Lethbridge – Coming off a grueling start to the season that saw the Lethbridge Pronghorn men's hockey team open with seven of the first eight games on the road, the 'Horns finally return home for a two game set but they will face a stiff challenge this weekend. The 'Horns will host the undefeated and nationally top ranked Alberta Golden Bears, Friday and Saturday night at Nicholas Sheran Arena. Puck drop for both nights is set for 7:00pm.
 
For the 'Horns, the start to the season has been a difficult one, but they hope to build on last weekend's play after earning their first win of the season. The 'Horns put some life into their previously anemic offense with eight goals in two games last weekend versus the UBC Thunderbirds – which more than doubled their season total. They had only scored six goals in their previous six games.
 
Freshmen Ryon Moser and Mitch Maxwell had breakout weekends last week, with four points each, while Cass Mappin continued his strong play and leads the 'Horns in scoring with four goals and three assists.
 
Keeping the puck out of their own net is still a concern for the 'Horns, allowing a league leading 41 goals, but they did see improvements in their speciality teams last week. The 'Horns scored three power play goals last week and saw their penalty killing move up the Canada West rankings after killing seven of eight UBC power plays.
 
Coming off their bye week, the Golden Bears (8-0-0) have been dominant so far this season, outscoring their opponents 39-12 in eight games and have been ranked number one in the country for all five weeks of the CIS Top 10 poll.
 
Last time out the Bears swept the UBC Thunderbirds in Edmonton, beating the T-Birds 5-3 and 6-2.
 
Offensively, the Bears potent attack has been a balanced effort with 17 players scoring at least one goal. They are led by Levko Koper, who has registered four goals and seven assists in eight games.
 
Between the pipes, the Bears have platooned Kurtis Mucha and Luke Siemens with each starting four games and both have exceptional numbers thus far. Siemens leads the conference in goals-against-average (1.25) and save percentage (0.947).
 
Live stats for both games can be found at: http://www.leaguestat.com/canadawest/mens/en/stats/schedule.php?season_id=38.
 
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