February 11, 2024
Cheney, Washington
After a 12-hour bus ride consisting of snow storms and an intense sewerball court case regarding the integrity of Maxwell Hove’s play (Ezekial Endy is a great lawyer), the M2 team arrived in Cheney, Washington with only one thing on their mind…winning the 2024 PAC-8 Championship.
After falling short of the mark last season with a loss to the University of Washington, the Utes were determined to take home the trophy for the first time since 2016.
As M2 arrived at the rink in Cheney and began to tape up their sticks, they looked on as the University of Southern California Trojans dug deep to defeat the 1st seed Huskies in an intense quarterfinal game. Trojan net-minder, Walton Chancey, played an outstanding game and held onto their lead as their coach shortened the bench and leaned on their top guys.
The upset didn’t go unnoticed among the 2nd seed Utes, but their focus was on the task at hand, an afternoon tilt with Western Washington University. After drubbing them 2 times at home this season, they were familiar with their game coming in, but this time around it was playoff hockey. It did not take long for Utah to find their game, the floodgates opened early with 5 goals in the 1st, including shorthanders from both Garrett Jackson and Donovan O’Shea. The Viking’s could not keep pace with Utah, even after a goalie change, and three more 2nd period goals put a bow on an 8-3 Utes victory. Their special teams shined in the form of two shorties and two PP goals, their eight tucks were netted from eight different players, and Jamie Dziurdzik kicked away 25 of 28 shots to help secure the win.
After a Saturday morning of film with Head Coach Nick Fornelius hammering home the opening up of lanes, d-zone exits, and protecting the weak side, the Utes were ready to take on the Trojans in the semifinals. Back in January Utah and USC split a pair of very close games, so their semifinal matchup was for a win in the season series and a trip to the PAC-8 Championship.
Ryan Wirth opened up the scoring with an absurd top-shelf snipe from the goal line, kicking off a fun game for the Utes. They rolled all four lines while the Trojans were very obviously feeling the effects of their win over the Huskies the day prior. Utah took advantage by keeping their foot on the gas, knowing full well heavy Trojan legs couldn’t keep pace if they kept the intensity high. The M2 squad potted two goals every period and Jack Nowicki kept a clean sheet, guiding the Utes to a smooth 6-0 victory.
For the big game the Skatin’ Utes were slated to play against the 4th seed San Jose State Spartans, who, on their way to the finals, defeated Eastern Washington and Cal Berkeley. M2 defeated the Spartans twice in October and were all too familiar with their aggressive and in-your-face style of play.
Zachary Monaco was entrusted with the pre-game speech and did not disappoint, reminding everyone of how tired they should be of getting 2nd place.
But the game did not start as planned. The Spartans opened up the scoring in the first five minutes of the game and the ice was clearly tilted in their favor. They had active sticks and a jump to their step the Utes simply could not match. Jackson alleviated some of the pressure when his wrister from the dot tied the game at one apiece, but San Jose notched a power play goal a mere two minutes later. As time winded down in the 1st period San Jose went back on the man-advantage, where they scored a goal with less than a second remaining on the clock. The game felt frantic for Utah, nothing was working and they were fighting the puck for all 20 minutes of the first frame.
After a power play early on in the 2nd, and a missed slot pass led to a breakaway shorthanded goal for San Jose, the Skatin’ Utes trailed 4-1. Fighting hard to pull themselves back into the fight, Max Fenne scored a goal, bringing Utah within two and giving himself, Jack Umina, and Jackson all their 2nd point of the game. With five minutes remaining in the period and on the power play once again, a tumbling puck on the blue line went down the other way and made for San Jose’s 2nd shorthanded goal of the period. This felt like the dagger for Utah.
Down 5-2 heading into the 3rd, Utah had 20 minutes to rally and keep their dreams of a championship alive. Luke Ossola kickstarted the comeback with a PP goal, but three minutes later they were back down by three.
Umina then netted a beautiful one-timer to get back within two, which was followed by two consecutive Spartan penalties. With a 5-on-3 power play, Coach Fornelius called a timeout. He reminded the team the game was well-within reach, and that they had to capitalize on the two-man-advantage.
Fresh off the time out, Hove collected a rebound and rounded the net, creating a mess of net-front bodies trying to find the puck, but Fenne located it first and poked it over the line to make it a 1 goal contest.
By this time it was all Utah, the ice had tilted completely in their direction. They peppered the Spartan goalie with 22 shots in the third period. With about three minutes remaining in regulation, Fenne found himself completely alone on the half wall with the puck on his stick. He took a couple strides into the middle of the ice and let one go. The game was tied, 6-6.
The Utah bench erupted and Fenne skated to center ice unsure of how to exert his excitement. What felt impossible 20 minutes prior, suddenly began to feel almost certain. The Spartan bench was abruptly silent and seated, while every Ute was on his feet and engaged in the game. Utah decided they wanted more adversity so they killed off a penalty in the final three minutes of the 3rd period in a 6-6 championship game.
Overtime started and all of the momentum was with the boys in red and white, you could just feel it. Four minutes in, Hove, Fenne, Jackson, Bortoluzzi, and Tomechak hopped over the boards to take an offensive zone draw. Hove won it to Jackson who circled around the net and fed it to Tomechak on the blue line, who shoved it back into the slot to Hove. The three forwards had a sequence of calm, easy passes, and then took their chance.
Jackson fed Hove at the netfront, and Hove completed the give-and-go with a quick, nifty feed back to him. In-tight and with Spartan sticks descending upon him, Jackson’s wrist shot beat the goalie far-side and found twine. The Skatin’ Utes had completed an incredible comeback, winning 7-6.
Sticks, helmets, gloves, and humans all flung into the air. Smiles, excited screams, and hugs enveloped Jackson on the endboards. “It had to be, it had to be!” exclaimed a breathless Coach Fornelius as the players hopped over the boards to celebrate. It was pure jubilation. There was no shortage of hugs and everyone wore a grin from ear to ear. After shaking hands with San Jose, M2 was presented with the PAC-8 Championship trophy.
Endy grabbed and hoisted it above his head, screaming. He was mobbed by the team, everyone reaching out to touch what they had fought so hard for, something that hadn’t belonged to the Utes for seven long seasons. Martinelli’s was brought out and soon it was in the air. Incredulous looks were plastered on the faces of every player, unable to process what they had just accomplished. The Utes came back from three goals down in the 3rd period and won the 2024 PAC-8 Championship in overtime.
Everyone took a spin with the trophy, pictures were taken, and yes, more hugs were given. Music blared from the locker room, gatorade was had from the trophy, and the boys sang a song. Every member of the team will remember that win and celebration for as long as they have memory, it was extremely special.
The University of Utah M2 Skatin’ Utes pulled off the improbable to become 2024 PAC-8 Champions. Their ticket is now punched for the 2024 ACHA Western Regional Tournament in Logan, Utah. At stake is the two remaining western spots for the 2024 ACHA National Tournament in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Regional tournament begins Friday, February 23, 2024.
Game 1 Highlights:
Game 2 Highlights:
Game 3 Highlights:
