The Matchup

 
With offence and special teams heating up the UBC Thunderbirds men's hockey team (2-6-0) is back in the confines of the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre this weekend hosting the Lethbridge Pronghorns (2-3-1) Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5 at 7:00 p.m. (PT) and 4:00 p.m. (PT) respectively.
 
Sitting just a single point behind Lethbridge for sixth place in the Canada West, the Thunderbirds have the opportunity to jump into a playoff position for the first time this season. Last year the T-Birds went winless against the Pronghorns losing twice in overtime. While it's still relatively early in the Canada West season, this weekend features an important four points up for grabs for a pair of teams both looking to improve their fortunes.
 
 

Last Action

 
The Thunderbirds are coming off a big 3-2 win over the Manitoba Bisons last Saturday night, their first road victory of the season to earn the weekend split. After falling by the same score the previous night, UBC showed plenty of grit and determination in the rematch while Anthony Bardaro led UBC with a pair of assists and scored the game winner. Derek Dun made 32 saves for his first career Canada West win in net.
 

This week the @UBCMHKY team plays @umbisons on the road. If @AVetts94 does this...they'll be good. Previews: https://t.co/fRpMWK73u6 pic.twitter.com/AFq2SzZ8Nd

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) October 26, 2016

 
The Pronghorns dropped both halves of a half of a home-and-home set with the Dinos falling 5-3 at home Friday night before losing 2-1 in Calgary Saturday.
 
 

By the Numbers

 
14 – The Thunderbirds' offence has come alive scoring 14 goals in their last four games combined including nine in their last home series against the Alberta Golden Bears.
 
34 – The average number of shots against allowed by UBC so far this season. The T-Birds will need to focus on limiting quality scoring chances while keeping their goaltenders a little less busy.
 
 

Players to Watch

 
Anthony Bardaro (#10, F) – Coming off a five-point weekend with two goals and three assists in Winnipeg, Bardaro carries a four-game point streak into Friday. The fourth-year forward leads the T-Birds with eight points.



Manraj Hayer (#9, F) – The third-year forward made his return to the lineup last weekend against Manitoba posting an assist in Saturday's win. A big piece of UBC's offence, expect Hayer to be a factor in his first home weekend of the season.
 

Coach's Take

 
"Lethbridge is off to a pretty good start. They were up in Saskatchewan a couple of weeks ago and got three out of four points and they have a good recruiting class," says UBC Head Coach Sven Butenschon. "It will be another tough challenge. The positives are that every weekend we are getting better. We played a couple of really good games last weekend in Manitoba. Our confidence is growing and we are starting to look more organized."


 
After his team's slow start offensively, Butenschon likes what he sees from his attack in recent weeks, especially his top line of Bardaro, Hayer and Austin Vetterl.
 
"Those three guys will be one of the best lines in the league this year. With Manraj Hayer, that was his first weekend in the line-up, so he will only get better. At the same time, we need other to step up as well."