VANCOUVER – After the most successful first half of a season in program history, the UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team are looking onward and upward heading into 2013.

UBC will open the year on the road against the Canada West's top team, the Calgary Dinos. The Dinos are 13-2-1 so far this season and are ranked second in the CIS Top 10. Buoyed by Team Canada veteran Hayley Wickenheiser and three other players in the Canada West Top-10 in scoring, the Dinos present a tough challenge for the upstart Thunderbirds.

UBC sits fourth in the conference at 7-6-3 but the Canada West is so tight that any one game can swing the standings. For the Thunderbirds, though, the process is paramount.

"Every game is important," said head coach Graham Thomas. "Everyone knows that. For us, we want to focus on our game and not worry about the standings. If we compete hard for 60 minutes and play our game, those things will take care of themselves."

The Dinos are a difficult matchup for any team, but UBC played them tough in their previous meeting, taking them to overtime where a controversial goal won the game for Calgary. UBC has since solidified itself as an up-and-coming team and one that is capable of playing well at both ends of the ice, which they'll need to do this weekend.

The Thunderbirds are back-stopped by Danielle Dube (Vancouver), who has the top save percentage in the conference. She'll go head-to-head with Amanda Tapp, who has the conference's top goals against average.

The showdown between the pipes will be underscored by a battle of some of the best special teams units in the Canada West, as well. UBC ranks second on the power play and third on the penalty kill, while Calgary ranks third and first, respectively.

"We want to key in on our special teams," said Thomas. "We want to get those going again. We want to be disciplined, too, but play hard."

The Thunderbirds will be sporting a slightly different look to start the second half. Off since Dec. 1, UBC is the healthiest they've been in some time. They'll also be experimenting with defenseman Nikola Brown-John (Monte Lake, B.C.) up front, as she will centre top scorers Rebecca Unrau (Humboldt, Sask.) and Kaitlin Imai (Coquitlam, B.C.).

"We're excited to be back," said Thomas.

The puck drops Friday at 6 p.m.