LETHBRIDGE – With eight games remaining in the Canada West schedule, the Lethbridge Pronghorns are in the midst of a battle for a playoff spot and will face one of the teams they are battling with this weekend, traveling to Vancouver to face the UBC Thunderbirds.
 
The Pronghorns and Thunderbirds will square-off at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre Friday night at 7:00pm and Saturday at 1:00pm, both Pacific Time. Both games will also be streamed live on www.canadawest.tv.
 
Entering the weekend, the Pronghorns trail UBC and Mount Royal by three points for fourth place but are only three points ahead of the seventh place Calgary Dinos.
 
"We played two really good games last weekend but we had trouble scoring on big time chances," said Pronghorn head coach Spiros Anastas. "We addressed that this week and worked hard on finishing pucks and putting ourselves in favourable positions to score."
 
"Last time we played UBC, the story was similar. We outshot them 96-46 on the weekend and lost two. But we're confident in our ability and know it's going to be two great games this weekend."
 
"Every game has a playoff feeling now, you could just feel the buzz and intensity in our rink on Saturday night. Friday at UBC will be great as they're hosting their Winter Classic event. We were fortunate to play in it a couple years ago and came away with a 4-1 win. The atmosphere is electric and we're looking forward to being there again."
 
 
Earlier this season, the Thunderbirds swept the Pronghorns in Lethbridge, winning 5-0 and 6-4.
 
A Look at the Teams:
 
The Pronghorns (8-10-2) are coming off two losses last weekend to the Mount Royal Cougars but earned a valuable point last Saturday in a 2-1 overtime loss.
 
Through 20 conference games this season, the Pronghorns are tied for the fewest goals scored in the conference with Regina with 52 goals for. They has also allowed the second most goals against with 77 but have allowed three or less goals against in five of their last six games.
 
UBC (10-9-1) has won three of their last four games, including sweeping the Regina Cougars last weekend in Regina. Prior to their latest streak, the T-Birds had lost eight straight games.
 
Statistically, the Thunderbirds sit third last in goals scored with 55 and have only allowed three fewer goals than the Pronghorns with 74.
 
The power play has been an area of strength this season for the Thunderbirds, tied with Mount Royal for tops in Canada West at 22.1% efficiency, however, their penalty killing is ranked last among Canada West teams at 75.3%.
 
Key Players:
 
Garret Hughson has started 10 straight games in the Pronghorns crease and has won six of those 10. On the strength of his play during this steak, he has improved his save percentage from below 0.900 to 0.911.
 
Mitch Maxwell leads the Pronghorns in scoring with seven goals and 15 assists and enters the weekend one point shy of 100 career points. He is currently tied for sixth in Canada West scoring.
 
In four games since he joined the team after Christmas, Brooks Maxwell has three assists after not playing hockey for two full seasons.
 
Austin Vetterl leads the Thunderbirds in scoring with 19 points and sits second in Canada West in goals with 11 this season, while Tyler Sandhu is second in T-Bird scoring with five goals and 10 assists.
 
In the crease, Matt Hewitt has played in 15 of the T-Birds 20 games this season and was stellar the last time he faced the Pronghorns. He stopped 92 of 96 shots in the T-Birds two wins. He has started in eight of the last 10 games.
 
Up Next:
The Pronghorns will return home next weekend to host the U SPORTS fourth ranked Alberta Golden Bears.
 
 
 
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