VANCOUVER – With just two weeks to go in the Canada West regular season, the Thunderbirds sport a 11-0-1 record and sit atop of the Pacific Division. But even despite that nearly perfect run of form to this point, they're not too far ahead of their nearest competition.
 
That team in question is the Victoria Vikes, who are 10-1-2 and face the T-Birds in a pair of games this week. First, Thunderbird Stadium plays host to the two sides on Thursday, October 9th. Then, they travel over the water to UVic for the rematch on Saturday, October 11th.
 
"It's good to be approaching the business time of the year, and it's great to be able to play a good team like UVic twice this weekend and start getting ready for the playoffs," said UBC head coach Mike Mosher. "And obviously these games can have significant playoff implications as well."
 
Due to the fact that some teams play a different number of conference games, this week marks the final two outings of the regular season for the Vikes, while the T-Birds have two more the following weekend up north against UNBC.
 
That makes the permutations of this week's rivalry battles a little more up in the air, as while first place in the division (and the right to host the first two rounds of the conference playoffs) could potentially be decided before Thanksgiving, it might also have to wait until the final day of the regular season.


 
Going into Thursday's action, the only way that the Vikes can fully guarantee they get the top seed is to win both games against the T-Birds. The Thunderbirds, on the other hand, can clinch first place this week with either two wins or a win and a tie.
 
If the two teams split the games (either with a win each or two ties) then UBC will need just one point in the final two games against the Timberwolves to grab first. If the Vikes get a win and a tie this week, then the 'Birds will need four points from those last two games, putting much more pressure on them to deliver on the road in Prince George.
 
It's likely to be a pair of defensive battles between the 'Birds and Vikes, as they hold the best defensive records in Canada West, averaging 0.5 and 0.77 goals against per game, respectively. The T-Birds have recorded four straight shutouts and five in their last six games, while UVic has only conceded one goal in their last four games.
 
"UVic are a good team, they were good last year and it's pretty much the same team," remarked Mosher. "They're really well-organized, tough to break down defensively, and their results and standings speak for themselves. As much as we've had a good season to date, so have they."
 
As the last home game of the regular season, Thursday is also Senior Night for the Thunderbirds, who will be honouring four graduating players. That list includes team captain Markus Kaiser, defender Marcus Puhalj, midfielder Yu-Hsuan Yuan, and forward Kyle Dent.


 
"Markus Kaiser and Marcus Puhalj have played key roles in the success of the program over the last many years, with three different podium finishes in the last three years at nationals," reflected Mosher.
 
"Yu-Hsuan is an example of a guy who's put in a heck of a shift in his previous three years, and he got to the point this year where he was really good up until the point of an injury. Kyle's been one of those foot soldier guys – he's been there in training and pushing for a spot when it's not easy to get into a team like ours…those are the guys that make the guys that contribute the most, better."
 
That Senior Night game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. (PT) on Thursday at Thunderbird Stadium. You can get tickets for that and all other UBC events by clicking HERE.