UBC men’s hockey wins first Canada West title in 53 years

For the first time in half a century, the UBC Thunderbirds men’s hockey team has won their conference title.

"It's pretty surreal right now," said UBC head coach Sven Butenschon to UBC staff after the game.

"It's (a) relief. When you're the top seed and you're kind of expected to win and you're supposed to win, that's a lot of pressure and the group seemed to really thrive under pressure.

The Thunderbirds defeated the University of Calgary Dinos 5-3 on Sunday, winning the third and final game of the playoff series.

After losing game one, the Thunderbirds bounced back with a 2-1 win in game two, forcing the series-deciding game three.

Calgary jumped out to an early lead with a goal in the opening minutes on Sunday.

The Thunderbirds then answered back later in the period, starting a run of four unanswered goals by UBC.

UBC maintained their lead in the third period as the Dinos added a pair of scores, cutting the lead to one goal.

But the deficit was too much for the Dinos to overcome as UBC scored an empty net goal to take the 5-3 win.

🏒 MHKY | It's been 53 long years but @UBCMHKY are @CanadaWest champs!!! pic.twitter.com/3RhjpSntgo

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) March 4, 2024

"You dream of moments like this as a kid," said UBC captain Chris Douglas.

"You want to play for a championship and I haven't been able to play for a championship in seven or eight years since I was in my teenage years.”

The Thunderbirds will now turn their attention to the University Cup National Championship that gets underway next week.

The UBC women’s hockey team was also victorious on Sunday as they won their third straight conference championship, the first three-peat in program history.

"This one goes in the history books and so I think that's pretty special," said fifth-year captain Rylind MacKinnon.

"It's a great way to cap off my career here and to have a team this great for this long is just a lot of fun."

🏒 WHKY | @UBCWHKY are once again @CanadaWest champions!!a pic.twitter.com/FWoAFi3W7u

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) March 4, 2024

Down by a goal in the third period, the Thunderbirds battled back with three unanswered scores to take the win.

With the win, the Thunderbirds have qualified for a spot in their respective national championship, also taking place next week.