BOULDER– The Colorado Buffaloes division one men’s hockey team (22-15-0) split a series with the Missouri State Ice Bears (15-17-0) this Valentine’s weekend in Boulder.
Friday, February 14, saw a close 4-3 victory for the Buffs, while the Bears responded Saturday, February 15, with a dominant final score of 8-3. The underdog No. 8 ranked WCHL Bears met the demanding challenge of the then number three ranked Buffs.
The Valentine’s Day matchup saw both teams emerge red hot from the locker room. Bears’ forward Duke Boccardi scored on a wraparound 50 seconds into the game. Shortly after, Jake Rosolanko quickly responded for the Buffs just 63 seconds later.
The first period was all Colorado after that with goals by Blake Blevins, Rapolas Marcinkevicius and Drew McConaughy within the first nine minutes. The Bears’ starting goaltender Brady Govero was pulled after allowing those four Buffs goals.
Valentine’s Day love seemed to be in the rearview as physicality dominated the second period. The Bears recorded six penalty minutes while the Buffs recorded four. Stellar goaltending by the Buffs’ Liam O’Gwen and the Bears’ Ross Jones led to a scoreless twenty minutes of play.
The Bears were desperate to get back on the board after a scoring drought in the second period. Duke and Joey Boccardi attempted to close the gap, scoring two goals in the third period. The black and gold put no points on the board following their dominant first ten minutes of play.
A hooking penalty against Duke Boccardi kept the Bears from forcing overtime in the final minutes of game one.
As game two loomed, Missouri State sought to respond to their close loss the previous night. The first ten minutes were action-packed once again with the Bears peppering O’Gwen with nine shots on goal. The Buffs only fired seven shots on Jones.
A slashing call on the Buffs’ Mathison Hole gave the Bears an early man advantage. Colorado’s Rapolas Marcinkevicius paid no mind, putting his Buffs on the board short handed just two minutes after the opening draw.
In response, Bears defenseman Bryan Wood scored his second goal of the season six minutes into the period. Coby Weber snuck a backhander past Liam O’Gwen two minutes later.
The physicality of this game closely resembled the night before. Period two was loaded with penalty minutes on both sides. The most egregious was an altercation between Blake Harper and David Hoftiezer following a late cross-check by Harper into the boards.
The Bears continued to attack the Buffs’ defense. Hoftiezser reignited the flame for his black and gold as he buried the puck behind Jones on a power play. However, an insurance goal by Duke Boccardi led Caiden Boucher to replace the Buffs’ starting goaltender O’Gwen.
Tensions only rose as the teams emerged from their respective locker rooms for the final 20 minutes. Colorado and Missouri State racked up 16 combined penalty minutes as the physical battle continued.
Boucher retreated to his bench for the extra skater with three minutes remaining as his Buffs team desperately tried to close the gap. CU’s fate was sealed when Bryan Wood scored on the empty net in the final minute, and Boucher returned to his net to live out the remainder of the matchup.
It was a disappointing night for the Buffs, but there is no time to dwell upon the loss.
With the postseason on the horizon, the Buffs hold the number 25 slot in the ACHA. The biggest threats to their postseason run are fellow WCHL schools Oklahoma and Utah, both of whom put up big victories this weekend. The Utes sit at number 20 followed closely by the number 22 ranked Sooners.
Colorado’s focus is elsewhere as they return to the ice next weekend to take on rival Colorado State in the highly anticipated Rocky Mountain Faceoff. Friday’s matchup takes place in Fort Collins while Saturday will close out the regular season in Boulder.
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