CALGARY - Still searching for their first goal of the 2011-12 season, the Dinos men's hockey team heads west to face the UBC Thunderbirds in a two-game set this weekend at Vancouver's Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

The Dinos (0-2) face a UBC team that has missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons and is opening their campaign this weekend at home. The weekend series marks the first two of six contest between the Dinos and the Thunderbirds in 2011-12.

Puck drops at 8 p.m. MT both nights. Friday's game can be heard on the UBC campus radio station, www.citr.ca.

Canada West Media Notes - WEEK 2

Calgary Dinos (0-2-0)
The  Dinos opened the 2011-12 Canada West season last weekend with two shutout losses at home to the Manitoba Bisons.

Calgary lost both games 2-0 with the Bisons scoring three of those goals on the power play.  The Dinos went 0-13 with the man advantage over the weekend series.

The Dinos enter season with high expectations after making the team's first trip to the University Cup since 2000.

Coach Mark Howell made several key additions to the team over the off-season. Leading the list of recruits for the Dinos is a familiar name to Calgary hockey fans in former

Calgary Hitmen co-captain Tyler Fiddler. Other recruits joining Fiddler on the Dinos this season are Dylan Hood, Jacob DeSerres, Taylor Stefishen, Max Ross, Spencer Copp, and David Robinson. The Dinos also announced a pair of late roster additions this week that should significantly solidify their chances in 2011-12 in Teigan Zahn and Randy McNaught.

Brock Nixon enters his fourth season with the Dinos after finishing second last year in team scoring. Nixon will now play a huge role in mentoring the new Calgary recruits, which include five freshman forwards. Reid Jorgensen, the team's leading scorer with 33 points in 28 games last year, has committed to return for a fifth and final season and will once again bring his offensive firepower to bear for the Dinos.

On the blue line, Calgary has reliable defenders it can feel very comfortable with entering this season. Five of the seven defencemen on the roster have at least two years of experience in CIS and will add a veteran presence to the squad.

Between the pipes, Calgary has some of the best goaltending in the nation. Butler, the reigning CIS top goalie, was pushed by Lazaruk last season and Memorial Cup champion DeSerres looks to be in the mix as well.

UBC Thunderbirds (0-0-0)
Key additions: Steve Stanford, Michael Wilgosh, Jason Yee, Brendon Wall
Key returnees: Justin McCrae, Max Grassi, Ben Schmidt, Marc Desloges, Jordan White, Scott Wasden
Key departures: Matthew Schneider, Craig Lineker, Max Gordichuk, Dalton Pajak

The UBC Thunderbirds men's hockey team is looking to make the Canada West playoffs for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

Head coach Milan Dragicevic is hoping the team can continue the progress shown last year, when UBC improved by ten points in the standings from the previous season.

There are 11 new players, including former Saskatoon Blade goaltender Steve Stanford (1st, Calgary, AB) and Junior A players, Michael Wilgosh (1st, Selkirk, MB), Jason Yee (1st, Victoria, BC) and Brendon Wall (1st, Saskatoon, SK).

Coach Dragicevic says his new players are crucial to the success of UBC in 2011-12 and will be relied upon often to produce offence and energy for the team.

They join a group of returning players that includes Justin McCrae (3rd, Cochrane, AB) and Max Grassi (3rd, North Vancouver, BC), UBC's only top-20 scorers in the Canada West last season. Ben Schmidt (2nd, Campbell River, BC), the team's third-leading scorer and leading defenceman, also returns.

Goalie Jordan White (3rd, Surrey, BC) is will be back in the Thunderbird net after playing in every game last season and leading the conference in minutes and games played.

The Thunderbirds went 2-4 in the preseason, beating the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology twice at home before losing to the Abbotsford Heat (American Hockey League) and three NCAA Division I schools.

Last weekend, the T-Birds travelled south for three games in three nights and were competitive in losses to No. 14 Nebraska Omaha Mavericks (4-1), Minnesota (3-0), and Minnesota State (3-1).

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