Vancouver, BC - The UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team is back in action at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre this weekend as they host the University of Regina Cougars for a pair of games.

The UBC Thunderbirds are 4-1-1 on the season and currently sit in third place in the Canada West standings through the first three weeks of the season. They will look to gain ground on the first place Calgary Dinos this weekend against the Regina Cougars who are 3-2-1 and in sixth place in the conference. Just two points separate the top four teams in the conference with Alberta (4-2-0) in second and Manitoba (4-1-1) in fourth. This season the conference is trying out a new point structure which results in three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime/shootout win, and one point for an overtime/shootout loss.

Home has been very kind to the Thunderbirds over the last two years. UBC has not lost in regulation at home since November 24, 2012. They are 23-0-3 since then including regular season and playoffs.

Last weekend, Regina split its weekend series with Calgary winning 1-0 in a shootout Saturday night and losing 5-3 the previous evening. Goals have been hard to come by this season for the Cougars. They have scored just 10 in six regular season games, while giving up 16. Kylie Gavelin leads Regina with four of the team's 10 goals. Jennifer Schmidt and Toni Ross have split the duties in goal. Schmidt is 1-1-1 with a 2.35 GAA and .914%, while Ross is 2-1-0 with a 2.71 goals against average and .919 save percentage.

For UBC, last year's Canada West Player of the Year, Tatiana Rafter is currently second in league scoring with five goals and four assists. Captain Sarah Casorso is fifth in league scoring with five goals and three helpers. Last Saturday she had her five-game goal scoring streak snapped in the Thunderbirds 3-1 loss to Lethbridge.

Fourth-year goalie Samantha Langford has taken the starting job and run with it. She is 4-1-0 on the year with a miniscule goals against average of 0.99 and her save percentage is .958. Not to mention she has already recordedd a pair of shutouts.

Last year the Thunderbirds were 3-1-0 against the Cougars.

UBC's Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre will host the Friday and Saturday games, both beginning at 7 p.m.