Lethbridge – Despite being only the second weekend of January, this weekend's home-and-home series between the Lethbridge Pronghorn women's hockey team and the Calgary Dinos could be argued as the most important series of the season for both teams.
 
Heading into the weekend, the 'Horns (6-9-3) and Dinos (7-10-1) are tied for the final playoff spot with 15 points and the teams are also tied in the first tie-breaker, head-to-head record. The Dinos won the first game between the two teams this season, 2-1, before the 'Horns returned the favor with a 5-2 win in Lethbridge.
 
The weekend series kicks off Friday in Lethbridge at Nicholas Sheran Arena, puck drops at 7:00pm, with the series concluding in Calgary at Father David Bauer Saturday night at 6:00pm. Friday night's game will also be streamed on http://canadawest.tv.
 
The 'Horns opened the second half with a road split last weekend in Regina, winning the first game 3-2 in a shootout before dropping a close 2-1 game the next day.
 
For the Dinos the second half didn't start the way they would have liked, dropping both games to the conference leading UBC Thunderbirds. The Dinos lost by 4-2 and 1-0 scores.
 
Like their records, not much separates the two teams statistically; the 'Horns have scored 37 goals to the Dinos 30, while the Dinos are the better of the two defensively, allowing 44 goals compared to the 'Horns 51.
 
Individually, the 'Horns are led by Kirsten Reeves and Sadia Lenstra, who are the only Pronghorns to crack the conference's top 20 scoring list with 10 and nine points respectively, while Janelle Parent is the lone Dino to make the list with eight goals and six assists for 14 points.
 
Between the pipes, Pronghorn Crystal Patterson and Dino Amanda Tapp have played the bulk of the games for their respective teams. In 13 games, Patterson sports a 2.26 goals against average, while in 12 appearances, Tapp has accumulated a 2.74 goals against average, but has accounted for three of the seven Dinos wins.
 
-30-