The Skatin’ Utes are Back!

Not only has the NHL finally figured its act out, but school is back in session and things are starting to heat up in the ACHA with just one month left in the season. With the season coming to a close, the Utah Skatin’ Utes open up their second semester schedule with a trio of big games this weekend at the Utah Ice Sheet.

The Utes open up the weekend with their biggest test of the week, with a Thursday night tilt against #13 Long Beach State. Not only is it Utah’s first game in over a month, it’s against the best team they’ll face until the season wraps up in February.

The 49ers (7-9-1) don’t look like the most dangerous team, but don’t brush them off too quickly. Despite the losing record, the 49ers have beaten #11 Colorado and #3 Colorado State handily this year. On the flip side, those are the only games they have won against teams in the top 15 and the wins came at the beginning of the season in California. Overall, the Utes are 0-2 all time against the 49ers, but have not played them since 2010.

Leading the charge for Long Beach State are senior Skyler Hoar and junior Taylor Abramson, who lead the team with 23 points this season. Nine different players are in double digits in scoring this year with the top three having at least 20 points. Time has been split between the pipes this year between sophomore Steven Strother and freshman Luke Shaffer, with the tenders playing eight and nine games respectively this year. All three tenders have a save percentage of 85% but only Strother has a GAA below 5 but it’s at 4.97.

On Friday and Saturday, the weekend shifts back to PAC-8 conference play with a big weekend against conference leader #14 Oregon. The Ducks have had a stellar season so far going a perfect 8-0 in the conference and 13-1-1 overall. They’ve already clinched a spot at the PAC-8 Championships in LA in February and won the I-5 Cup against Washington for the first time in three years. The next task on the list for the Ducks will be to come in and upset the Utes in hopes of making it to Regionals. They’ll have to go through a tough Utah team that is 3-0 all time against the Ducks.

The Ducks are led by junior Connor McBride who leads the team with 21 points in 11 games this year. Six different Ducks have more than ten points this year and everyone on their 20 man squad has tallied a point this year. In goal time has been split between sophomore Daniel Cockriel and senior Kyle Adamson with six and five games respectively. The numbers have been great for both with both having GAA’s under 3.00 and Cockriel having a save percentage of 90%. Despite the numbers, Cockriel played in all three games against the Utes last year and went 0-3. Adamson started once against the Utes and gave up four goals on nine shots before he was pulled.

Predictions

Thursday vs #13 Long Beach St: It’s the first game back for the Utes in over a month which always has the opportunity for teams to be rusty. Despite the rustiness, Long Beach hasn’t had to deal with the altitude this year and that should be big for the Utes in this one. It won’t be a pretty game, but the Utes should get it done. Utah 8, LBSU 5

Friday vs #14 Oregon: The games against Oregon should be a much better contest for the Utes than Long Beach will be. Oregon has played tough against the Utes in the past but haven’t done well here in the state of Utah. The Utes will have some game legs from Thursday against a cold Oregon team. Utes will get it done. Utah 4, Oregon 2

Saturday vs #14 Oregon: It’s third game of the weekend for the Utes which means this is the best chance to see an upset this weekend. I still think Utah is the better team and should finish the weekend 3-0 and win their first PAC-8 regular season title. Utah 6, Oregon 3

Utah Game Notes

The 3rd ACHA rankings came out over the holidays and the Utes moved up one spot to number six in the rankings. Last year the Utes were 6th in the polls as well after the third ranking period. That team went on to regionals at #6 overall (#4 seed).

Chase McDonald kept his sensational season going as he now has 59 points, 28 goals, and 31 assists this season. Chase is 2nd in the nation in points, 4th in goals, and 4th in assists this year. Also making waves in the nation is goaltender Pete Gibb, as he is tied for 3rd in the nation in wins this season with 13.

With a pair of wins against Oregon this weekend, Utah will clinch the #1 seed at the PAC-8 Championships and will win their first regular season conference title in club history. The Utes finished 2nd in the regular season last year and lost in the PAC-8 title game to Washington.