VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds close out the first half of their season with a road trip to take on the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Friday and Saturday night. Puck drop is 6:00 p.m. PT both nights.
A look at the Thunderbirds
The 'Birds earned three of a possible four points from their last two meetings with Lethbridge, both taking place on home ice. Now the T-Birds hit the road to face their rivals, who are also clamoring for a playoff run.
UBC's last conference games were a pair of wins against then no. 5 Manitoba. The hard driving style of Milan Dragicevic's squad was on full display in the gritty performances against one of Canada West's most skilled teams. Gaining those four points in the standings were critical, but the T-Birds still find themselves three points back of third and fourth place (held by Saskatchewan and Calgary, tied at 16 points) heading into this weekend.
The top line of
Max Grassi, Marc DesLoges, and
Justin McCrae, along with blueline warrior
Matt Pepe and goaltender
Jordan White all sat out of last weekend's 5-4 win over Iowa State. Each of these top contributors is expected to return against the Pronghorns. Pepe has stepped up this season to become one of the team's top defencemen, and his energetic, battling style will be key against Lethbridge's top players.
Other key performers will be hardworking forward
Ben Schmidt, who leads the Blue and Gold in goals, and fan favorite
Mike Liambas, who netted a beautiful goal against Iowa State, but is best recognized for his tenacious fore-checking and relentless hitting.
A look at the Pronghorns
Lethbridge sits in last place in Canada West, but are just two points behind UBC, and five points out of a playoff spot. The 'Horns will be looking to repeat their winning performance from their first meeting with UBC this season.
Key to that endeavour is forward Winston Day Chief, who leads the Pronghorns with 12 points in 12 games, good enough to make him one of the conference's top ten scorers. Six-foot-five forward Nicholas Hotson will also be a threat, especially on the powerplay, where he leads his team in scoring.
The Pronghorns have also gotten strong play out of a quartet of rookies, including first year players Tyler Melancon, Taylor Gal, Daniel Iwanski, and Brian Matte, who is averaging nearly a point a game.
Coach Dragicevic on...
The final games of 2011:
“We're excited to play and our guys know that after this we have a month off. This is a big weekend for us because the conference is so tight. You want to go into Christmas with as many points as possible to give you the best chance of making the playoffs.”
The strength of the Pronghorns:
“Lethbridge is a really good team at home. They score lots and play with a lot of emotion. We know how Lethbridge plays and if there's a team that we've established a rivalry with over the years it's Lethbridge. We're very confident in our systems and in the structure we have to play. It's not so much who we play, but focusing on our identity and the things we need to do well.”
UBC's identity:
“Our philosophy throughout the course of the year is just keep it close. We know every game is going to be a one-goal game. We're getting pretty comfortable playing in those one goal games and we're getting pretty good at it.”
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