With their final bye week of the regular season now in the rear view mirror, the UBC Thunderbirds are in a race to the finish line with two monumental final weekends of the Canada West campaign starting this Friday, February 7, when the blue and gold host the conference-leading Saskatchewan Huskies for the first of two weekend battles at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
The only meeting of the year between the two powerhouse programs holds massive consequences for both – UBC (17-6-1) entering their final home weekend of the season just one point behind Mount Royal for first in the West Division, Saskatchewan (20-4) tied for the East Division lead alongside the Alberta Golden Bears.
"It's coming down to crunch time here, the standings are so tight," said UBC head coach
Sven Butenschon, hoping his team can manage to finish first in the division which would earn a bye through to the semifinals for a third time in the last four seasons. "The new divisional format has created a real battle here on our side of things between Mount Royal, so we got to take care of our game, take care of business. Hopefully we get some help around the league but the number one priority is just trying to round up your game into top playoff form."
Given the stakes both this weekend and next when UBC closes out the regular season against the Dinos in Calgary, there will certainly be a playoff type feel at the Doug Friday night in what could be a semifinal preview.
"It's pretty weird going into the second last weekend of the year playing a team you haven't seen," Butenschon said of a Huskies squad UBC hasn't faced since November of 2023. "We've watched a lot of video, we've followed them all year obviously and very impressed with what they're doing. They've got three lines of forwards that have all contributed with a lot of offence. They score a lot of goals, they got a great power play, they got a great penalty kill, great goaltending. So they kind of have all the bases covered and that's why you're seeing a lot of success."
The No. 2 ranked Huskies head to Vancouver as one of the hottest teams in the country, currently working on an 11-game win streak. Boasting both the conference's top power play (33.6%) and penalty kill ( 89.2%), Saskatchewan's special teams prowess means the No. 4 T-Birds – the second most penalized team in the Canada West – will need to be even more mindful to play to their strength as one of the country's leading offences five-on-five.
But if there's any team standing in the way of the Huskies' pursuit of claiming first in the East, it's the T-Birds who have won five straight and 13 of their last 14 and finally back at home with their full lineup for the first time in 2025.
"From early injuries at the beginning of the season to a few losses early on, lots of line juggling, lots of power play changes, the guys going away to Italy for a couple weeks; even since Christmas, we still haven't played our 'A' game yet, so hopefully the bye week gave us a chance to just come together, a bit of a reset. Boy, we'd love to see us finish out the season playing the right way, getting wins and finding that team chemistry that gave us success last year."
A big part of that team chemistry over the last four seasons will be celebrated before puck drop Saturday as the T-Birds' four graduating seniors will be publicly lauded for their time in the blue and gold.
Defenceman
Conner McDonald as well as forwards
Tian Rask and
Jack Wismer and goaltender
Dorrin Luding are all preparing for their final regular season home games for the Thunderbirds this weekend – all of whom can be defined as heart and soul members of the team in addition to their contributions on the ice.
"Tian and Conner came in during the global pandemic, everything was shut down and it was a strange time. But it was also a unique time and we created relationships under those circumstances and I think they're maybe stronger relationships because of it. They've been with us for several deep playoff runs and multiple national appearances in their short time here, they've had a lot of success. We talked a lot about (
Jonathan Smart) and (
Ryan Pouliot) leaving last year, you can throw those guys in the same category. It sounds like
Jack Wismer's going to be leaving too and he's been a glue guy, a core guy, he's very well-liked in the room. He's the music guy, he's the vibe guy and he'll be a big loss for us too."
While primarily serving in a backup role, Luding has been the consummate teammate while also stepping up in big moments when needed, including a 33 save win over the Golden Bears at Clare Drake Arena.
"Dorrin has been an unbelievable teammate and is a true Thunderbird. I'm not sure anybody else feels as passionate about UBC and the men's hockey program. Even though he hasn't played as many games as others, he is a core guy and an integral piece to the culture we've created."
Puck drop Friday is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre with Saturday's final home game of the regular season scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
Tickets for both games are available online now and both will be streamed live on
Canada West TV.
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