CALGARY – Coming off a bye-week, the University of Calgary Dinos men's hockey team will take on the UBC Thunderbirds in a pair of home contests, starting Friday.
 
Both games will be hosted by the Dinos at Father David Bauer Arena, with the puck dropping at 7 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
 
1. Season Thus Far – The Dinos are currently 5-3-0 in their season, while the Thunderbirds are sitting at 4-2-0. UCalgary enters the weekend with a three-game win streak, while the visitors from Vancouver take to the ice after losing to MacEwan in double overtime last weekend.
 
2. Sophomore Standouts – Calgary second-year forward Jake Gricius leads the Dinos in points this season, having notched eight thus far with seven goals and one assist. He is followed closely by sophomore teammates Tyson Upper, who has two goals and five assists, and Riley Stotts, who has registered seven assists this season.
 
3. T-Birds To Watch – Sam Huo and Sasha Mutala were key factors in UBC's decisive 6-2 win over the MacEwan Griffins on Oct. 28. Huo registered three points, with two goals and an assist, while Mutala, the playmaker, assisted on three goals.
 
4. Weekend Split – The last time Calgary faced UBC they were in Thunderbird territory and split the weekend to start the season. The Dinos dropped their opener to UBC, 2-5, before bouncing back to win 4-3 in a shootout with veteran forward Jordan Xavier scoring the clinching goal to earn Calgary the weekend split.
 
5. Rankings Watch – The Dinos and Thunderbirds currently sit neck-and-neck in the conference standings, with the two squads tied for fourth, each with 10 points heading into this weekend's showdown. Calgary does hold the edge in this week's national rankings, with the Dinos checking in at No. 9 this week, while the Thunderbirds sit on the outside looking in on this week's poll.
 
-UC-