CALGARY – They were faced with a rash of injuries and the absence of key players as they concluded the first half of their schedule – but the second-ranked University of Calgary Dinos managed to get through it, and they're ready to regroup for the stretch drive.

The Dinos ring in 2013 with a two-game series against the UBC Thunderbirds this weekend at Father David Bauer Arena. Action opens Friday night with a 7 p.m. puck drop, followed by a 2 p.m. matinee Saturday afternoon. Both games will be streamed live at http://cgy.canadawest.tv.

The defending national champs are still the class of Canada West through 16 games, owning a conference-leading 13-2-1 record with a dozen games to go. They have gone through 10 games without their full lineup on the ice, thanks to injuries and the national team commitments of Iya Gavrilova and Hayley Wickenheiser, but they still managed to win five straight heading into the break.

The Dinos had little trouble with the Lethbridge Pronghorns in their final action of 2012, taking both ends of a home-and-home series with a 3-1 victory on the road followed by a 2-0 home ice triumph. Wickenheiser picked up five points in the two-game set, moving her into second place in the conference scoring race with 19 points, despite playing just 10 games. She leads a quartet of Dinos who appear in the top seven in Canada West scoring, joined by Gavrilova and Jenna Smith (16 points each) along with blueliner Stephanie Ramsay (15).

Their opponent this weekend is a vastly improved UBC Thunderbirds squad, which managed just a single win in the 2011-12 season but has reeled off a 7-6-3 record to open this campaign. And if the playoffs were to start today, the Thunderbirds would be in a position to host a quarterfinal series as they currently hold down fourth place.

First-year head coach Graham Thomas' team has scored just 35 goals on the season (compared to 52 for the Dinos), but they have managed some quality wins – including a season-opening 4-0 victory over Regina, a 3-2 win over Alberta, and a series sweep on the road against Saskatchewan.

Rebecca Unrau is UBC's offensive leader with 14 points, good enough for ninth spot on the conference leaderboard. Unrau is joined in the top 20 by Kaitlin Imai's 12 points.

Between the pipes, Danielle Dube has been a major story for the Thunderbirds this season. The 36-year-old former national team player, a late cut from both the 1998 and 2002 Canadian Olympic teams, boasts the top save percentage in Canada West at .944 – a sliver above Calgary's Amanda Tapp (.942). Dube has five of UBC's seven wins on the season to her credit, sporting a miniscule 1.69 goals-against average – just behind Tapp, who leads the conference at 1.38.

The battle on special teams will be strength-against-strength, with UBC holding the second-best power play at 17.1 per cent against the Dinos' top-ranked penalty kill unit, which has fended off 93.9 per cent of opponent power plays, allowed just five goals on the year in 82 tries, and scored a pair of shorthanded tallies as well.

Calgary and UBC faced off earlier this season in Vancouver, with the Dinos taking both games. Following a 5-2 win in the opener, the T-Birds fought Calgary to overtime only to fall 6-5 on a sudden-death marker by Wickenheiser.

The Dinos will face another stiff test next weekend as they play their final games outside the province of Alberta during the regular season. Calgary faces Regina (12-4-0) on the road next week in a battle that could decide first place in the conference, with the upstart Cougars trailing the Dinos by just three points as the season enters the stretch. In their previous meeting back in October, Calgary emerged with a 3-0 victory and a 4-3 overtime loss. That OT victory sparked a hot streak for the Cougars, who have won 10 of their past 11 games heading into the opening weekend of 2013.

The Dinos return home to face Manitoba Jan. 18-19 at Father David Bauer Arena – part of a stretch that sees Calgary play eight of its last 13 games on home ice.

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