PREVIEW: #24 Utah vs BYU, Utah State

December 2, 2016 Salt Lake City, UT The University of Utah Skatin’ Utes have just three games left in the first semester and welcome in two in-state rivals to the Utah Ice Sheet this weekend in BYU and Utah State. Here’s what you need to know about this weekend’s games for Utah. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Utes have a 25-game unbeaten streak over BYU heading into Friday night’s game and holds the all-time series lead at 30-19-1. This is the first game between the two rivals this season. The Utes have won seven in a row over Utah State going into Saturday night’s game in Salt Lake, and are 13-10-1 since 2011 against the Aggies. The Utes have two wins over Utah State already this season, a 3-2 win at home and a 5-2 win in Logan. ABOUT THE UTES: The Utes are ranked again in the latest ACHA Division 1 Rankings, moving up one spot from 25th to 24th. The Utes are now just four ranking spots away from being in the top 20, which would qualify them for Nationals at season’s end. The Utes are 9-7 on the season and are 7-0 against Division II teams this season. The team has been off the last two weeks with their last game coming back on November 12th, where they beat Texas A&M 11-1. Brett Myer leads the team in points with 24 on the season, followed by Julian Cronan and Nick Fornelius who are tied for second with 18 points. Chris Komma (6-7, 2.89 GAA, .920 save %), Jared Manzella (2-0, 3.89 GAA, .899 save %), and Patrick Kasper (1-0, 3.00 GAA, .875 save %) all have save percentages above 87%. ABOUT THE COUGARS: The BYU Cougars have improved immensely this season compared to the past couple of seasons. The Cougars are 6-5-2 on the season and are ranked 15th in Division II’s West Region, which would qualify them for Regionals if the season ended today. The Cougars are coming off a 7-1 win over Montana State and a 4-4 tie vs Arizona State two weeks ago. Ben Gantt and Axel Boyer are leading the team in points this season with 20 each, and both lead the team in goals with 13 each. Three different goaltenders have seen time in net for BYU, with Brandon Ward seeing the most time with seven games played. Ward is 1-3 with a 4.21 GAA and .909 save percentage. Jared Bussell is 3-2 with a 4.92 GAA and .884 save percentage and Mark Gantt is 2-0 with a 2.25 GAA and .938 save percentage. ABOUT THE AGGIES: The Aggies are on an eight-game unbeaten streak and haven’t lost since their 5-2 defeat by Utah back in October. The Aggies are 12-6-1 on the season and are ranked 4th in the ACHA Division II West Region. Utah State is coming off a 3-0-1 weekend in the Beehive Classic two weeks ago, where they tied #12 Arizona State 2-2 and beat #5 Northern Colorado, #3 Northern Arizona, and #13 Boise State. Alex Herman leads the team in points with 34, followed by Chris Cutshall with 33. They have a ten-point cushion over the rest of the team in points, with Alex leading the team in goals with 15 and Chris leading in assists with 21. Like BYU, all three goaltenders at Utah State have played in at least five games this season, with Austin Willenborg (5-3, 2.77 GAA, .923 save %) having the most time in net. TEDDY BEAR TOSS: Friday night’s game vs BYU is Utah’s 4th Annual Teddy Bear Toss Game. Fans are asked to bring new or gently used stuffed animals to the game on Friday and throw them on the ice when Utah scores its first goal of the game. The stuffed animals will be collected and donated to local charities to help spread some holiday cheer before Christmas comes around. Chris York (2013), Douglas Newell (2014), and Michael Ahern (2015) have their names in Utah Hockey history for being Mr. Teddy Bear in their respective seasons, scoring the first goal of the game to unleash the teddy bears onto the ice. The Utes are 3-0 in their previous three Teddy Bear Toss Games PINK IN THE RINK: Saturday night vs Utah State is another big game for the Utes as they hold their 5th Annual “Fearless in the Fight” Breast Cancer Awareness Game. The Utes will be wearing special pink jerseys that will be auctioned off during the game on Saturday. There will be tons of other festivities as well throughout the night as we try to raise money for a great cause. Friday night’s game vs BYU starts at 8pm at the Utah Ice Sheet at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex. Saturday night’s game vs Utah State is at the same place, with the game starting at 7:30pm. Tickets are available online and both games will be broadcasted on Utah Hockey Game Day Live.