Vancouver, BC - WIth just four games remaining in the regular season schedule and first place in the conference still on the line, the No.6 UBC Thunderbirds welcome the Mount Royal Cougars to town for a pair of games this weekend at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Coming off what head coach Graham Thomas called a "character win" last weekend over Manitoba, the Thunderbirds control their own destiny with regards to finishing first overall in the Canada West standings. They currently sit in first place with a record of 18-5-1, good enough for 37 points. However, they are just two points in front of Alberta and three points ahead of third place Saskatchewan.
The biggest reason UBC wants to finish first in the conference is home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. The Thunderbirds are 11-0-1 at 'The Doug', with their only blemish being a shootout loss to Calgary back in October. Since then they have won 10 straight games on home ice.
Mount Royal meanwhile sits in last place in the Canada West, but don't let their record of 7-14-3 fool you. The Cougars are red hot right now having won four straight games, sweeping weekend series over Regina and Lethbridge. They are just five points out of playoff spot with two games against UBC and two games against Calgary left.
If special teams play a factor this weekend, the advantage will go to UBC. The Thunderbirds are first in the league in power play (17.4%) and penalty killing (92.1%), while the Cougars are eighth in power play efficiency (6.7%) and seventh overall on the penalty kill (85.3%)
Tatiana Rafter continues to lead the way in Canada West scoring ranking first in goals (17) and points (33). Goaltender Danielle Dube leads the conference in wins with 12 on the season, while boasting a goals against average of 2.08 and a save percentage of .930%.
With this being the final home stand of the regular season schedule the team will recognize graduating players Christi Capozzi, Nadine Burgess, and Kelsey Halvorson.
Puck drop is 7:00 pm on Friday night and 2:00 pm Saturday afternoon at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
