Hosting the Canada West Final for a fifth straight time, the No. 1 ranked UBC Thunderbirds have redemption top of mind, set to host the upstart Manitoba Bisons for conference supremacy in a best-of-three series starting Friday, March 6 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
It's the first time in ten years the two programs will meet for the Canada West banner, the T-Birds having earned their second conference title back in 2016.
UBC has since rattled off four more Canada West crowns since, their streak of three consecutive championships broken last year when the 'Birds fell to the Alberta Pandas. With much of the same veteran group from 2025 back for another run, the drive to head into the upcoming U SPORTS National tournament in the best possible position is stronger than ever.
"This year, it's more of a focussed approach on winning this weekend and making sure we can go into nationals as conference champions," said UBC head coach Graham Thomas, leading the 'Birds into an eighth Canada West Final in this his 13th season. "We've learned from our past experiences, especially last year. We know we have to earn it every shift and play consistent."
The T-Birds advanced to the final having shaken off a three-week layoff to easily get past the Trinity Western Spartans in last weekend's semifinal.
It's been a much different path for Manitoba who finds themselves on the road for a third straight playoff series having earned upset victories over the Pandas and the Calgary Dinos. Sitting on the outside of the playoff picture looking in in mid January, the Bisons rattled off five straight wins to close out the regular season, securing the final East Division berth by two points. It's a remarkable run for a young squad now brimming with confidence and with plenty of wind in their sails.
"You got to give them 100 per cent credit for what they're doing and the run they're on right now and what they've accomplished," said Thomas. "We have to completely respect them, they're a very worthy opponent and they've earned everything to this point. They've got players at the top of their game right now, they're well coached. It's going to be a very good matchup. They play their own style and are structured within it. They can frustrate you and if we're not on our game or bringing our best they'll bite us and they've proven the ability to do that to a lot of opponents down the stretch."
The Bisons are one of just three teams to take the T-Birds beyond 60 minutes during the regular season, UBC earning a 3-2 shootout victory in early November to secure the sweep of the only weekend series between the two this year.
Having also earned a berth at the upcoming national championship, Manitoba faces a Thunderbirds squad which scored seven goals from six different scorers in last week's semifinal – alarmingly for the Bisons, none of them coming from Grace Elliott who along with linemates Annalise Wong and Vanessa Schaefer were limited to a combined three points.
"If they're targeting (Elliott) and Wong it gives some other players a little more room and they end up getting the job done. And Grace is happy with that and that's great, she's got a good approach to it. She's still doing a lot of great things. They didn't find the back of the net but they drew a lot of attention, they played a hard two-way game and they're just super happy about the team winning."
Beyond the prestige of a conference title, the winner of this weekend's series will also have the benefit of a higher seed at nationals, set to begin Thursday, March 19 hosted by the University of Waterloo.
Puck drop for game one of the Canada West Final is set for 7:00 p.m. Friday, March 6 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Game two Saturday begins at 7:00 p.m. with game three – if necessary – scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 8.
Tickets for games one and two are available online or at the door, and the entire series will also be streamed live on Canada West TV.
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