have already stepped up in big ways this post-season, with
Matt Revel leading the Canada West with four goals in just three playoff games thus far. Fellow graduating senior
Austin Glover is clicking at a point-per-game pace as is Rookie forward
Scott Atkinson and second-year defenceman
Jonathan Smart.
Perhaps the biggest story remains the back bone of the team, veteran goaltender Rylan Toth, who seems to find another level come playoff time. A huge part of UBC's post-season run in 2020, the Canada West Goaltender of the Year is working on a 1.34 goals against average and a .957 save percentage in his final playoff run as a T-Bird.
While depth is a source of pride for UBC, the same can be said for the Bears. But it's Alberta's big guns that unsurprisingly lead the playoff scoring race with Noah Philp setting the pace with three goals and eight points in just two games, followed by teammate Matt Fonteyne's seven point effort.
The last time the T-Birds and Golden Bears met in a Canada West Final was all the way back in 1978 when Alberta defeated UBC in a third and deciding game. In fact, the Bears have come out on top in each of their previous three conference final meetings, all of which went the distance.
The 2022 version kicks off Friday at Edmonton's Clare Drake Arena with puck drop set for 6:00 p.m. PT. Game two goes Saturday at 6:00 p.m. with game three, if needed, set for Sunday at 6:00. The entire series will be available live on Canada West TV.
