VANCOUVER – With a home playoff berth already locked up, the UBC Thunderbirds head into the final week of the regular season still with a shot at one of the conference's top two spots as they look to extend their program record win streak when they host the Regina Cougars Friday and Saturday, February 10 and 11 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
With ten straight victories and a new single season high in points with 38, the 'Birds are just one point back of Alberta for second (and a first round bye) with the Golden Bears set to visit the Bisons this weekend. Manitoba sits two points behind both Regina and MacEwan, all of whom are battling for the sixth and final playoff berth.
It all makes for an intriguing and impactful final series of the regular season for the T-Birds who have been one of the hottest teams in the country since the calendar turned.
"We're getting great results, all the stuff that we talked about in the first half the guys have really bought in and you can see it everyday in practice and in the games and as a coach you don't want to screw that up, you don't want to mess with that recipe," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon who has secured a home playoff berth for the third time in the last four seasons. "We're just trying to keep consistent with our day to day routine and we'll watch the scoreboard at the end of the night when all the dust settles."
Even if the 'Birds extend their win streak to 12 games by Saturday night, they'd still need help to leapfrog past the Bears meaning this weekend's matchup with Regina could very well be a first round playoff preview. While UBC is currently tied with Mount Royal in point, the T-Birds have the upper hand with 18 wins to MRU's 17.
Regina picked up a single point last weekend in a home-and-home with the Huskies while splitting the previous week's series against Alberta in Edmonton, earning hard fought points they badly need. Having won their season series with MacEwan, the Cougars have the tie-breaker edge for that final playoff berth. While Regina gaining points this weekend isn't a must, there's no doubt they'll hit the ice with purpose to secure their spot in the postseason.
"Regina's strong, big, physical, I think they're the most physical team in the league," said Butenschon whose team gutted out an overtime win over the Cougars in their last meeting in early December. "So, we need to do what we do best, and our offensive touch right now and instincts are unbelievable. As long as we take care of our own end we give the freedom for the forwards to be creative in the offensive zone. As long as they're not cheating on anything and recognizing the situation, they've really seized the opportunity there."
That offence has indeed been lights out the last several weeks with the 'Birds scoring 39 goals in their last six games, recording eight-plus goals in each of their last three. The power play has also been exceptional with eight goals on the man advantage in just the last three games, upping them to 27.8 per cent on the season, tops in the Canada West.
Helping lead the red hot offence is the reigning conference Player of the Week,
Sam Huo, who put up three goals and four assists in last weekend's sweep of the Spartans. The rookie forward now has ten points on his current four-game win streak and sits second in team scoring with 28 points, three behind fellow rookie
Sasha Mutala.
"All the rookies have stepped in and made an impact. (Huo) definitely has, and what I love about his game is he's getting better. Every week, even last game on Friday night at home, it's 0-0, we fall behind 1-0, but I could tell the way he comes back in his own zone and helping our defence, he's not cheating on offence, he's really buying into the full, complete game that we ask all our centremen to do. I love his play in our end. Obviously the stuff at the other end is fun and the fans love it and I'm sure he loves it, but I just love his overall game right now."
Puck drop Friday night at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre is 7:00 p.m. PT with Saturday's regular season finale – which will also serve to honour graduating senior
Jordan Sandhu – scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
Tickets for both games are available online and both with be streamed live on
Canada West TV.
