Utah’s Perfect Record is on the line as Utah travels to Weber State. With only one game remaining until the first ACHA ranking comes out, the Utah Skatin’ Utes head up to Ogden to take on the Weber State Wildcats.
This will be the third meeting of four between these two teams this year and the first meeting in Ogden. Utah won the first two games 4-1 and 3-2 on their home rink in Salt Lake City earlier this season.
After losing two of three against the Wildcats last year, the Utes have come from behind in both games this year to win and have clinched at least a tie for this year’s season series. Utah can clinch the series outright with a win Friday night.
The Utes are coming of a four game road trip to Oregon and Washington that saw them go 4-0 and improve their record to 11-0 on the season. The 11-0 start along with the 11 straight wins are both club records.
A win over the Wildcats will put Utah at 12-0 ahead of the first ACHA ranking that is scheduled to be out in the next week or so. Their record should put them in the top three of the ACHA West Division and if Arizona State falls to either Utah State or Weber State this weekend, the Utes could potentially be the top ranked team in the West.
Freshman Josh Dangel leads the charge for the Utes as his point totals are some of the best in the nation. Dangel is currently second in the nation in points with 31 in just 11 games. He is also tied for sixth in goals with 15 and tied for second in assists with 16. Utah’s defense has been the story of the season so far as the Utes have only given up 17 goals in their 11 games, which averages to 1.54 goals per game. Add that to the 7.8 goals per game scored this year and you have a major reason why the Utes are still undefeated.
The other big power that Utah has this year has been its penalty kill this year. Of the 101 penalties the Utes have taken so far this year, the Utes have only given up a total of five power play goals. The 95 percent effectiveness when down at least one man is not only a new best for the team, but is a number so high that it’s unheard of in most hockey leagues (high 80’s is considered above average).
Looking to solve that penalty kill will be the Weber State Wildcats, who so far this year have gone 0-for-16 on the power play against the Utes this year. The Wildcats are coming off a four-game sweep of their own at the Cougar Classic in Provo last weekend. WSU beat Denver, Boise State, BYU, and Montana State to get their winning record back as they now sit a 7-6-2 on the season.
The Wildcats will look for a home-ice advantage to beat the Utes after dropping the first two contests, as they have not lost this season at the Weber County Sports Complex. Sophomore Dax Hobbs leads the team in points with 17 as the starting five for Weber are the top five in points on the squad. Goaltender Ian Frank is among the top leaders in minutes played this year with 672 minutes, but has a GAA of 4.11.
Friday night’s game in Ogden starts at 7:30pm at the Weber County Sports Complex. You can follow the game live on twitter or watch the game live here.
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