Lethbridge - The Pronghorn men’s hockey team (3-8-2 CW, 3-12-2 overall) travels to Vancouver for the final weekend of the first semester to take on the UBC Thunderbirds (5-7-2 CW). The Horns trail the T-Birds by four points for fifth in Canada West and this weekend could go a long way in determining if the ‘Horns make a return to the post-season this year.
 
Earlier this season, the ‘Horns and T-Birds split their weekend series in Lethbridge with ‘Horns winning the opening night 4-3 in a shootout and losing the next night 5-3.
 
Horns need to make a push
As the Horns pass the mid-point of the season and currently sit on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, this weekend’s games are crucial and could prove to being a turning point after a disappointing first half of the season.
 
Offensively the ‘Horns have really struggled this season, scoring a conference low 29 goals and much of that can be attributed to an anemic power play. Operating at only 12.5% efficiency the ‘Horns have the second worst power play in the conference.
 
Captain Dustin Moore continues to lead the team in scoring with 7 goals and 6 assists and is the only Horn in double digits in points. After starting the season on a tear, sophomore Taylor Gal has gone ice cold. Gal started the season with 7 points in 5 games but has only registered two points in his last 8 games. Hopefully the T-Birds are just the remedy Gal needs as he had three goals and two assists in the two games versus UBC in October.
 
Up and Down T-Birds
For the most part, the first half of the season has been a win one-lose one scenario for the T-Birds, splitting five of their seven weekend series. The T-Birds were swept in their other two series by the Alberta Golden Bears and Saskatchewan Huskies. The T-Birds enter the weekend having lost three straight after being swept last weekend by the Huskies.
 
The T-Birds are tied for the second fewest goals scored with the Regina Cougars, scoring 36 times in 12 games and are led by Max Grassi (5G, 9A) and Scott Wasden (5G, 7A) with 14 and 12 points respectively.
 
Jordan White has carried the bulk of the load between the pipes this season for the Thunderbirds and sports a respectable 1.90 goals-against-average and a 0.907 save percentage.
 
Puck drop goes both nights at 7:00pm PST at the Doug Mitchell Sports Centre. Live stats for the games can be found at: http://www.leaguestat.com/canadawest/mens/en/stats/schedule.php
 
The second half for the ‘Horns kicks-off January 6^th and 7^th, hosting the Saskatchewan Huskies. During that weekend, the Horns and Huskies will also play the third period of the suspended game from October 1 with the Huskies leading 3-0. The remaining 20-minute period and any necessary overtime or shootout will be completed prior to the regularly scheduled contest scheduled for 7:00 p.m.