The 2026 Canada West regular season has been a successful one for the UBC Thunderbirds, as they've clinched the top seed for the conference playoffs and recently regained the status of No. 1 on the U SPORTS rankings ahead of the York Lions.

Just two more games remain before the postseason, with the T-Birds facing off against the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Friday, October 16, and against the UNBC Timberwolves on Saturday, October 17. Both games are at home, the former at Ken Woods Field and the latter at Thunderbird Stadium.

One quirk of the T-Birds' schedule this year is that they are on a bye for the final week of the regular season, meaning that after Saturday's action they will have two weeks to prepare for the Canada West playoffs, with the blue and gold guaranteed home field advantage throughout.

"It's the first box ticked," said UBC head coach Mike Mosher. "First place is clinched and that's one of our goals that we set. Being at home is beneficial for us – we're very comfortable playing on our surface and we hopefully won't have to deal with weather that we could face on the prairies. As we look forward to this weekend and then the bye, it's about maintaining consistency, competitiveness, and also freshness. 

"We've had a few knocks over the last few weeks, and that'll factor into this weekend, but at the same time we're the number one seed in the country at this stage of the game, and we also have to think about that and try to maintain that status as we head into playoffs and so forth, as it can be beneficial as well. We want to maintain our momentum, simply put."
 

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The WolfPack will be looking to avenge a home loss suffered to the T-Birds just last weekend, when UBC arrived Kamloops and earned a 4-0 victory. And while the Timberwolves are out of the playoff picture, they're one of just two teams to have taken points off the 'Birds so far this year, doing so in a wild 3-3 draw in Prince George back in the middle of September.

In addition to the games themselves, this weekend also serves as an opportunity to honour the three graduating seniors who will be moving on from the program after this season. That trio is headlined by reigning Canada West Defender of the Year Eric Lajeunesse, who enters this weekend having played 96 career regular season and playoff games in a UBC jersey, starting every one of them.



A three-time All-Canadian, Lajeunesse has also made 50 appearances for Pacific FC in the Canadian Premier League across three seasons. The central defender has been a model of consistency for the T-Birds in his university career, and a leader both on and off the pitch.

"For Eric, there's not a lot you can say that doesn't speak for itself," remarked Mosher. "I've been around UBC as a player and a coach for a long time, and for me, I would put Eric amongst the best players that this program has seen over the last 40 years. He'll graduate with his degree come December, and I'm excited for him what opportunities might lie ahead to push on in the game. He's really grown to be a good leader and a good role model for the rest of the guys…Eric's habits are second to none, and that's what makes him such a good player."

Two other long-serving Thunderbirds who will be honoured are defender Joshua Tomé and forward Brandon Momotani. Both are Lower Mainland natives who have contributed in various roles across their five years at UBC.



Tomé is enjoying a strong senior season, starting four of the last six games coming into this weekend and making five total starts so far this campaign, his most since he tallied seven in 2023-24. Momotani, meanwhile, has made three substitute appearances so far this year, and has a goal and an assist in just under 450 career minutes. 

"You've got Tomé, he's a guy who comes in and he's played a good role in terms of often coming in when needed and guys have been injured," said Mosher. "He's been a good soldier for the program through his five years now in the squad.

"It's similar for Brandon. You've got a lot of guys within the group who come to training, work hard and maybe they don't get the limelight as some of the others, but those guys are important to your program and Josh and Brandon have been those guys for us."

The three graduating seniors will be honoured on Saturday, when the Thunderbirds take on UNBC at 7:30 p.m. (PT) in their final game of the regular season. Their matchup with the WolfPack the previous night also kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (PT).