VANCOUVER – The U SPORTS No.1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (7-0-1) are hosting the MacEwan Griffins (1-7-0) for back to back games at Father Bauer Arena this weekend. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday and 3:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday.
The T-Birds are riding a six game winning streak and have yet to lose in regulation this year, putting them atop the Canada West standings as well as the nationwide rankings. The high-flying 'Birds have been on a scoring spree to start the season, tallying an average of five goals a game, which is easily tops in the conference. They're being led by
Mackenzie Kordic, whose 15 points is more than double any non-UBC player in Canada West.
"It feels like this group just wants to compete and wants to get better every day," said UBC head coach
Graham Thomas. "The team is just very focused right now. Everyone's bought in, everyone knows the mission and everybody's working towards it."
It's not just the scoring that's coming through for the T-Birds so far this season, as the goaltending tandem of
Elise Hugens and
Kayla McDougall have combined to give up a paltry 1.37 goals per game.
"It's great to have the depth, nice to be able to throw different goalies against different teams," mused Thomas. "Kayla, she's been very patient and has done a lot of learning and growing up here. Despite not playing a lot of games over the last few years she's been great for us. Elise has been a rock for us for two years now, a really incredible player who continues to develop.
Reese Hiddleston is also coming off of that injury and is getting closer and closer to coming back. It's exciting, they're all pushing each other."
Despite the fantastic start to the year, Thomas believes there is still room for improvement on his squad and says that the team is far from resting on its laurels.
"We've really switched out mindset this year into more of a growth mindset and that's shown in practice and in games," reflected Thomas. "I also think that the healthy competition we have within our team is keeping players on their toes. Roles are still up for grabs, every weekend is a tryout, and that's not allowing for any complacency."
MacEwan enters the weekend at the bottom of the Canada West standings, having dropped seven straight games after opening their year with a win in Calgary. The T-Birds won all four matchups with the Griffins last season, always scoring at least four goals and never allowing more than two.
Tickets for this weekend's games are available now and both will also be streamed on
Canada West TV.
