The Matchup
After dropping two games in a row for the first time since January, the No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds (6-4-0-0) hit the road looking for a bounce back against the Mount Royal Cougars (3-7-0-0) Friday and Saturday, November 17 and 18 at Calgary's Flames Community Arenas.
Having dropped three of their last five games, the 'Birds find themselves in fourth place in the conference and hungry to get back to the top of the heap.
Last year UBC took the season series 3-1 against the Cougars winning both games in Calgary.
Puck drop Friday night is 6:00 p.m. PT with Saturday's rematch at 2:00 p.m. PT.
Last Action
The 'Birds ran into a hot goaltender, dropping both games against the Saskatchewan Huskies at Doug Mitchell last weekend, the first time UBC has suffered a home ice weekend sweep in over two years. After getting shutout 2-0 Friday night,
Hannah Clayton-Carroll scored for UBC in a 2-1 loss Saturday.
The Cougars ended a three-game slide last Saturday with a 2-1 shootout win at home over the Dinos. Calgary had handed Mount Royal a 4-0 loss the night before, the Cougars' second straight shutout loss.
By the Numbers
28 – UBC's penalty kill has been tremendous, successfully killing off 28 straight penalties. The 'Birds last allowed a PP goal against on October 20 in Regina. The T-Birds' PK is now clicking at 88.2 percent on the season.
5 – Through four road games, UBC has allowed just five goals against, tied with Lethbridge for the stingiest defence away from home.
Players to Watch
Tory Micklash (#31, G) – The second-year goaltender had another solid outing last Friday making 27 saves. Micklash's numbers have been terrific to start the season with a 1.58 goals against average and a .940 save percentage.
Celine Tardif (#7, D) – UBC's captain is tied for the team lead with seven points and sits second in the Canada West among defencemen. The fourth-year from Parksville has already set a career high with three goals and is on pace to easily eclipse her previous personal best of 13 points.
Coach's Take
After what was a frustrating weekend, UBC head coach
Graham Thomas is looking forward to mixing up the routine a bit by heading on the road.
"A key factor for us is to get back to some of the basics and fundamentals that we know we do well that we've done before against good teams, and that should give us some confidence," said Thomas who believes strongly in his team's ability to bounce back. "We need to come ready to keep things simple, to trust in our abilities and just have some fun and try to play a little bit loose."
The Cougars may find themselves at the bottom of the Canada West standings but as far as Thomas is concerned, nobody is taking anybody lightly.
"All their games have been close, they'll be prepared well and they'll come at us hard," UBC's bench boss said. "They're trying to get themselves out of where they are and we're trying to get ourselves out of where we are, so it's two motivated teams. They should be spirited and intense games, it won't be an easy task by any means."
