VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team looks to bounce back from a winless weekend in Alberta with a successful two-game set against the visiting Calgary Dinos this Friday and Saturday at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
 
Faceoff on Friday is at 7 p.m., while the two teams will play on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT.
 
Last weekend, the 'Birds were shutout in consecutive games, falling to third in the Canada West, now 6-2-5-1 for 23 points. They are tied with the Saskatchewan Huskies, and both teams are two points behind Alberta and Manitoba, currently tied for first.
 
The Dinos come to Vancouver hungry. With a tough record of 2-0-8-4 for 10 points in Canada West league play, heading into the holiday break with a few points would mean a lot in their upcoming push for the playoffs in the new year. Last weekend, they too suffered disappointing losses, falling to the Mount Royal Cougars in overtime both games.
 
Key to UBC bouncing back this weekend will be a stronger focus on their own game, regardless of their opponent.
 
"Our game is a big, important piece of our success," UBC head coach Graham Thomas said, previewing the series. "Last weekend we were our own worst enemies, we kind of just beat ourselves and it was a bit of a wake up call, so we need to go back to those basics and fundamentals of playing our game and sticking to our game plan, playing within our systems and trusting in them. That's going to provide us that consistency we need for 60 minutes."
 
Part of UBC's game is winning individual battles. If each player does their part, the Thunderbirds can get back to being a dynamic offensive threat. Led by fifth-year forward Rebecca Unrau (Humboldt, Sask.), currently tied for third in the Canada West for points with 12, UBC's offence has eight players with five or more points, demonstrating the depth of the team.
 
But the Dinos also bring a scoring threat. Iya Gavrilova and Sasha Vafina are two out of the top five snipers in the division. Gavrilova has six goals and 17 points, while Vafina has six goals with 13 points. However, they provide the bulk of Calgary's tallies.
 
"They're going to be a desperate team," Coach Thomas prefaced. "They're going to be a different team than we played last time, and they're going to come out strong and we need to match that."
 
UBC defeated Calgary 4-0 and 4-1 back in mid-October.