The University of British Columbia Athletics

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's hockey team will be tested right out of the gate as the team opens up its season this weekend at home against the most successful program in CIS hockey history and 2014 national champion Alberta Golden Bears on Friday and Saturday night.

TICKETS / WEB STREAM / LIVE STATS

The Thunderbirds look to begin the season in winning fashion after stumbling to a 1-5-1 record out of the gate en route to an 11-15-2 record. In the Canada West playoffs, UBC went on the road and beat eventual CIS finalist Saskatchewan, before falling to Alberta in the league semifinals.

The Thunderbirds have the luxury of being sharp to open the season as the team participated in the University of Regina Tournament two weekends ago, beating the same Golden Bears by a 4-2 score to begin the tournament. The team also won against the University of Lethbridge and narrowly lost to the 2014 Canada West runner-up Calgary Dinos.

UBC's Cole Wilson will look to have another breakthrough year after finishing fourth in Canada West scoring with 35 points and finishing runner-up in goals, with 18 on the season. Those stats earned him an invitation from the Washington Capitals to the NHL team's Summer Development Camp in July. Over the past two seasons, Wilson has been more than a point-per-game player with 59 points in 53 games; the type of scoring that will be crucial to the Thunderbirds' success this year. Other than the Dinos' Chris Collins, Wilson is the top returning Canada West scorer as a Second Team Canada West All-Star.

Newly-hired head coach Tyler Kuntz will look get the Thunderbirds back on the winning track during the regular season as UBC has had just one winning season since 2009. Kuntz is no stranger to the Thunderbirds team after spending the past four seasons behind the bench as an assistant coach as well as playing for the T-Birds between 1999 and 2004 as a blue-liner.

The Golden Bears were unstoppable in 2013 losing just twice in regulation en route to a 25-2-1 record, more than double the point total of the Thunderbirds, with a nearly 3-to-1 goal for to goals against ratio. In head-to-head matchups, the Thunderbirds lost all six meetings against the Golden Bears last season including four during the regular season and two in the playoffs.

Expect to see second-year Matt Hewitt in the crease as the former Regina Pats goalie is coming off a 4-10 record where he posted a 4.10 goals against average and .874 save percentage, splitting the starts with fellow 'tender Steven Stanford. With Stanford's departure, first-year goaltender Eric Williams and Salem State University transfer Khaleed Devji will complete the trio of T-Birds manning the crease this season in an effort to backstop UBC to another playoff berth.

Alberta will be without the services of former captain Sean Ringrose, who signed a professional deal in Austria, after leading the Golden Bears in scoring last season with 36 points, good for third in the Canada West. Defenceman Colin Joe and Ian Barteaux also signed ECHL deals this past summer as the Thunderbirds try to take advantage of several key losses for Alberta this upcoming weekend.

In addition to Stanford, the team will have to do without the likes of Geordie Wudrick and Ilan Cumberbirch, who signed recently with a professional team in the Netherlands. Wudrick signed with the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL after spending half a season with the Thunderbirds last year providing some energy and grit down the stretch.

With said departures, there are a number of top-calibre players that will make their Canada West debut as Thunderbirds this weekend including WHL alumnus Williams, who played for the Spokane Chiefs, Manraj Hayer, formerly of the Everett Silvertips, and Adam Rossignol, who is debuting after a stint with the 2013 Memorial Cup finalist Portland Winterhawks. In total, seven new recruits will join the Thunderbirds this season and inject some energy into the team as an offensive threat, and sturdy defensive unit.

Nate Fleming, Brad Hoban and Anthony Bardaro will be the crux of this year's squad, in addition to Wilson, as the three finished in the top-50 in scoring last season operating at just below a point-per-game clip. Though the Golden Bear's lose Ringrose, Alberta will counter with four of the league's top-15 scorers from last season including the 2014 Mervyn "Red" Dutton Trophy winner Jordan Rowley, who was the league's co-leader in scoring by defenceman. Rowley just concluded his participation at the Edmonton Oilers' primary training camp after receiving an invitation a week prior.

Alberta is returning its top two goaltenders in Kurtis Mucha and Luke Siemens, who finished first and second in the Canada West last season in GAA, respectively. They combined for 25 wins, four shutouts, and just two regulation losses.

The two alternated starts for the majority of the season, a rarity in elite hockey, despite Mucha winning the 2013 CIS Goaltender of the Year although the strategy ended up paying off.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. each of the two nights, Friday and Saturday, at Father David Bauer Arena.

UBC men's hockey will be honouring School of Kinesiology Undergraduate Advisor Fran Harrison in a pre-game ceremony on Friday night.