Matchup

 
The Canada West leading 'Birds are back at Thunderbird Stadium this weekend with six straight wins under their belt. Friday evening the T-Birds (6-1) host the MacEwan Griffins (4-2) at 6:30 pm PST, followed by an afternoon matchup with the UNBC Timberwolves (2-4) on Sunday at 2:00 pm PST.
 
Head Coach Jesse Symons knows his team will have to execute at a high level to keep the streak alive. "We will need to be focussed on our possession this weekend to be able to control the games. Hopefully we are able to find ways to break down MacEwan and UNBC with good movement and quick interplay between different players on the field in areas that they give us to play in."


 
UBC and MacEwan battled to a 0-0 draw in their previous meeting, while the 'Birds beat the Timberwolves 4-1 in Prince George a year ago. This weekend will be the first road games of the season for both MacEwan and UNBC.
 

Last Action

 
UBC defeated Thompson Rivers 6-0 and blanked UBCO 2-0 last weekend. Coach Symons says the T-Birds have had a good week of training after the road trip. "We are continuing to grow with how we want to play. Our speed of play is continuing to get quicker and players are making very informed choices on the ball."
 
Those choices have paid off, with a league leading 23 goals scored – including five from Jasmin Dhanda in the past two games – while only allowing 3 goals against all season.
 
MacEwan and UNBC were both shutout at home last week; the Griffins fell to the Cascades 1-0 and lost 1-0 to the Spartans, while the Timberwolves were blanked 3-0 by both UFV and Trinity Western.
 

By the Numbers

 
0.43 – the Thunderbirds have the second best goals against average (0.43) in the Canada West through seven games this season.
 
13 – the most points scored in all of U Sports by Jasmin Dhanda, who also leads the nation in goals (10) and shots (33). 
 

Players to Watch

 
Aman Shergill – (#7, F) – the Surrey native - and former defender - has collected the most assists in U Sports (6) so far this season, while firing 32 shots...just one behind Dhanda.


 
Jasmin Dhanda – (#9, F) – the graduating senior has been smoking hot weekend in and weekend out for UBC, and leads the country in offense to date.
 

Coach's take

 
"We are a team that is very focussed on getting around goal to put pressure on opposing back lines. We like to play an up-tempo game and look forward to continuing to get better. The team and staff have lots of trust with the whole squad and it is good to see we are getting scoring from many different players."