VANCOUVER - Having split the past two weekend home series, the UBC Thunderbirds are off to Saskatoon this weekend to face off against division rival, the Saskatchewan Huskies.
The Thunderbirds will look to regain its offensive prowess as the team managed just three goals over two games this past weekend, which included being shutout on the second occasion.
Although UBC has been solid at home maintaining a .500 record, the team remains winless on the road, dropping all four contests this season. The Thunderbirds look to capitalize against a Huskies team that is on a two-game skid after a pair of weekend losses to the undefeated Calgary Dinos. With the defeats, the Huskies fell out of a top 10 ranking in the CIS after being ranked 10th last week. However, the Huskies have dominated their past two home games, winning by a combined score of 12-2 over the Lethbridge Pronghorns.
It will be the first meeting between UBC and Saskatchewan this season with the Huskies taking three of the four meetings in 2012.
The 4-6-0 Huskies have a slight edge on the 3-6-1 Thunderbirds in the Canada West standings sitting in fifth while UBC remains a point back in sixth. Despite solid goaltending of late, the Thunderbirds have conceded the second-most goals in the conference, with only Lethbridge faring worse in that department.
Cole Wilson and
Anthony Bardaro are tied for the team lead in scoring for UBC, after collecting two points apiece over the weekend.
Matt Hewitt and Steven Sanford have split the workload in net for the 'Birds, with Hewitt getting the nod for three straight games, with two victories to show for it in that span.
The Thunderbirds had a strong showing on the power play last Friday scoring two goals on the man-advantage, but were shutout Saturday. Look for the Thunderbirds to capitalize on its power play opportunities, as the Huskies are the second most penalized team in the Canada West. With that said, the Huskies are also an offensive threat on the penalty kill having scoring the third most short-handed goals in the CIS going into the weekend.
Look for Ryan Holfield to get the nod in net for Saskatchewan this weekend, having backstopped the Huskies every game so far this season. Holfield is tied for the league-lead in shutouts with two and boasts an impressive 2.12 goals against average. Derek Hulak leads Saskatchewan in scoring with 16 points on the campaign, good for second in the Canada West scoring race.
A Friday night game will kick-off the weekend series with the second game taking place Saturday, both at 5 p.m. PT, at Rutherford Rink. Both games will be broadcasted live on
Canada West TV.
