September 23, 2016
Salt Lake City, UT
The first season in Division I of the ACHA for the University of Utah Skatin’ Utes is finally here, as the Utes will open the season this weekend as they take on a pair of in-state rivals in Weber State and Utah State.
Utah will kick things off on Friday as they take on Weber State in Ogden to open up the 2016-2017 season. The game will be the first of two between these rivals as the teams will play a home and home series with the Wildcats visiting Salt Lake City on October 14th to end the season series.
The Utes have won five straight games against the northern rivals, a streak that dates back to 2013. Since 2011 the Utes are also 11-3 against Weber State. The Wildcats began their season in Division II of the ACHA last weekend as they hosted both Utah State and new team Utah Valley University last Friday and Saturday. The Wildcats were able to erase a 4-1 deficit to Utah State in their home opener on Friday, but gave up three goals in the third period to fall to the Aggies 7-5. On Saturday the Wildcats were able to bounce back against the new Division II team, beating the Wolverines 12-2.
The Wildcats are led by captain defenseman Jake Webber, who leads a fairly new core of defensemen for the Wildcats. As always, the strength for Weber State is on offense as three of their top five scorers from last season return to the ice this year. Another question mark that will need to be solved is in between the pipes for Weber State, as all three goaltenders have a combined one game of ACHA experience heading into the season.
After opening the season on the road Friday, the Utes will open up their home schedule on Saturday as they welcome the Utah State Aggies to the Utah Ice Sheet. The Utes are 3-1-1 against the Aggies in their last five meetings and are 8-1-1 in their last ten meetings. The Aggies are 1-0 so far this season and will make the trip to Salt Lake City after taking on UNLV on Friday night. The Aggies picked up the 7-5 win over Weber State last weekend.
The Aggies have major shoes to fill this season as well, as leading scorers Riley Orr and Cooper Limb from past seasons are now gone. They do still return several scoring threats to this year’s offense including Morgan McJimsey and Josh Kerkvliet. The core strength will be goaltending again for Utah State though, as Austin Willenborg will once again man the pipes for the Aggies this season.
After beating the WSHL’s Utah Outliers 4-1 last weekend, this weekend’s games will be the first test for the Utes before they hit the road for their first ACHA Division I games against the University of Jamestown and #24 Arizona State the following two weeks. It will be the first look at the new squad for the Utes as they’ll look to start the season strong before Division I play starts.
Friday’s contest against Weber State begins at 7:30pm in Ogden while Saturday’s home opener will state at 7:30pm at the Utah Ice Sheet in Salt Lake City. Both games will be broadcasted on Utah Hockey game Day Live.
