The T-Birds fly to Calgary this weekend for their first road series of the 2018-19 Canada West regular season to face the Mount Royal Cougars Friday and Saturday, October 12th and 13th at Calgary's Flames Community Arenas.

It's the first meeting between the two since last season's Canada West quarter-final playoff series that saw the T-Birds advance with a pair of overtime wins, one of them in triple overtime in the longest playoff game in program history and the fourth longest in the conference record book.



The Thunderbirds (1-1) swept the Cougars (1-1) in all four regular season meetings last year as well, outscoring MRU by an 8-3 margin. In fact, UBC has never lost to the Cougars in Calgary, posting a perfect 12-0 record since start of the 2012-2013 season.

Puck drop Friday is set for 6:00 p.m. PT with Saturday's rematch scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PT, both at Calgary's Flames Community Arenas.
  

Last Action

UBC split their home opening weekend with the visiting Lethbridge Pronghorns. The 'Birds put up 41 shots on Friday but were unable to get one past a red hot 'Horns goaltender, suffering a 2-0 shutout loss. The T-Birds bounced back with a 3-1 win Saturday.
 

?? WHKY | Shay-Lee McConnell scored the GWG Saturday in @UBCWHKY's 3-1 win over the @UofLPronghorns. Her thoughts on bouncing back from the night before and going forward. pic.twitter.com/r6R7h8k2xX

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) October 7, 2018

Mount Royal also split their opening weekend, dropping Friday's game in Regina by a 3-2 score, followed by a 3-2 win of their own to close out the battle of the Cougars.
 

By the Numbers

38.5 – The Thunderbirds threw plenty of pucks on Lethbridge's goal last weekend, averaging 38.5 shots on net per game.

11 – UBC's penalty kill was put to the test a total of 11 times during their season opening weekend, allowing two goals against. The 'Birds will look to tighten up their discipline going forward after ending last year as the most penalized team in the conference.
 

Players to Watch

Hannah Clayton-Carroll (#22, F) – After a team-leading 12 goals last season, the fourth-year forward scored her first two of 2018-19 in last Saturday's win. Clayton-Carroll also finished the weekend with nine shots and a plus-two rating.



Emma Hall (#10, F) – The rookie forward from Maple Ridge had a pair of assists Saturday including the first helper on Shay-Lee McConnell's game winner.
 

Coach's Take

Given the Cougars had last season come to a crashing halt at the hands of the T-Birds, UBC can expect a fired up group come Friday night as they look for some retribution.

"It's a new year with a new, young group for them but there's always going to be a little more fire in the tank when a team faces an opponent who ended their last season," said UBC head coach Graham Thomas. "They're always really well coached and they'll be prepared and play a full 60 minutes. We always get a good battle against them where anything can happen."



The 'Birds had a terrific start last Saturday to set the tone for the rest of the game which they dominated, especially five-on-five. It's a mindset Thomas wants to see consistently applied throughout the season.

"We definitely need to have that jump and just be ready to play right off the bat. I think we tend to get down on ourselves and be hard on ourselves, but we need to sometimes just take a deep breath and go out and have some fun. I think that's how we get the best out of ourselves."