Working on an 11-game point streak and riding atop the Canada West's west division, in a month full of strong tests the UBC Thunderbirds face perhaps their most challenging yet as they host the Alberta Golden Bears Friday and Saturday, November 21 and 22 at Father Bauer Arena.
Finally back on home ice after back-to-back road trips that saw the No. 3 ranked T-Birds collect 7 of eight possible points, the final home series of 2025 pits two perennial powerhouses against each other with the opportunity for UBC to take a commanding lead over their division rivals at the halfway point of the regular season.
"It's always a fun challenge against U of A, they've set the bar for so many years. When you see it on the calendar, it's the highlight of the year when you go to the Clare Drake and when they come here," said UBC head coach,
Sven Butenschon, as his team sits a full six points ahead of the Bears heading into the weekend. "The team's rolling, and not even talking just about the games. From Monday skill practice, everybody's real connected, everybody's on the same page. You can feel the support and the love in the room and we're just really leaning on the whole cultural vibe that we've got going and that's what you're seeing on the ice."
The T-Birds stumbled slightly last Friday, suffering an overtime loss at MacEwan, but bounced back with a dominant 6-1 victory Saturday on the strength of an impressive special teams performance that saw the power play score three times while the penalty kill finished a perfect 4-for-4, completing the weekend killing nine of ten Griffin man advantages.
"The boys kind of felt how we needed to get on the same page, we needed to be better, we needed to get some confidence out of (the PK)," Butenschon said. "Sure enough on Saturday after you lose a tough one on Friday, you got a couple early penalty kills that are so important for momentum, you're not chasing the game and you can stay on the gas. The guys rallied, they blocked shots, they were better on their clears and they were all on the same page. And your goalie's got to be your best penalty killer, Cole (Schwebius) made a couple beautiful saves, important saves during those kills."
Competing in the same division as Alberta this season, the T-Birds earned a pair of convincing victories over the Bears last month in Edmonton. Since then, Alberta has split each of their ensuing three weekends and now sit just one point ahead of MacEwan for second in the division. Given the stakes, despite the calendar still reading November, Alberta can scarcely afford to fall further behind if they have any visions of making a charge for the overall division lead come the end of the season.
"We have a lot of respect for those guys, from top to bottom, the way they conduct themselves. One of the keys when we went up there, they play a heavy brand, especially on the Clare Drake, a smaller surface. This week we're playing on Father Bauer, a similar kind of vibe. The ice is going to be better, things happen a little bit faster up there and we're going to try to prepare the same way. We're expecting the group to come out with the same energy and passion and drive and desire to push the pace. We have a bigger group and when you play with pace and you combine that size, we're a problem for anybody."
UBC's depth is also a growing problem for their opponents, the team now boasting four players in the top ten in conference scoring, led by fourth-year
Sasha Mutala who has put up 20 points in 12 games, currently on a nine game point streak.
Rookie defenceman
Jace Weir leads all Canada West first year skaters with an impressive 15 points while a total of nine T-Birds are at a point-per-game pace or better.
Knowing the road doesn't get any easier with a trip to Saskatoon to face the Huskies coming up next, the T-Birds will be all the better for having gone through this stretch of schedule come playoff time, especially if they come out the other side with more wins than not.
"It's probably one of the toughest stretches I've seen since I've been here. Go to Winnipeg, go to Edmonton, play U of A at home, go to Saskatoon which is a tough city to get into. Lots of time on the road, lots of missing class, so you got to catch up and spend extra time studying and that's stressful on your system. Guys try to get ahead of it, guys try to do as much studying ahead of time and time management is really important during these weeks."
Puck drop Friday at Father Bauer Arena is set for 7:00 p.m. with Saturday's final meeting with the Bears at home this regular season beginning at 3:00 p.m.
Tickets are available online and both games will be streamed live on
Canada West TV.
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