VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team travels to Calgary this weekend for a two-game set against the Mt. Royal University Cougars, who sit five places below the 'Birds in Canada West standings.
The 'Birds will be looking to extend their three-game winning streak, while the Cougars will be on the prowl to snap another.
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Last weekend, the Cougars rebounded from a 3-1 loss to the Canada West top-ranked University of Regina with a 4-3 win on Saturday night.
The loss came much to the surprise of many in the league, including UBC head coach
Graham Thomas, who has urged his team not to take this week's opponent lightly.
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"They've had some big wins, and it's early on in the season so any team can win on any night," he said.
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And not only are the Cougars a sudden wildcard and potential threat, the T-Birds will be short a number of key players for the roadtrip due injury or illness.
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"This will be an adversity and character challenge for us, we're going to be missing five players," said Thomas. "Resilience is going to be the key to the weekend," – 'resilience' being a key term of pivotal value for the team."
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Thomas also said that this game marks a real oppportunity for other players to step up and make their mark.
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UBC boasts the top two scorers in the Canada West in
Tatiana Rafter (seven goals and four assists) and
Sarah Casorso (three goals and seven assists).
Key returnees from last season for the 2-6-0 Cougars are Tanika Dawson, Emily Harrison, and Taralynn Suzuki.
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Chrissy Hodgson – who the team named its Most Valuable Player four of her past five seasons – graduated after last season and is a big loss to the team's core. Nevertheless, Mt. Royal has a number of new additions that they hope can compensate for Hodgson's departure: Rachel Marshall, Rachel Piitz, Reanna Arnold, Devonie Deschamps will be first years to keep an eye on.
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The puck drops at 6 p.m. (PT) on Friday night, and again at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
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