January 23, 2017
Salt Lake City, UT
The University of Utah Skatin’ Utes returned to D1 play this weekend and picked up a big weekend sweep over the 18th ranked Arizona Wildcats.
With the two wins, it increases the Utes’ chances of making it to Nationals.
In the first game on Friday, the Utes wasted no time finding the back of the net as Alex King and Nick Fornelius both scored in the first 13 minutes to give the Utes an early 2-0 lead. The Wildcats would score with just 37 seconds left to make it a 2-1 game after the first twenty minutes.
The teams would trade goals in the second period as Brett Myer scored with 14:22 to go to make it 3-1, followed by an Arizona goal with 5:50 left to make it 3-2. The Utes would get their two-goal lead back before the period ended as Josh Dangel scored with 1:03 left in the period and the Utes would lead 4-2 going to the third period.
The Utes were able to weather the storm in the final twenty minutes as Arizona made it a one goal game with 7:48 left in the game, but found no other goals as the Utes held on for the 4-3 win.
The win was the first victory for the Utes over their PAC-12 rivals in team history. Patrick Kasper was brilliant in net for the Utes, as the freshman stopped 56 of 59 shots in the game to pick up the first Division I win of his career.
On Saturday the Utes looked for the weekend sweep but Arizona had other plans, scoring the game’s first goal two minutes into the second period to take a 1-0 lead. The Utes would bounce back with three straight goals in the middle period as Julian Cronan, Connor Meaney, and Myer all scored to make it 3-1 Utah after the second period.
Like Friday, Arizona would mount a comeback in the third period as the Wildcats scored twice to tie the game up at 3-3 and the score would stay the same until the final buzzer sounded after sixty minutes. The game would be decided in overtime.
The Utes began the extra period on the penalty kill after a late penalty in the third, but it didn’t slow down the team. After a faceoff in their own zone, Cronan was able to take the puck from one end to the other, weaving through several defenders and beat Arizona’s goaltender for the shorthanded overtime winner just 21 seconds into overtime.
The Utes picked up the weekend sweep with the 4-3 overtime win as the Utes picked up their first weekend sweep over an ACHA Division I team in program history. Kasper picked up another win in net for the Utes, this time stopping 43 of 46 shots to pick up his fourth win of the season.
The Utes picked up their first wins over a top-25 team in program history as well over the weekend and gained a lot of momentum in their push for Nationals in their first season in Division I of the ACHA. Coming in at number 27 to start the weekend, the Utes are sure to be ranked in the top 25 when the rankings are released on Wednesday. The Utes have six games left against Division I teams before the field of 20 is set, all of them coming against teams that are currently in the field for Nationals.
Before the final stretch of Division I games to end the season, the Utes now return to D2 play for the final time this upcoming weekend to defend their title in the 3rd Annual Wasatch Cup, being hosted by BYU. The Utes will take on Weber State in the semifinals on Friday at 5pm MT.
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