BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes entered the Rec Center on Saturday evening with one goal in mind, win both games in a given weekend, something they have only done once this season and that was the first weekend versus San Diego State.
The Oklahoma Sooners walked into the building with a response mentality: take this game and stay in the mix for a nationals bid.
Every game between the two clubs this season has been a shutout, a 2-0 Colorado win, a 4-0 Oklahoma win, and Friday night’s 4-0 decision in favor of the Buffaloes.
The goaltenders that started on Friday would start again on Saturday. Matt Server for the Buffaloes, and Brendan Culbertson-Bond for the Sooners.
After three goals were scored in the first eight minutes plus change, this game had to wait until an Oklahoma power play over halfway into the frame to see the game's first goal. Nate Pane beat Server with a snipe from the point and, this time, a goal in on the left side to give the Sooners a 1-0 lead. This was the first power play goal of the double-header and the first goal for Oklahoma on the weekend.
For the first time this semester, the Buffaloes trailed at home. The response was apparent as Marc Borghi picked up a loose puck in the slot, turned around and fired a shot past the glove side of Oklahoma goaltender Brendan Culbertson-Bond. Borghi brought it back to 2015, hitting the dab after scoring the game-tying goal.
Just two minutes later the Buffs would give up a 2-on-1 opportunity, allowing Aaron Best to dish it to Ben Mondou who sent it past the CU goaltender for his seventh goal of the season to make it 2-1 Sooners by the end of the first period.
The second period once again started with a lull in the action. That is until about seven and a half minutes in when the Buffaloes drew an interference penalty. They were about to head to the power play when Colorado’s Roman Di Domizio hit an Oklahoma player down in front of the CU bench. The flare of emotions cost the Buffs the power play and thus would have to play the next two minutes at 4-on-4. The penalties were killed off and play continued.
With under five to play in the second period, the puck was loose along the Oklahoma boards when the puck popped up in the air and was gloved down by Aaron Best of the Sooners. Best handed the puck off to Mondou driving to the net. Server made the initial save but Best was right behind him to catch Server and the Buffaloes off guard to extend the Sooners' lead to 3-1.
After another set of penalties that left the game with an Oklahoma power play with two and a half to play in the second, Colorado proceeded to take another penalty. Alex Hartman was called for interference which meant that the black and gold would have to not only kill 50 seconds of 5-on-3 penalty time but finish killing the other penalty in the third period.
The Buffaloes had let the emotions get the best of them in several moments of the period and would have to not only quell those emotions but use them to put two past the Oklahoma goaltender to tie the contest up.
Unfortunately for CU, the Buffaloes were in the process of clearing the puck when Tristan Davison tipped the pass and the rolling puck was picked up by Tristan Glass who sniped it past Server’s top right corner to make it 4-1 Oklahoma about six minutes in.
This put Colorado down for the count. Throughout the middle of the third, they failed to generate more than a few good scoring chances. It wasn’t until they went onto the penalty kill again that there was a spark plug. With just under five minutes to play, defender Jack Ferguson pushed the puck into the Oklahoma side where he put on a shot that was easily stopped by Culbertson-Bond. The problem for the OU goaltender was that Borghi was waiting for the juicy rebound to clean up the play and score his second of the night, making it 4-2.
The captain had suddenly breathed life back into the Buffaloes and they nearly scored again as Di Domizio was robbed by Culbertson-Bond on a 2-on-1 shorthanded chance. Server went to the bench with two minutes to play and the Buffs threw everything they had at the Sooner netminder.
Their efforts were in vain as Pane finished the deal with his second goal of the night, gliding the puck into the empty net. The Sooners won by a final score of 5-2.
Colorado dropped a crucial competition against the Sooners and now both teams will wait and see what the computer has to say about their performance. The Buffs came into the weekend ranked at No. 23 and Oklahoma at No. 24. The question that everyone will be talking about from now until Wednesday when the rankings come out, is where do these teams end up?
One thing is for certain, the Buffs needed this one to cement themselves in the nationals conversation.
Colorado will be on the road next weekend in warm weather as they play the San Diego State Aztecs, a non-conference opponent, for two must-win games.
All Colorado club hockey games are broadcast live on the Sko Buffs Sports YouTube channel.
Cover photo by Zach Giesenschlag/Sko Buffs Sports
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