The No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds (24-2) have already wrapped up first overall and home ice throughout the coming Canada West playoffs, but as the team enters their final weekend of regular season competition, there's still plenty the veteran squad wants to accomplish as they host their perennial rivals the Alberta Pandas (10-7-7) Friday and Saturday, February 6 and 7, at Father Bauer Arena.
With the T-Birds' scheduled bye landing on the final weekend of regular season play, followed by the bye earned through the quarter-finals, Saturday will mark the last game for the blue and gold until they open up the conference semifinal series on February 27.
Given the long coming layoff, there's some increased urgency for the team to put together solid, back-to-back 60 minute efforts.
"It's our last dress rehearsal and a chance to try some things with chemistry and lines, and just keep building on our game and keep working on it as a group," said UBC head coach Graham Thomas. "There's a lot happening and with some injuries we have and players away, these are crucial games still for a lot of reasons. We need to fight through a little bit of adversity as well."
It's an appropriate final matchup for the 'Birds as no team has provided more storylines for UBC over the past year-plus. Along with Mount Royal, Alberta is one of just two teams to hand the T-Birds a loss this season. Of course, there's also the lasting memory of the Pandas defeating the 'Birds in last year's conference final series.
The T-Birds currently boast a 21-point lead over Alberta atop the Canada West's west division, but the Pandas are in a fight to secure second and home ice for the quarter-finals. The Pandas hold just a four point gap over Trinity Western making for a massively important four points up for grabs this weekend.
With UBC expecting to face the best the Pandas have to offer as a result, it should be a fierce battle at Father Bauer, especially given the T-Birds' recent play, coming off back-to-back shutouts at MacEwan.
"We put up over 100 shots this past weekend so we ran into some hot goaltending, but we had a lot of good o-zone time," Thomas continued. "We're starting to build and just keep focussing on the execution."
This weekend will also mark the final regular season home contests for UBC's 12 graduating seniors. By far the largest such class of players in Thomas' tenure, there will be a bittersweetness in the air at Father Bauer as captain Annalise Wong, Grace Elliott, Meadow Carman, Ashton Thorpe, Karine Sandilands, Sophia Gaskell, Olivia Buckley, Elise Hugens, Madisyn Wiebe, Mya Healey, Mia Bierd and Kailee Peppler will all be honoured.
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"You get emotional just starting to think about it. They've won a lot of hockey games, they've raised the bar, they've accomplished a lot of personal, team and league milestones with this group. We've won three Canada West championships and one runner-up finish, so they've medalled every year. Hopefully we can make it five for five and finish their career off with a national championship. That's what everyone's goal is. They've been an amazing group, they really are. It's not just the leaders and captains, it's the core of this veteran group and what they bring every day."
Puck drop Friday at Father Bauer is set for 7:00 p.m. with Saturday's regular season finale scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Tickets are available online and both games will be streamed live on Canada West TV.
