VANCOUVER – The Canada West-leading UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team (6-2-3-1) travels to Edmonton to take on the Alberta Pandas in a two-game weekend series starting Friday.
 
Alberta (6-0-5-1), ranked fourth in the division alongside Lethbridge, split its last weekend against Calgary with a commanding 8-2 victory, and then a 2-1 defeat.
 
The second and third teams in the Canada West are Manitoba and Saskatchewan, who also meet head-to-head this weekend. Both are tied with 21 points.
 
"This weekend is going to be speed on speed," head coach Graham Thomas said of the upcoming series. "It's going to be a very fast, very tenacious game. We play similarly in our systems and in our approach, so I think for us we've got to out-execute against a system we know well and we know how to beat. Systems-wise five-on-five both teams are very well prepared and very ready to play each other. So it's going to come down to execution, it's going to come down to how we play in those little, tough areas, and it's going to come down to our specialty teams."
 
Although the Thunderbirds have been struggling on the power play, both of their game-winning goals last weekend against the then-first place Huskies came on the man-advantage. Friday's was the final goal in double overtime and Saturday's was the last of three straight goals that powered a comeback triumph. So even if the power play unit isn't producing as many goals as it would like for the opportunities given, they are potting the necessary ones.
 
UBC's penalty kill is a whole other story. The 'Birds have given up just seven power play goals in 49 opportunities against.
 
"The challenge we gave to our group last weekend will be the same one we give them this weekend," said Thomas. "And that is win the individual battles. Win the specialty teams battle. So even if our numbers on the whole aren't where we want them to be this season, we can still win the individual battles, and that's how we beat Sask. last week. We won the game within the game."
 
The Thunderbirds have a good, team effort to fall back on in terms of offence, too. Scoring has come from all lines– rookies and veterans alike.
 
"That's the difference this year," said Thomas. "We're a strong team. We're not quite sure who's going to score on any given night because we have a lot of depth and a lot of players who step up and score. That makes us a really dynamic threat."
 
Puck drop in Alberta is slated for 6 p.m. (PT) Friday, with a rematch the following day at 1 p.m. (PT).