VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey team (9-6-3-2) will look to maintain place atop the Canada West standings, as they take on the Saskatchewan Huskies (8-6-3-3) in back-to-back games this weekend.
The teams will first face-off on Friday, January 21 and again on Saturday, January 22, with puck drop for both games set for 5:00pm (PT) at Saskatchewan's Rutherford Rink.
After a pair of victories over the Alberta Pandas (11-7-0-2) last weekend, UBC is now tied with Alberta for first place in Canada West.
UBC head coach
Graham Thomas acknowledged that, while first place is certainly an achievement to be proud of, he doesn't want his team to be distracted by the point race.
"We don't want to focus on first place or tied for first – we've got to be aware that points are crucial, but we don't want to focus on that," Thomas said. "We want to focus on the process and that we're playing our best – so to continue to build on some of the areas that we need to build on for our group, and just our consistency."
While The 'Birds struggled offensively late in the 2015 portion of the season, they have turned things around following the holiday break, if recent results are any indication. Currently in the midst of a three-game win streak, the 'Birds have outscored their opponents 12-3 over that stretch.
One key factor contributing to UBC's recent offensive dominance has been their scoring depth. Seven Thunderbirds have recorded goals in the last three games, and over the course of the season, the team is ranked second nationally for assists with 79.
Even with all that depth, three UBC players in particular have been a cut above in 2016:
Rebecca Unrau (Humboldt, Sask.) has six points, while
Haneet Parhar (West Vancouver) and
Logan Boyd (Waterdown, Ont.) each have five.
As impressive as the 'Birds increased offense has been, the recent efforts of T-Birds goaltender
Danielle Dube (New Westminster, B.C.) have been even more so. Against Alberta last weekend, the veteran netminder recorded a 25-save shutout to kick off the series and followed that up by allowing just one goal in the next afternoon's 2-1 grueling double overtime win.
Saskatchewan has gone 2-2 since the start of January. After shutting out the Lethbridge Pronghorns (6-11-2-1) in back to back games, the Huskies lost twice against the Calgary Dinos last weekend.
Despite their uneven recent stretch, the Huskies still boast one of the most dynamic duos in CIS, as fifth-year forward Marley Ervine, with eight goals and 12 assists in 20 games, and fifth-year defender Julia Flinton, with three goals and 17 assists in 20 games, sit tied four fourth nationally in scoring.
UBC will need to toe the line when it comes to penalties, as Saskatchewan has made people pay with the man advantage – the Huskies' 14 powerplay goals put them fourth in the country.
