MEN’S DIVISION I
COLORADO BUFFALOES (11-10-2) VS. ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (11-16-1)
8 P.M. MT | CU REC CENTER ICE RINK | SKO BUFFS SPORTS
The Colorado Buffaloes come off yet another weekend split, this time down in San Diego as they matched up with San Diego State Aztecs. The Buffs dominated the first game, skating into Saturday with a 6-0 win, yet they couldn’t keep their foot on the gas to take Saturday night’s game two.
LATEST RESULTS:
February 3, 2024, COL: 4 SDSU: 5
February 8, 2024, ASU: 4 CSU: 5 (OT)
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS & SATURDAY NIGHT STRUGGLES:
Last weekend, the Colorado Buffaloes took a trip to California, visiting San Diego State at Kroc Ice Center. The Buffs stormed into February, scoring six goals in the first two periods, going on to win the game by a final score of 6-0. Adam Trunko, Marc Borghi, and Quinten Kinney each scored a goal, while Max Pasiennik earned himself a hat trick with a goal in the first and two in the second.
On the second night of the trip, the ice was less favorable for Colorado, as they gave up four straight goals while up 3-1, losing 5-4 after scoring once in an attempted comeback. The weekend ended up a slight disappointment for the Buffs with in-division rival No. 25 Oklahoma winning both of their games versus Alabama, knocking Colorado outside of the top 25 in the rankings.
BUFFS STATS:
Pasiennik (8-17—25), Drew McConaughy (7-16—23), and Brodie Pearson (10-10—20) remain the Buffs’ top three in points as all three scored at least a point on Friday, and the first two got on the board on Saturday. Pasiennik had himself a six-point weekend, and McConaughy put up three assists on Friday as well as two on Saturday.
Liam O’Gwen (6-3-1) started for the Buffs on Friday night, holding down the fort and saving 25 of 25 shots faced. O’Gwen starting breaks a trend by Colorado who has tended to start goaltender Matthew Server on the first night of road trips. O’Gwen bumped his overall save percentage to .905, claiming his sixth win and first shutout of the season.
THE NUMBERS:
Over the black and gold’s six-goal night, eleven skaters got on the board. The Buffs’ goals were scored by four individual players on both Friday and Saturday, as the team’s point leaders came in big, scoring 80% of Colorado’s goals this weekend.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Colorado scored three times on the power play versus San Diego State to rank 34th out of 72, upping their man-advantage scoring pace to 20.2%. Arizona State sits slightly further down at 38th, for a 19.6% power play. The Buffs and Sun Devils sit tied at a 75.4% penalty kill, with Arizona State placed at 45th and Colorado at 46th.
MEN’S DIVISION II
5 PM MT | CU REC CENTER ICE RINK | SKO BUFFS SPORTS
The Buffs’ Men’s Division II team faces off against the Wyoming Cowboys Friday night in the first round of the BMHC (Big Mountain Hockey Conference) playoffs. The Buffs (8-19-0) take the 4-seed while the Cowboys (3-13-2) take the 5-seed to round out the BMHC bracket.
LATEST RESULTS:
February 3, 2024, CSU: 3 COL: 1
February 8, 2024, WYO: 3 COL: 4
BUFFS STATS:
Colorado split their final weekend of regular season play at home, beating Wyoming in a two-goal comeback 4-3 win before losing 3-1 on Senior night to Colorado State.
In the Buffs’ meeting with the Cowboys last Friday, forward Kory Diponio rallied the team to a comeback victory on the back of his third period, natural hat trick. Diponio scored one minute and 29 seconds into the third, closing the score to 3-2 before he scored again just two minutes later to tie at 3-3. Diponio then scored at the eight-minute, 28-second mark of the third to push the Buffs ahead 4-3 which was all she wrote, as the black and gold closed the game out over the regional rivals.
On a heavily snowing and foggy Saturday night, the Colorado State Rams traveled down from Fort Collins to win 3-1 over Colorado on the final night of the regular season for the DII squad. Forward Saul Drantch scored the lone Colorado goal from Nowell Sinicki and Captain Diego Pitones with 10 minutes and 11 seconds left in the second. Colorado State scored a goal in each period, with the game-sealing score being an empty net goal with just over a minute remaining.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Colorado holds a 37.9% power play — good for 55th of 186, while Wyoming sits at 74th at 30.8%. The penalty kill for both teams is a different story: Colorado ranks 155th with success on only 38.7% of their kills. Wyoming ranks slightly higher at 120th, holding a slightly less dismal 59.3% penalty kill.
DANGLE, SNIPE, AND STAMPEDE:
Episode 12 of Dangle, Snipe, and Stampede has been released, with Alex Roberts, Jared Miller, and Aidan Glockner discussing the final few weeks of the regular season for each of Colorado’s three club hockey teams.
Check it out here!
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