The Weber State University hockey team hosted the University of Providence Argos and the Utah Valley University Wolverines this past homecoming weekend. They finished the weekend with a 1-1 record after falling 1-3 to the Argos and blasting UVU 10-3.
Returning to Ogden after two weeks of away games and like their season opener, the ’Cats saw a similar fate of cutting their successes in half.
On Oct. 11, the Wildcats fell 1–3 to the Argos in a well-fought battle.
Providence found their first goal of the game five minutes into the first after WSU was called for having too many men on the ice.
The remainder of the first resulted in a series of penalties from both teams. The Wildcats weren’t able to capitalize on these advantages, and as the first came to an end, the Argos held their lead.
Early into the second, the ’Cats lost a vital role of the 2019 season thus far. Forward Bryon Fobair was assisted off the ice with an apparent hip injury, and the already struggling Wildcats knew this would be a difficult adjustment.
“When we lost Bryon, it kind of threw everything into a loop,” said head coach Yosh Ryujin. “We had guys filling in, and it was a matter of them figuring out where their roles were going to be.”
As the Wildcats struggled with adjusting to a significant loss, the Argos capitalized on their lead with another goal halfway through the second period, which pushed them past WSU further as they now had two goals.
There was a sense of urgency in the air entering the third period. Trailing by two and the clock ticking down, defenseman William Forbair found the answer by hitting the back of the net with an assist from forward Jakob Besnilian.
“The puck got in deep and Besnilian got to it,” said Fobair. “I snuck down on the backside; he made a nice pass right on my tape and when the goalie didn’t have any eyes, I took a shot low.”
The Ice Sheet soon became filled with cheers and ringing cowbells; there was a change of momentum for the Wildcats.
“Everyone was starting to feel better; we started to pick up a bit more,” said Fobair.
As the final six minutes wound down, the ’Cats weren’t able to tie the game. Goalie Kyle Lane had an exceptional night, only allowing 2 goals and stopping 36 shots.
“Kyle was phenomenal, he was the only reason why we were still in that game after the second period,” said Ryujin. “He made a couple of saves there that most of the time don’t get stopped.”
Lane was pulled in the final moments of the game, and Providence was able to put one last goal up on the board on an empty net shot to end the Wildcats comeback hopes.
The final score of the night was 1–3.
On Oct. 12 the Wildcats faced the UVU Wolverines. This is the second time this season where Weber State has been able to put 10 or more points on the board against Utah Valley.
The Wildcats were able to collect ten goals and goaltender Logan Alam only allowed three.
“We really like where our team is at right now,” said Ryujin. “We’re going to continue to improve.”
The Wildcats will be going against the University of Utah next Friday in Salt Lake and the Utes will travel up to Ogden the following night on Oct.19.
