VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds host a two-game set against the Canada West leading and No. 2-ranked Alberta Golden Bears at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre on November 6 and 7 (7:30 p.m.).

The T-Birds currently sport a 3-2-1 record and are fresh off a bye week. They will be looking to snap a two-game mini skid, as they dropped both contests in Lethbridge against the Pronghorns two weeks ago.

The Bears' 6-1-1 record puts them tied with Manitoba atop the Canada West standings but with two games in hand over the Bisons. Alberta split last weekend's series with the Bisons, suffering their first regulation loss in game one before hanging on for a 5-3 win in game two.

A LOOK AT THE THUNDERBIRDS
After starting out the season 3-0-1, including two wins over the previously undefeated Bisons in their home-opening series, the T-Birds stumbled in their last series against Lethbridge.

The struggling Pronghorns are just 3-4-1 on the year but were able to get the best of UBC by scores of 6-4 and 2-1. The 'Birds showed some fight late in game one, pulling to within one goal after being down 5-2 with just over five minutes to play, but they were unable to complete the comeback.

The good news for the T-Birds is that their offence is averaging over a goal per game more through their first six games than they did last season. Brandon Campos has led the offensive effort with four goals and seven points to his credit. Justin McCrae has been the top sniper so far with five goals to go along with one assist. Tyler Ruel leads the team with four assists and has one goal on the year.

Francois Thuot continues to be solid in goal for the 'Birds, as he sports a 2.61 goals-against average to go with his .912 save percentage, which is third-best among starters in Canada West.

A LOOK AT THE BEARS
The perennial powerhouse Golden Bears got off to the kind of start everyone has come to expect of them, going 5-0-1 through the first three weeks of the season, but they certainly didn't look invincible at home last weekend against Manitoba. The Bisons handed Alberta their first regulation loss of the season in game one and nearly came back and spoiled game two for the home side as well. After Alberta jumped out to a 4-0 lead, the Bisons stormed back with three unanswered goals before Mark Ashton's goal in the final minutes sealed the win for the Bears.

Last week's shaky performance aside, the Bears still have all the trademarks of an elite team. They boast the conference's top offence, averaging 5.25 goals per game, and the top defence as well, surrendering just 2.63 goals on average.

Three of Canada West's top five scorers wear Alberta's green and gold. Chad Klassen leads the conference with 16 points and is the Bears' leading goal-scorer with seven tallies. Derek Ryan is second in Canada West with 13 points and sophomore defenceman Reade Wolansky is tied for third with 12. Wolansky is the top-scoring defender in the conference by far, doubling the next-closest blueliner in points through his first eight games.