Utes Get Ready For BYU, Utah State

After an impressive opening weekend that saw the Utah Skatin’ Utes go to 2-0 to begin their season, the Utes turn their attention to another pair of home games against in-state foes this weekend at the Utah Ice Sheet.

On Friday, the Utes play host to the BYU Cougars for the second game of this year’s Holy War series. Utah currently leads the series 1-0 after picking up a 6-2 over BYU last Friday in Provo. The Cougars come into the weekend now 0-3 on the year after losing to Utah State 5-0 at home last Saturday.

So far on the year, the Cougars have been outscored by their opponents 22-3 in their first three games of the early season. They’ve also been outshot by a combined total of 145 shots to 52. Despite the big margins in stats, the Cougars have been competitive in most of their games. In the games against Utah and Utah State last week, the Cougars trailed by one in each game going into the second period and allowed one goal in the third periods combined in both games.

Forwards Nic Bartholomew and Ryan Hoeke lead the team in points with 2 each but the big storyline with the Cougars has been its goaltending. Jared Bussell, Scott Mehr, and Tanton Jessop have each played one game for BYU. Mehr had the best performance so far, tallying a .910 save percentage in a 5-0 loss to Utah State. Bussell has a .820 save percentage and Jessop has a save percentage of .800.

On Saturday, the Utes will be at home once again, this time against in-state rival and ACHA West powerhouse Utah State.

The Aggies had a magical run in the postseason last year, reaching the national semifinals before falling to the eventual national champion Michigan State. This year has been a rocky start for USU as the Aggies have started the season an even 1-1. USU lost to Weber State in its season opener 4-3 in overtime and beat the Cougars last Saturday. Last year, the Utes and Aggies met three times with the Utes winning the series 2 games to 1. Despite the two wins last year, the Utes will look for their first home victory over the Aggies in club history on Saturday night.

The Aggies have a new look this year as last year’s top scorer Brain Gibbons is gone after going to play in Germany. But six of last year’s top ten on the team in points are back including Cooper Limb and Chris Videto who are expected to play their first games of the season on Saturday. Also included on the returning list is last year’s goaltender Bryce Scherschel who had a 2.23 GAA and save percentage of .940 last year.

As for this year, Derek Shoup leads the team in points with four, while Rylee Orr is second with three. In net Scherschel has looked solid with a .909 save percentage but the leader in stats is newcomer Keagan McHenry who recorded a shutout in his only performance of the season.

Friday night’s game against BYU starts at 7pm and Saturday’s contest against Utah State will begin at 8:30pm. Both games will be broadcasted on our ustream page and tickets are still available.