Winners of six in a row, the first place UBC Thunderbirds look to keep their hot streak rolling as they close out the 2019 Canada West schedule with back-to-back home series, starting this Friday and Saturday, November 22^nd and 23^rd when they host the Mount Royal Cougars.

Cracking the U SPORTS top ten for the first time this season, the ninth-ranked 'Birds (7-2-1-2) are the hottest team in the conference having picked up points in ten straight games, entering this weekend with a two point lead over the Calgary Dinos for top spot in the Canada West.

Since a disappointing opening weekend against Alberta, the T-Birds have yet to drop a game in regulation while outscoring the opposition by an impressive 25-9 margin. UBC has allowed just three goals against in their last six games combined.



While the T-Birds have boasted a stingy defence of late, the Cougars (6-6-0-0) are statistically speaking the toughest team to score on, having allowed just 15 goals through 12 games.

The last time the 'Birds and Cougars met came last year back in January in Vancouver where they split the two game weekend series. Prior to that, the 'Birds had posted nine straight wins against Mount Royal.

Puck drop Friday is 7:00 p.m. PT at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre with Saturday's rematch set for 3:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available now through Ticketmaster.
 

Last Action

Tory Micklash stopped 49 of 50 shots last weekend in Lethbridge as the 'Birds earned their third straight series sweep. Mathea Fischer scored twice Friday in a 4-1 win while Hannah Clayton-Carroll had two goals in Saturday's 5-0 victory.



The Cougars dropped both games against the Calgary Dinos in last weekend's cross-town rivalry series. Mount Royal will be looking for a bounce back having lost three of their last four overall.
 

Players to Watch

Hannah Clayton-Carroll (#22, F) – Leading UBC in both goals (6) and points (10), her four point weekend in Lethbridge now has the fifth-year forward sitting fourth in league scoring. Clayton-Carroll enters this weekend with six points in her last four games.



Mikayla Ogrodniczuk (#16, D) – The fifth-year defenceman has already set a new career high for points in a season with eight. A goal and two assists last weekend has Ogrodniczuk carrying a three game point streak into Friday night.
 

Coach's Take

The 'Birds' recent success hasn't happened by accident, but rather the result of dedicated hard work top to bottom.

"We're getting incredible buy-in on what we're doing here," said UBC head coach Graham Thomas. "The accountability level, responsibility level and discipline that we're all holding ourselves to, I've never seen it like it is right now and it's really showing on the ice."



Scoring a combined nine goals last weekend was the icing on the cake for a group that prides itself on being defensively stingy.

"We've always had a defence first mentality but you need the players to do that so credit to them," added Thomas. "Tory (Micklash) has found her game and is in a good place there and from the defence out they're doing an excellent job. Our job now is to keep them focussed so we're not getting complacent and keep pushing the bar higher and keep trying to get better."