VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (7-3-0) find themselves tied for first place in the Canada West with just four games remaining in the regular season after a 1-0 defeat of the Trinity Western Spartans (6-1-3) at home last Friday.

The 'Birds got some help from the Calgary Dinos and Lethbridge Pronghorns who both drew with the Alberta Golden Bears (5-1-4) last weekend in Edmonton. The Golden Bears had the chance to take over first with a pair of wins but faltered against their provincial rivals and took just two of a possible six points. They are now two points behind the BC rivals who share first spot on 21 points.

This weekend Alberta and Saskatchewan (2-6-2) make the toughest trip in the conference as they head west to take on the T-Birds and Spartans. With hosting rights of the CW Final Four at stake, the T-Birds cannot afford any mistakes this weekend.

UBC hosts Saskatchewan Friday night before welcoming the Golden Bears on Saturday. Both games are set for 7:15 pm starts at Thunderbird Park.

A Look at the Thunderbirds

Since losing their first two games of the season on the road, UBC is 7-1 including a perfect 5-0 at home with five straight 1-0 results. The T-Birds have been anything but an offensive juggernaut this season, however, their defence has conceded just six goals including only three in their last eight games. Nikolai Matni and Elliot Usher have shared goaltending duties and each keeper has three clean sheets on the year. The scoring by committee has been led by reigning Canada West Rookie of the Year Devin Gunenc who has three goals and two assists. Tyson Keam, who netted the winner last week against TWU, has two goals this season with six other T-Birds sitting on a single tally.

A Look at the Huskies

Since upsetting the T-Birds 2-1 in the second game of the season, the Huskies have seen their promising start wasted as they are just 0-4-2 in their last six games. Much of the difficulties have come on offence and since scoring eight times in their first four games, Saskatchewan has just four goals in their last six. The Huskies also rank last in goals allowed with 21 through 10 games. The always dangerous Jerson Barandica-Hamilton, who played for UBC head coach Mike Mosher at the 2009 FISU Games, sits fourth in the league in shots with 33 but has found the back of the net just twice. He is one of five Huskies to net a pair of goals this year. In net, Mark Diakiw and Simon Kluge have split keeper duties with neither earning especially good statistical results.

A Look at the Golden Bears

The Golden Bears have been in the hunt for first in the conference since opening their season with a 1-0 victory over the T-Birds. They lead the conference in goals allowed with just five conceded and keeper Jaswinder Gill ranks first in the league with four clean sheets, a .902 save percentage and is second in goals against average at 0.57. Back-up keeper Steven Reid, however, has made two of the last three starts for the Bears. Brett Colvin, another member of the Mosher coached 2009 FISU team, is tied with Kevin Perry for the team lead with three goals.