If playoffs are where real rivalries are formed then this weekend's Canada West semifinal series between the host UBC Thunderbirds and Trinity Western Spartans could very well shape up to be a classic as the two cross-town foes face each other in the postseason for the first time.
Hosting the best-of-three series at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre starting Friday, February 27, the No. 1 ranked T-Birds certainly begin their post-season as the favourites to advance to a fifth straight conference final. But the blue and gold aren't about to take anything lightly as they're set to face a confident Spartans squad which is coming off their first ever Canada West series win having swept the Dinos in their quarter-final.
"We can't look at our regular season record or what we did against them, we're not expecting this is going to be easy," said UBC head coach, Graham Thomas, whose team earned the regular season series sweep over TWU. "Everyone's focussed and intense, we're not taking anything lightly. These guys are going to push us hard and come at us with everything they got and we just have to be ready to respond."
In addition to going 6-0 vs the Spartans in 2025-26, the T-Birds outscored Trinity by a combined 19-7 margin. UBC has also won their last 19 straight regular season battles dating back to November of 2022. But as the 'Birds' bench boss alludes to, the past matters little while the Spartans not only swept the Dinos but did so convincingly – with 5-1 and 4-2 victories – to advance to their first ever conference semifinal.
"They've got some senior players, they're hungry to try to knock us off and earn their first berth to nationals for their program, their first Canada West final appearance," said Thomas. "They're going to be physical, they're going to play structured. They're a well-coached group. We have to match their intensity and we're going to have to stay disciplined."
Perhaps the biggest challenge for UBC is the fact come puck drop Friday, the team will have gone a full 20 days without meaningful competition. It's led to some creativity for the coaching staff in order to keep the group at the high level they've been running at since the start of their current eight-game win streak back on January 16.
"Credit to the players, they had a good combination of some intrasquad games, skill development, some rest, some extra gym sessions, it was just a real balance of everything. Now this week is just ramping right up, you can tell the intensity difference day to day. It's hard to replicate playoff intensity when you've had a week off but everybody's got the message and on the same page. You can feel it, there's more excitement in the air and they're salivating for some hockey, they want to play and that's exactly where we want them."
As if the T-Birds – who set new Canada West regular season records in wins (26) and points (52) – needed an added boost, forward Vanessa Schaefer will make her return to the lineup having just won Olympic Bronze with team Switzerland at the Milano-Cortina Games last week.
If her dynamic line combination with veteran forwards Grace Elliott and Annalise Wong can pick up where they left off prior to Schaefer's departure, it will be a major challenge for the Spartans to contain to say the least.
Puck drop for game one of the Canada West semifinal is set for 12:00 p.m. Friday, February 27 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre – a school game day experience expected to bring several thousand kids into the building to cheer on the blue and gold.
Game two is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Saturday while game three – if necessary – will go Sunday, March 1.
Tickets for games one and two are available online now while the entire series will be streamed live on Canada West TV.
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