The UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team returns from the holiday break this weekend with a two-game roadtrip to Calgary to face off against the Dinos.
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Positioned in the No.1 spot in the Canada West with a record of 12-3-1, the Thunderbirds have all the more reason to be on their toes with the rest of the conference looking to oust them. In preparation, the 'Birds were back on the ice this week at UBC for some intensive training before hitting the road. The 'Birds split the first two games this season against Calgary back in October, winning 4-0 and losing 4-3 in a shootout.
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Thd Dinos currently sit in sixth place in the Canada West, posting a 7-8-1 record before the break. They are also 4-2-1 on home ice, while UBC is 5-3-0 on the road.
UBC will welcome back captain
Christi Capozzi and
Tatiana Rafter, fresh off helping Canada win gold at the recent 2013 Winter Universiade in Italy. Rafter leads the Canada West in scoring with 11 goals and 20 points in 16 games. Teammate
Sarah Casorso is third in league scoring with 16 points.
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Calgary forward Janelle Parent is fifth in points conference-wide and as Calgary's greatest offensive contributor will have to be kept in check by the 'Birds.
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Rafter, Casorso,
Nicole Saxvik, and
Stephanie Schaupmeyer have contributed the most points for the Thunderbirds so far and have established themselves as consistent top-performers, but that is certainly not to undermine the efforts of the remainder of UBC's strong squad this year. Substantial credit must be awarded to UBC's goaltending, most notably,
Danielle Dube who has appeared in 11 games, picking up nine wins and boasting a goals against average of 1.71 and a save percentage of .946.
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Game times are 6:00 pm PST on Friday night and 1:00 pm PST on Saturday afternoon in Calgary.Â
