WHKY Final Preview: Soaring T-Birds clash with surging Bisons
UBC chases a fourth title since 2021, while the Bisons look to make history after a stunning mid-season turnaround
Article by Brian Swane, special to CW
The UBC Thunderbirds are set to host the Manitoba Bisons in the 2026 Canada West women’s hockey championship final at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Games 1 and 2 are scheduled for Friday (March 6) and Saturday (March 7) at 7 p.m. PST. If necessary, Game 3 takes place Sunday (March 8) at 3 p.m. PDT.
Tickets are available for purchase online, with all the action streamed live on Canada West TV – Powered by BioSteel.
It’s a match-up that harkens legendary tales of the unstoppable and the undeniable; of dynasties and dragonslayers.
UBC is in the Canada West women’s hockey final for a fifth straight year and looking to win the championship for a fourth time since 2021. The T-Birds dominated Canada West during the regular season, recording a conference record 26 wins, losing just twice, while outscoring the opposition by more than two goals per game.
Manitoba started the season 1-7-4, before going 12-2-2 over their final 16 games to overtake the Saskatchewan Huskies by two points for the final playoff spot in the East Division. Now the Bisons are trying to become the first team in Canada West women’s hockey history to win three series on the road in a single postseason.
The teams met twice during the regular season, in Vancouver on Nov. 7 and 8. UBC won the first game by a score of 2-0; the teams then went to a shootout tied 2-2 in the second game before the Thunderbirds prevailed. That latter game was the closest UBC has come to losing at home, where the Thunderbirds went 15-0 during the regular season and swept the Trinity Western Spartans in the semifinals last week.
Manitoba won five of its last six games on the road during the regular season, and has since gone into Edmonton and defeated the Alberta Pandas 2-1 in the quarter-finals, before knocking off the Mount Royal Cougars 2-1 in the semifinal round at Flames Community Arena last week.
The Thunderbirds and Bisons were Canada West’s two highest scoring teams during the regular season. In fact, there were five skaters in the conference that notched at least 20 points in 2025-26, and all of them are playing in this series: forwards Grace Elliott (24 goals, 13 assists in the regular season) and Annalise Wong (5 goals, 27 assists) along with blueliner Jaylyn Morris (9 goals, 13 assists) of UBC, and Manitoba forwards Aimee Patrick (10 goals, 15 assists) and Norah Collins (10 goals, 10 assists).
Between the pipes, it will be a battle of veteran netminders: fifth-year Thunderbirds goalie Elise Hugens, who has seven shutouts in the regular season and postseason combined, and fourth-year Manitoba netminder Emily Shippam, who is the conference leader in minutes played for both the regular season and playoffs.
When UBC and Manitoba faced off in the best-of-three semifinal round last postseason, the host Thunderbirds rolled to a series sweep, winning by scores of 4-0 and 4-1. There remain many players on both teams that were part of that series; UBC brings the confidence of past success, while Manitoba is driven to erase those memories. It’s all set to collide on the ice in Vancouver.
Following the Canada West championship series, both teams will move on to compete in the 2026 U Sports Women’s Hockey Championship, taking place in Elmira, Ont., from March 19 to 22.