Game Information
 
Date: Friday, Jan. 24 & Saturday, Jan. 25
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Saskatoon, Sask.
Venue: Merlis Belsher Place
Watch: Canadawest.tv
Get in the Action: Tickets
 
SASKATOON – Following a successful four-game road swing, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team is back inside Merlis Belsher Place this weekend as they get set to welcome the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.
 
The Huskies have been on a tear as of late and will take the ice on Friday night as winners of 13 of their last 14, which includes a sweep of the Calgary Dinos this past weekend in the Stampede City. Saskatchewan outscored Calgary 7-0 throughout the weekend, giving the club a four-point cushion over the Dinos in the standings.
 
Saskatchewan now controls their own fate in terms of finishing in the top-two of the Canada West, which would grant the team a quarter-final bye and opportunity to host a semifinal series at Merlis Belsher Place. The Huskies enter the weekend four-points back of the Alberta Golden Bears, who will take on the Dinos this weekend in a home-and-home series, a clash that has the potential to shake up the conference standings.
 
After finishing with a 14-12-2 record last season, it has been a disappointing year to date for the Thunderbirds, who sit right on the edge of the playoffs through 22 games this season. UBC (6-11-4) is two points up on the Regina Cougars for the sixth-and-final postseason spot with six regular-season contests remaining. However, the Thunderbirds will enter the Bridge City on a high note as the club has picked up at least a point in their last three games, which includes their sweep of Manitoba this past weekend.
 
The Huskies recorded a sweep earlier this season in Vancouver, with 4-0 and 4-3 victories over the Thunderbirds. After being down 3-2 in the weekend finale, Donovan Neuls scored late in the third, with Jared Dmytriw delivering the overtime winner to seal the sweep for Saskatchewan.
 
Saskatchewan has had UBC's number's as of late, holding a 14-4-0 record against the program over the last five seasons, which includes a 7-1-0 record in Saskatoon. The Thunderbirds will be looking to score their first goal in program history at Merlis Belsher Place, after the team was shutout in 4-0 and 5-0 defeats last season in their inaugural trip to the brand-new facility.
 
5 Things
 
1: What a weekend it was for Taran Kozun. Kozun sealed the Huskies 3-0 win on Saturday night at the David Bauer Area after he fired the puck the length of the ice into the Dinos empty net to record the second goal in Canada West history from a goaltender. Kozun's tally is the conference's first goalie goal to come via shooting the puck. Former Alberta Golden Bears netminder Kurtis Mucha registered the other goal back in 2012, after getting credited with the goal after being the last Golden Bear to touch the puck, which later coasted into an empty net with the opposing netminder pulled in favour of an extra-attacker on a delayed penalty.
 
2: Not to be lost in the shuffle is Kozun's dominance between the pipes. The third-year netminder recorded back-to-back shutouts, moving into a four-way tie for third in the Canada West history books for career shutouts, equalling Jordon Cooke's mark of ten, his predecessor between the Huskies pipes. Kozun is three shutouts away from tying the conference record of 13 shutouts. Kozun will look to continue his dominance this weekend against a Thunderbirds team he has not lost to in his Canada West career.
 
3: Carson Stadnyk and Logan McVeigh enter the weekend each riding five-game point-streaks, which are the longest current streaks in the Canada West. Stadnyk has registered five goals and one assist during the stretch, while McVeigh has five helpers over his last five.
 
4: The Thunderbirds are looking for their first win in Saskatoon since Nov. 14, 2015. The Huskies have dominated the visitors in recent memory, with UBC having just two regular-season wins at the Dog House from the 2009-10 campaign to the present day.
 
5: The Thunderbirds special teams were clicking in the previous meeting against the Huskies earlier this season, which will be a opint of emphasis for Dave Adolph and company this weekend. UBC scored two of their three goals during the series with the man advantage, going 2-8 (25%) over the weekend. However, the visitors will need to make far fewer trips to the box this weekend if they want to hang in there with the Huskies, as Saskatchewan's powerplay ranks number one on home ice this season with a 27.3 per cent mark.
 
Scouting the Thunderbirds
 
The Thunderbirds are chasing after their tenth-consecutive postseason appearance, with the program not having missed out on playoff hockey since the 2009-10 campaign.
 
Six UBC skaters are sitting at double-digit point totals this season and Austin Vetterl leads the way with seven goals and nine assists in 22 games. The fifth-year forward has 104 points in 130 regular-season games in his Canada West career.
 
Fellow forward Tyler Sandhu is having a career-year in terms of goal scoring, with the third-year Richmond, B.C. native tallying nine goals in 22 games this season. With six regular-season games remaining, the former Tri-City American is eight points away from his career-high of 23 points, which came in his rookie season. 
 
Rylan Toth has been the netminder of choice for the Thunderbirds this season, with the goaltender possessing a 5-8-3 record. Two of those wins came this past weekend against the Bisons, after recording 20-save and 28-save victories. Toth holds a 2.83 goals-against-average and 2.67 save-percentage this season.