September 25, 2015
Salt Lake City, Utah
The University of Utah Skatin’ Utes opened up the season last weekend with two wins over UNLV and now the team looks for two more wins as they return home against in-state rivals this weekend.
On Friday, the Utes renew their rivalry with the BYU Cougars, who will make their only trip to the Utah Ice Sheet this season. In years past the Utes and Cougars would play at least four times a season but due to scheduling conflicts and other circumstances, the two biggest rivals in the state will only battle it out twice this season.
The Utes went a perfect 5-0 against the Cougars last season and are 28-19 all-time against their rivals from Provo since the 2006-2007 season. The Utes will also be looking for their 23rd straight win over BYU on Friday, a streak dates all the way back to September of 2011.
The Cougars began the season last weekend as well, falling to fellow in-state rivals Weber State 7-1 and Utah State 9-3 at home to open up the season. BYU finished last season with a 3-24-1 record, but made strides towards the end of the season and could potentially be a program on the rise if they can build on the success down the home stretch last year.
That could be difficult to achieve as the Cougars lost several of their top scorers from a season ago, but leading scorer Axel Boyer is back and must once again carry the torch for the Cougars if they wish to have success this season. The Cougars also return both goaltenders from last year as well, as Scott Mehr and Jared Bussell will be in between the pipes for the Cougars this year.
After Friday’s home opener against BYU, the competition heats up as Utah State comes to the Utah Ice Sheet for their only game in Salt Lake City this season.
The Aggies have played the last two weekends and are 2-0, after a 6-3 win over Weber State in Ogden two weeks ago and their 9-3 win at BYU last weekend. Utah State missed Nationals for the first time in several years last season, as they fell to Boise State in seven overtimes in the ACHA West Regionals last year.
The Utes went 3-1-1 against Utah State last season, going 2-0-1 at home against the Aggies. The last time the two teams met was in the Wasatch Cup Final, where the Utes beat the Aggies 2-1 in triple overtime to win the title in its inaugural season.
Veterans Cooper Limb and Ian Beckstrom are back on an improved Aggie squad that will look to get back in with the ACHA West elite programs after going 14-15-3 last season which came along with 6th place ranking in the final ACHA West Rankings.
Friday’s game at the Utah Ice Sheet against BYU starts at 7pm and Saturday’s home contest against Utah State will be at 8:30pm. Tickets are still available and you’ll be able to watch both games online on Utah Hockey Game Day Live.
