‘Birds Quest for a Canada West Crown Begins Friday in Saskatoon

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (15-9) are off to the Prairies to begin their quest for a Canada West championship. Beginning Friday, the #5 ranked ‘Birds take to the floor in Saskatoon for a best-of-three Canada West quarterfinal series against the #4 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies.
 
Mike Hawkins‘ crew is heading into the playoffs on a roll. The blue and gold have captured four straight victories and have won five of their previous seven games dating back to January 21^st against Mount Royal. Not to be outdone are the Saskatchewan Huskies who enter the playoffs with five straight wins and have accumulated eight wins in their last 10 outings dating back to January 13^th against Trinity Western. The ‘Birds and Huskies did meet at War Memorial Gym for a double-header in early January with each team snagging a victory.

 
“It was a unique season. Having so many first-year athletes play key minutes wasn’t exactly the plan, but in the long run it made us a stronger team,” said the fifth-year head coach Mike Hawkins. “It provided experience and exposure for guys who may not have gotten that opportunity if we had been fully healthy. So that gives us confidence during the playoffs that if we do have to have young players come in to big situations, they’re used to it.”
 
Fortunately for UBC, they’re heading into the playoffs with a clean bill of health and the older players in particular have a point to prove. Coltyn Liu and Matt Neaves both missed long chunks of time with injuries during the season, but Hawkins will be leaning on those two, along with fellow veterans Gerard Murray and Michael Dowhaniuk to set the tone for the series. “Although we took the scenic route to get here, we find ourselves in an ideal situation where everybody is healthy and ready to go,” added Mike Hawkins. “Even before Christmas we knew that things weren’t going to come easy for us [standings-wise], and our group now has embraced that fact. We’ve been in a ‘grit and grind’ mode now for awhile preparing to start on the road, and I don’t see it as a big disadvantage for us because of our experience.”

 
Back in early January despite missing several regulars from their lineup, the ‘Birds earned a split with Saskatchewan, with each team securing a 3-1 victory against each other. “Looking back on that series we earned a split against a tough team while starting three first-year athletes,” reflected Hawkins. “We know that a lot of our systems and principles will stay the same, but our lineup will just be more experienced. We know they’re a good team. They rely on Dylan Mortensen pretty heavily, but we’re confident if we play our style we should be in a good spot.” Dylan Mortensen will be a major cog in the Huskies attack. Last weekend he became Canada West’s all-time leader in both points (1749.5) and kills (1490).
 
The ultimate key to success his weekend for UBC: “Stability,” concluded Mike Hawkins. “It’s a general term, but tactically, emotionally, mentally and technically just being stable is going to help us. Saskatchewan is a veteran group that can go on long runs if you let them, but if we can stay stable in all we do, we’re going to put ourselves in a good spot.”
 
The action kicks off this weekend from Saskatoon on Friday at 5:00 pm PT. Game 2 of the series takes place Saturday at 5:00 pm. Sunday’s Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for Noon PT. You can catch all of the action this weekend live on Canada West TV.