The number one ranked UBC Thunderbirds put their undefeated record to the test hosting a pair of Prairie Division opponents this weekend, starting with the Lethbridge Pronghorns for Thunderstruck Friday night, followed by with a visit from the No. 10 Alberta Golden Bears on Saturday.
One of just three Canada West teams who have yet to suffer a loss, the T-Birds (3-0-1) have had a solid start to the season, but have forced themselves to battle back from behind in all three of their victories, including last Saturday's 4-1 win over the Cascades.
"I think it's just a mindset," said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher of what's needed to improve his squad's first half performances. "The mindset was right going into the second half of the Fraser Valley game. The guys were kind of on each other, in a good way, to improve the performance and get it right. (Assistant Coach Joe Zupo) and I also emphasized maybe a little bit more strongly that enough's enough. Enough of talking about talent and knowing there's quality – let's start to show it. So it was a good response in the second half but yeah, it's still a team in growth and that's fine."
Friday night's game against Lethbridge (1-2-2) features a very rare visit by the Pronghorns to Thunderbird Stadium – their first in five years. Last season's only meeting with UBC resulted in a 2-2 draw in southern Alberta.
"They were a much improved team last year and I think they return a lot of those players with a little bit of success from them," said Mosher of the Pronghorns who have allowed just two goals against through five games. "They'll be looking I'm sure to keep things relatively tight. They've been competitive and in every game thus far and that kind of builds upon where they were last year, as a playoff team."
The Golden Bears (3-0-1) are enjoying an equally stellar start to the campaign as their Thunderbird counterparts, already opening up a sizeable lead atop the Prairie standings. The Bears visit the UBC Okanagan Heat Friday night before continuing their road trip in Vancouver the following day with the possibility of a battle of undefeated squads.
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"Alberta's been growing as a team over the last couple of years and they've got some good players, some quality going forward that can be real threats. Obviously they've had a very good start and have already really positioned themselves really strongly at the top of that other division. So, two very competitive games for us; in all likelihood, two playoff teams from the other side coming in so it won't be an easy weekend."
Perhaps the biggest storyline coming out of the T-Birds so far this young season has been the emergence of rookie forward
Henri Godbout as an offensive force. The first-year Vancouverite is the reigning Canada West Player of the Week and currently leads the conference with 1.5 points per game (3G, 3A), none of which comes as a surprise to his head coach.
"I expected this, to be honest. Just given what I'd seen in term two last year; a limited sample size of stuff in the summer, but he's got some real quality. And he's a great kid with a great attitude. He really enjoys playing the game, really enjoys being around the guys. Full credit to him, his work rate is outstanding and I think we'll just see that player hopefully continue to grow more and more."
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Friday night's game vs the Pronghorns is the second half of the double bill Thunderstruck feature which starts with the UBC women hosting the Heat. Kickoff for the men's contest is set for 7:30 p.m. at Thunderbird Stadium.
Saturday's meeting with the Golden Bears is set for 7:00 p.m.
Tickets for both are available now and both games will also be streamed live on
Canada West TV.
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