BOULDER – The end of the home season had arrived in Boulder as the Division I Colorado men’s hockey team looked to honor their nine seniors and send them off into their next chapter with a win.
Oregon had one goal, play spoiler. Oregon was now at full strength with four of six players who were suspended for one game for fighting against UNLV the prior Saturday returning for the contest.
CU looked to finish off the home season with a win for the nine seniors which included captain Marc Borghi, assistant captain Adam Trunko (who is going through senior night for the second time after returning for his masters), and goaltender Matt Server, who was starting in goal playing against the team he played for last season.
Hope was high for the Buffaloes as the puck dropped as many players who sat out Friday night's contest like Drew McConaughy, Rapolas Marcinkevicius, and George Issa were back on the ice for the game.
Just like Friday, the Buffs fell down early as Jackson Henningsgard fired a wrister past Server to give Oregon another early 1-0 lead.
Unlike Friday, Oregon would build on the lead, going up 2-0 after Barak Braslavski sped past the Buffs' defense shorthanded and beat Server. Letting up a shorthanded goal was not how the Buffs planned to start the game.
Already down 2-0, Colorado struggled to fight back as Oregon goaltender Rodney Peterson made some great saves. Oregon would find the back of the net again after Colorado let up a 2-on-1 breakaway and Braslavski threaded a pass to Mica Glass who buried the puck by Server as Oregon had stormed out to a 3-0 at the end of the first period. Colorado needed to figure out Peterson and fast.
Unfortunately, Colorado would go straight to the penalty kill and Oregon would capitalize after Charlie Maher found Lars Kroes sliding in front of Server and he tipped it behind the CU goaltender. Oregon now had a commanding 4-0 lead. CU would need to score soon if they wanted to stay in this game.
Oregon jumped on yet another loose puck in front giving the Ducks another prime scoring opportunity. Glass would bury his second of the game to give UO a 5-0 lead just five minutes into the second period. The game was getting away from Colorado.
Just moments later, a shot from Jesse Kittay would be deflected by Owen Dickinson. The redirect beat Peterson and Dickinson’s first of the year got the Buffs on the board and their bench alive.
Time ticked away in the second as a few penalties were taken and Server stopped a few more great chances for Oregon. But with under five minutes to go in the second period, Dickinson trapped the puck in the corner and found Keaton Foy, a senior, who tried to beat Peterson but was stopped. He whacked at the puck which forced it into the slot. Dickinson was behind the play, rushed in, and slapped the puck past Peterson and into the net for his second of the period. The Buffs had the lead down to three going into the third.
With Colorado getting some momentum back, they needed to strike quickly in the third to get a good pace for a comeback. Sadly for the Buffs, Peterson shut the door several times and in the blink of an eye, half of the third was gone. It wasn’t until the final five minutes of the game that the crowd saw Issa scoop up a loose puck in the neutral which led to a rush with Paxton Bunting, one of the seniors for this Buffs team. Bunting tried to move around two Ducks defenders and collided with the defenders. He managed to stay on his feet with a 1-on-1 look at Peterson. Peterson made the save but Issa rushed in and tucked the puck into the net just as it was coming off. The goal counted and the Buffs had some life with little time left.
The Buffs pulled Server with just under three minutes to go but it did not take long for Oregon to steal and end the game with an empty netter. Buffs pushed for the final two minutes and thirty seconds but it was all in vain as they ended up dropping their final home game 6-3.
Another season has come and gone for the men’s Division I hockey team at Colorado, but through the highs and lows, it was a fun season filled with memorable moments. Issa’s game-winning snipe versus San Diego State, McConaughy’s overtime winner, Trunko’s backhanded diving goal, and beating Arizona State in a shootout, were just a few amazing moments.
Colorado will play two more games on the road in Las Vegas against fifth-ranked UNLV to close out the season before starting preparations for the 2024-25 campaign.
Catch next year's Colorado club hockey games broadcast live on the Sko Buffs Sports YouTube channel.
Cover photo by Zachary Giesenschlag/Sko Buffs Sports
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