VANCOUVER – For the second time at the helm of the UBC Thunderbirds,
Sven Butenschon has been honoured with the Canada West Coach of the Year award.
Guiding the T-Birds to the top seed in the Canada West for the first time since 1963, Butenschon led the team to new program records this season in wins (22) and points (46). The T-Birds also topped the Canada West with 126 goals along with boasting the conference's top power play (23.6%) and penalty kill (89.1%).
Defeating the Alberta Golden Bears in last weekend's conference semifinal, Butenschon and the Thunderbirds advanced to their third Canada West final in the last four seasons and are now hosting the championship series for the first time in program history.
Taking over the reigns in 2016, the former NHLer has transformed the Thunderbirds into a perennial contender with two U SPORTS national championship appearances in the previous three seasons and now another in 2024, earning a berth with the recent semifinal win. Recently coaching his 100th Canada West regular season victory behind the bench, Butenschon boasts a conference record of 107-69, the top win percentage of any coach in UBC men's hockey history.
Butenschon's first Canada West Coach of the Year award came in 2017-18, his second season as T-Birds bench boss, when he guided the team to what was then their best regular season finish in a 28-game schedule.
The T-Birds open up the Canada West Final against the defending champion Calgary Dinos this Friday, March 1 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Puck drop for game one is set for 7:00 p.m. and
tickets are available online now!
