VANCOUVER - Following a one-game road trip to Langley, the no. 5 UBC Thunderbirds (5-2-1) return home to face the struggling Lethbridge Pronghorns (1-6-1) and the surprising no. 9 Calgary Dinos (5-1-2). The weekend provides the T-Birds with an opportunity to keep pace with the conference leaders and no. 1 ranked Alberta Golden Bears.
THIS WEEK: vs. Lethbridge, Fri. Oct 15, 7:15 p.m.; vs Calgary, Sat. Oct 16, 7:15 p.m.; Thunderbird Park
A look at the Thunderbirds
The T-Birds have been up and down in recent weeks falling to conference-leading Alberta who went ahead 2-0 and held on for a 2-1 win before battling back against Saskatchewan in a 4-2 win. They then settled for a 2-2 tie in a back-and-forth affair at Trinity Western to preserve their four point lead over the Spartans for third spot in the conference.
The T-Birds attack has been balanced in 2010 with goals coming from 11 different players. This has been a double-edged sword as there is no one T-Bird for the opposition to cue on, however, at the same time no T-Bird has stepped into the role as go-to goal-scorer. Five attackers have each counted twice for the T-Birds including
Tyson Keam who made good on his second penalty kick of the season in extra time against Trinity Western to gain his team the single point. The T-Birds will welcome back fleet-footed forward Gagandeep Dosanjh who sat out the match against the Spartans on his third yellow.
Zach Kalthoff has been consistent in goal and leads the Canada West in goals against (0.70 per game).
Richard Meister may see some action with Kalthoff going down to injury against the Spartans. If Meister does see extended playing time he can count on the steady T-Bird back line to keep opposing attackers at bay.
A look at the Pronghorns
Lethbridge returns to action following a weekend off. The Pronghorns who suffered back-to-back defeats against Calgary are winless (0-3-0) on the road this season and have failed to score in their last three matches. It has been a tough season for the Pronghorns who have only defeated the Victoria Vikes with whom they sit in a seventh place tie at the bottom of the Canada West standings.
Goal scoring has been the biggest problem plaguing the Pronghorns as they have the conference's most anemic offence only managing three goals to date. Andrew Malcolm has proven to be a threat to score this season sitting fifth in the conference with 23 shots (12 on target) but has yet to find the net. Only Blake Irvine, Brett Silbernbagel and Marcus Johnson have counted for the 'Horns.
Colin Pattison has been the Canada West's been busiest keeper facing 58 shots and saving 48. His best performance came when he kept a clean sheet and made nine saves in his side's lone win versus Victoria.
A look at the Dinos
The surprising Dinos sit at alone in second place in the Canada West after nearly losing their program in the off-season. Calgary has claimed points in its last five matches including consecutive victories versus Lethbridge. Their lone loss came against first-place Alberta.
Calgary has proven to be the toughest team to score against having allowed only six goals on the season. J.P. Cresenzi has been a stalwart for the Dinos and has emerged as one of the top keepers in the conference leading the Canada West with five clean sheets and sitting tied for second with 45 saves (5.62 per game).
While defence has been the Dinos strength, the offence should not be overlooked. Izak Lawrence is the biggest threat up front with six goals on the year, good for second in the Canada West. Lawrence is supported by fellow striker Brian Delaney, whose three goals tie him for eighth in the conference, and playmaker Brett Howard who leads the Dinos with three assists.
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