After taking four of a possible six points away from the conference leading Pandas last weekend in Edmonton, the UBC Thunderbirds (9-4-3-4) are right back on the road as they visit the Calgary Dinos (2-15-0-3) Friday and Saturday, January 18 and 19 at Father David Bauer Arena.
The 'Birds are hoping to keep building on some solid momentum generated against the Pandas as they try to inch closer to clinching a playoff berth with the aim of gaining one of the two first round byes.
UBC enters this weekend in third place, five points back of Manitoba and seven behind Alberta while the Dinos are mired in the Canada West basement, 13 points behind seventh place Lethbridge.
The T-Birds are riding a 10-game win streak against the Dinos while sweeping them on their visit to Vancouver in October with a pair of 4-0 wins.
Puck drop Friday is 6:00 p.m. PT with Saturday's rematch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT.
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Last Action
The 'Birds shutout the Pandas 2-0 last Friday night in Edmonton and picked up a single point Saturday in a 2-1 shootout loss. The game marked the fourth time this season UBC has headed to a shootout, more than any other team in the conference.
Calgary suffered a weekend sweep in a home-and-home with the Lethbridge Pronghorns but the Dinos did grab a single point in a double overtime loss Friday night. Calgary's losing streak now stands at seven games.
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Players to Watch
Tory Micklash (#31, G) – UBC's third-year goaltender was named U SPORTS female athlete of the week for her efforts against the Pandas as she earned her fourth shutout of the season while stopping 54 of 55 shots on the weekend.
Celine Tardif (#7, D) – The T-Birds' captain equalled her previous career high goal total last weekend scoring her fourth of the season. The fifth-year defenceman has eight points on the year with a +5 rating and has been a pillar of consistency having not missed a game since her rookie campaign.
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Coach's Take
The 'Birds have allowed just three goals against over their last five games, proof of a solid commitment to team defence that they're looking to continue down the home stretch of the season.
"Defensively we're been pretty solid, against three of the top scorers in the league in Alberta we were able to limit them to just one goal through two games and that should give us even more confidence," said UBC head coach
Graham Thomas who wants to see a little more run support going forward. "We're going to juggle up the lines a bit this week and have a few more areas of focus so we can continue to find more ways to capitalize and score more than one or two goals a game."
Despite Calgary entering this weekend with just two wins on the season, Thomas insists there will be no let-up from his group.
"We've already learned those lessons and been bit by not being prepared and focussed mentally. We have to know that we have to work hard and earn it, it doesn't matter who we're playing. We can't get outworked."
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