After a weekend sweep of BYU and Weber State last weekend the Utah Skatin’ Utes return to the Utah Ice Sheet this weekend for another pair of big West games against Boise State and Utah State.
The Utes will also put their 19-game unbeaten home winning streak on the line this weekend as they look to get to double digits in the win column for the season.
On Friday the Utes welcome in the fourth-ranked Boise State Broncos on Halloween night for their first ever blackout game. The Utes won the first meeting between these two teams as the Utes beat the Broncos 4-2 in Boise in BSU’s season opener. The Broncos haven’t lost since however, rolling off 10 straight wins on their way to their current 10-1 record. A win over Utah could help leapfrog them in the rankings and help propel them towards their first Nationals appearance.
The Broncos have found the back of the net a lot this season, as Justin Videen leads the team in scoring with 17 goals and 15 assists for 32 points this year. Also up at the top in scoring are Drew Punnett and Taylor Crawford, who have 19 and 17 points on the year respectively. In goal for the Broncos is veteran Josh Benton who currently is 6-1 on the season with a 3.32 GAA and .774 save percentage. In the first game between the Utes and Broncos, Benton stopped 26 of 30 shots in the loss.
After Friday night’s tilt, the Utes will be at home once again this time taking on #6 Utah State. The Utes shutout the Aggies 4-0 in their first meeting this year at home which marked the first ever shutout over the Aggies in Utah club history.
The Aggies are 3-6 on the season, but don’t let their record fool you. All six of their losses have come to top ten opponents, with their biggest loss being the 4-0 loss to Utah early in the season. As expected, Cooper Limb leads the team in points with 13 this season with Chris Videto right behind him with 10 points. In goal both Austin Willenborg and Keegan McHenry have each seen six games so far, with Willenborg posting a 2-3 record with a 3.87 GAA and .883 save percentage. McHenry is 1-3 with a 4.16 GAA and .877 save percentage, and was also in net for the first meeting with Utah, stopping 23 of 27 shots.
The Utes are 8-0-1 against the West so far this season and will look for their second wins over both teams they play this weekend. Ranked 3rd in the first ACHA Rankings, the Utes will also be looking to make a statement as they look to inch closer to the top spot in the West Division.
Chase McDonald continues to lead the team in points with 17, but slowly catching up is Ben Seastrand who has 11 points now after his six point performance last weekend. Josh Dangel is between the two with 14 point on the year. In goal Chris Komma is now 7-2-1 after his two wins last weekend with a 2.92 GAA and .896 save percentage, while Devan Betts is 2-1 with a 2.01 GAA and .904 save percentage.
Friday night’s game will start at 7pm while Saturday’s game will start at 8:30pm. Both games will be played at the Utah Ice Sheet will also be broadcasted live.
