Lethbridge – The Pronghorns men's hockey team will travel to Vancouver for a two game weekend series with the UBC Thunderbirds following a 1-1 home stand against the Manitoba Bisons.
 
The 'Horns muscled out a 5-2 win to start the series versus the Bisons, but fell to them the next day, 4-1.
 
The Thunderbirds got roughed up last weekend, when they played host to the Saskatchewan Huskies. They lost both games, by scores of 2-0 and 6-2.
 
This weekend creates an equal opportunity for both participants as the 'Horns and the T-Birds are both 2-8-0 in their last ten starts, but the T-Birds lead the 'Horns by four points for the final playoff spot. They will do battle on Friday at 8:00pm MT, and Saturday 8:00pm MT. Both games are available on www.canadawest.tv.
 
 
Head-to-head, the 'Horns take the edge, as they are 2-0 VS the T-Birds this season, winning both games played between the two so far, by scores of 3-2 and 2-1.
 
The T-Birds are decent on home ice, sporting a 5-4-1 record at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. The 'Horns struggle on the road, going 3-6-1 so far this season away from home.
 
The T-Birds struggle to put the puck in the net, scoring the second-least goals in Canada West, with 57. The 'Horns are fifth in scoring, with 66. Keeping the puck out of their own net, though, is a category where the Thunderbirds have the edge on the 'Horns. The 'Horns have allowed 92 goals, while the T-Birds have only allowed 70.
 
Special teams will play a big part in this weekend's results, as the T-Birds head to the sin bin the most of any team in Canada West, racking up a grand total of 290 PIM. That's an average of 13.2 PIM per game. The 'Horns are on the opposite end of the spectrum, with the second-least PIM in the division, with 193 and a per-game average of 8.8.
 
The good news for the T-Birds is that with so much practice on the penalty kill, they have gotten pretty good at it, ranking 2^nd in Canada West, and killing off 86.1% of all of their infractions. The 'Horns rank last in the division, with a 69.9% kill rate.
 
The 'Horns also struggle on the power play, running with a 13.8% success rate, 7^th in Canada West. The T-Birds rank 4^th, and convert 21.1% of their chances.
 
Mitch Maxwell leads the 'Horns with 7g, 11a, for 18 points, as well as a +1 rating. He is hot right now too. Last weekend, he scored 2 goals to help the 'Horns get Friday's 5-2 win over the Bisons.
 
Austin Vetterl is having himself quite the rookie season for the T-Birds, scoring 7g, 11a for 18 points, good enough for a tie for second on the team in points. He rocks a 0 plus-minus rating, and has ripped 46 shots on goal in 22 games played. Anthony Bardaro, a third-year forward, leads the T-Birds with 10g, 11a, for 21 points, and plays with a chip on his shoulder, racking up 30 PIM. He has launched a team-high 68 shots on goal.
 
 
Next weekend, the 'Horns will host the Mount Royal Cougars on Friday, and then complete the home-and-home series in Calgary on Saturday.