CALGARY – This weekend the Dinos will face off against their nearest rivals in the Canada West standings when they face the Lethbridge Pronghorns in a home-and-home series.

It's a golden opportunity for the Dinos to make some headway in the standings as they sit just four points back of the Pronghorns with four of their last six games going head-to-head against their southern rivals.

The last time these teams squared off in conference play was more than eight years ago on Jan. 5, 2002. The Dinos did take on Lethbridge in non-conference play earlier this season, defeating the Horns 3-2 at their tournament Sept. 18 – a tournament Calgary went on to win.

The Dinos currently sit in the bottom of Canada West with a 3-14-1 record following a mostly unsuccessful trip to Winnipeg last weekend. That series saw the Dinos take one out of a possible four points after they were felled 2-1 in a shootout by the Bisons before being shutout in a 1-0 defeat the following night.

Despite picking up just the single point, however, the Dinos held their own against the fourth-ranked Bisons, one of the powers in CIS women's hockey. Katie Urness sparkled in goal both nights for the Dinos, giving up just one goal each night against high-powered Manitoba.

Lethbridge is currently four points ahead of the Dinos with a 4-9-3 record after a close fought home series against the UBC Thunderbirds. That series resulted in a 3-2 shootout loss for the Pronghorns followed by a 4-1 victory.

Leading the way for Lethbridge is the trio of Brittany Kaye, Shelby Ballendine, and Jenna-Marie Durnin with ten, seven and seven points, respectively, so far this season.

Calgary's counters come in the form of their reliable veteran Danielle Boyce who has chalked up seven points on the season. Second year forward Elana Lovell has also led the Dinos offensive pack with nine points.

The Dinos were dealt a tough blow over the weekend when Sinead Tracey, who had been on fire for the team since her return from injury, was injured again and may miss the rest of the 2009-10 season.

The series kicks off on Friday, Jan. 29 in Calgary as the Olympic Oval hosts the first game at 7:30 p.m. Following this the Pronghorns will host game two at Nicholas Sheran Arena in Lethbridge at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 30.

Calgary hosts UBC for a two-game series next weekend before wrapping up their first season back in Canada West with another home-and-home against the Horns Feb. 19-20.

-UC-