Lethbridge – Coming off a disappointing series last weekend, the Lethbridge Pronghorn men's hockey team will close out the first semester of conference action with a stiff test visiting the CIS third ranked and defending CIS Champion Alberta Golden Bears.
 
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm Friday night and 6:00pm Saturday night at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton. Both games will also be streamed live on www.canadawest.tv, home of all Canada West webcasts.
 
During the opening weekend of the Canada West season the 'Horns and Bears split their two-game series in Lethbridge, with the Bears winning the opening game 2-0 and the 'Horns rebounding with a 3-2 overtime win the next night.
 
The 'Horns (6-7-1) had their five-game winning streak snapped last weekend as they were swept by the Regina Cougars.
 
Through 14 games the 'Horns have scored the fourth most goals in the conference with 46, but have allowed the second most goals against with 52. One area statistically the 'Horns will be looking to improve upon during the second half of the season is their special teams play. The 'Horns are ranked seventh on the power play (17.4%) and eighth in penalty killing (66.7%) but the team is the least penalized team in Canada West.
 
Mitch Maxwell and Brandon Clowes are tied for the team lead in scoring with 14 points each, while defenceman Tim Campbell leads the team and all Canada West defencemen in goals with eight. Campbell is tied for the conference lead in defencemen scoring with 10 points.
 
The Bears (10-3-1) enter the weekend riding a four-game winning streak and while the 'Horns special teams have been a sore spot, the Bears are thriving in both categories. The Bears have both the top ranked power play (28%) and penalty killing (88.5%) units.
 
Alberta is also the top ranked team defensively in Canada West and has only allowed 29 goals against so far this season. In the net, Luke Siemens has played every minute thus far and leads the conference in goals-against average at 1.96 and in shutouts with two.
 
Offensively, the Bears have also scored the most goals in the conference with 54 goals and are led by Jordan Hickmont and Levko Koper. Hickmont, a 2014-2015 Canada West first team All-Star, is tied for the Canada West scoring lead with 20 points and Koper has 18 points so far this season.
 
The 'Horns will kick-off the 2016 portion of the Canada West schedule January 8^th and 9^th, hosting the Saskatchewan Huskies.
 
 
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