A Perfect Finish

February 2, 2014 Salt Lake City The fifth-ranked Utah Skatin’ Utes wrapped up the 2013-2014 season at home last weekend and they did so beating a pair of in-state rivals at home to end the season with a perfect 15-0 record at home this year. The 15-0 record at the Utah Ice Sheet is a new record for the Utes (26-8) and also marks the first ever perfect home record in club history. The Utes began the weekend on Friday against BYU, who the Utes beat three times already this year to clinch their fourth straight Holy War title. The Utes scored at least three times in each period, cruising to a 13-0 win and a four games to none sweep of the Cougars this year. Shaymus Bertagnolli led the team in points with four on the night while seven other players found the back of the net in the win. In all, 16 of Utah 19 skaters tallied a point in the win. With the win, the Utes have now won 17 straight games against BYU and lead the all-time series against them 23-19. Also on Friday the Utes held their 2nd Annual “Fearless in the Fight” Breast Cancer Awareness Game where the entire rink was turned pink in an effort to raise money for breast cancer research. Thanks to all the fans that came out to support the cause, the Utes were able to raise more than $2,600 on the night. On Saturday the Utes honored three of their own for Senior Night as they looked to even the season series against #4 Utah State. In front of another near-capacity crowd, the Utes put on a show against their rivals from Logan, scoring four unanswered goals in the second and third periods to beat the Aggies 5-2. With the win, the Utes moved their home record to 15-0 on the season, which as mentioned before is a club record. The Utes also evened the season series with USU at 2 games a piece, with the home team winning every contest. After the game, the team was recognized for their success this year along with the three Utes that will not be back next year in Ryan Huras, Chris York and Ben Seastrand. The Utes finished the season on a four-game winning streak and finished with a 26-8 record on the year. Utah finished with five wins against top-five opponents and will be traveling to the ACHA postseason in a couple weeks. Before the ACHA playoffs begin, the Utes will look to defend their PAC 8 Championship at home this weekend as the best from the conference meet in Salt Lake City for the 2014 PAC 8 Championships. Utah will play Washington on Thursday night at 7pm and USC on Saturday afternoon at 1pm in pool play for the tournament. If the Utes win their pool, they will advance to Sunday’s Championship Game against the Pool B winner at 12pm. Pool B consists of Arizona State, Oregon, and UCLA. Congratulations to the Utes on a fantastic season and good luck in the playoffs!