In their last weekend of regular season play, the Weber State University men’s hockey team stacked a pair of wins over Montana Tech University and Boise State University.
In the Montana Tech game on Jan. 20, the Wildcats forced the Montana Tech Diggers to push the puck early.
The Wildcats commanded the ice for most of the first period. While they struggled to control their passes early, the Wildcats settled into the game and began ripping into Digger territory and rocking the Montana Tech defense onto their heels.
Led by first-period goals from Alex Pizarro, Will Fobair and Jonathan Cosman, the Wildcats ended first period with a 3–0 lead. Both the Wildcats and the Diggers played the whole first period without a single man entering the penalty box.
As the game progressed, so did the hard hits and body blows as both teams fought aggressively for control of the puck.
The Diggers jumped onto the scoreboard with a goal late in the second period, but the Wildcats answered with two of their own. Both Lakoda Coleman and Jakade Kapinos found the back of the net to give the Wildcats a 5–1 lead at the end of the second period.
The second period saw the first penalty for what had been a hard-hitting but clean game up to that point, with just one minute to play as Montana Tech was called for slashing.
Montana Tech dug in their heels for the remainder of the game, posting two more goals in the third period. In the third period, a Montana Tech player was ejected for tripping, leaving them a man short on the ice for seven of the last nine minutes of the game.
The Wildcats ended the game with the final goal, and Weber State tied the knot on a 6–3 victory.
Boise State proved to be a more difficult opponent as the Wildcats found themselves back in the Ice Sheet the following night.
The Broncos jumped into the driver’s seat early in the Jan. 21 game, finding the back of the net less than four minutes into the first period. Weber State was not able to produce any significant offensive output in the first period, and they entered the second period trailing Boise State 1–0.
Weber State answered the Broncos with just over 16 minutes left in the second period with a goal from Troy Quarnberg, tying the game at one goal apiece.
The Wildcats found the back of the net one more time in the second period as Coleman gave Weber State their first lead of the night. The Broncos answered just 30 seconds later, however, and tied the game 2–2 with fewer than eight minutes remaining in the second period.
A scoreless third period forced both teams to buckle down as they went into overtime. The Wildcats stole the show with a Cosman game-winner to end the contest, giving Weber the 3–2 win.
Weber State head coach Clay Hobbs said they are planning to build on this weekend’s wins in order to finish the season strong.
The Wildcats will face the University of Utah on Jan. 27 in the first of playoffs in the chase for the Wasatch Cup.
