The University of Colorado hockey team continued their undefeated season last Friday night as they beat their cross state rivals, Denver Pioneers, by a score of five to three. The matchup was particularly special for current Buffalo Head Coach,
Paul Sisson, who coached the Pioneers to a Top-10 finish last season.
The game was a hard-hitting affair which featured 24 combined penalties for the two schools. In fact the first 18 minutes of the first period were pretty uneventful except for the five roughing penalties. However, that changed when CU defensemen
Conor Williams put the Buffs on the board with 1:15 remaining in the first period of play.
As the second period started so did the hard-hitting and goal scoring. It only took three minutes and forty-five seconds for Colorado to tally another one, thanks to a
Scott Cooley powerplay goal, that lifted the Buffs to a 2-0 lead. However, the CU lead didn't last long when Pioneer forward's
Brad Kluever and
Anton Knapp each notched a goal to bring the scoreboard back even at two with eight minutes remaining in the period.
Both teams added another goal going into the locker room, to bring the aggressive matchup to a 3-3 tie. Colorado center
Scott Tittle scored with 6:33 remaining, while Denver defensemen
Brent Mueller scored with 1:54 remaining.
However, any momentum the Pioneers had going into the locker room was lost in the third period as the Buffs dominated the ice.
CU forward
David Ludwig put a beautiful pass from
Chad Wetzel into a wide open net three minutes into the period, to give the Buffs the lead, and Ludwig the game winner. Wetzel added his own goal four minutes later to give Colorado some insurance and a 5-3 win.
Ludwig is currently second on the team with points (12), while Wetzel is forth with three goals and five assists.
Though, DU goalie
Alex Harbison let in five goals, he still had a decent game finishing with a save percentage over .900. He stopped 53 of CU's 58 shots.
On the other side, Buffalo goalie
Kevin Litinsky stopped 35 of the 38 Pioneer shots, and currently has a goal against average of 2.05, one of the highest in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).
The Buffs continued their hot streak Saturday when they beat DU in Denver by a score of 7-5. Colorado's Scott Tittle had a four point night racking in a goal and three assists in the win.
Colorado currently leads the ACHA West Division with 12 points, while the University of Idaho is second with 10, and Long Beach is third with 9. The Buffs come home to take on Utah State on Friday October 19th at 7:30 p.m. at the CU Student Recreation Center. As for the Pioneers, they take on the same Utah State team the day before at 9 p.m. at the Joy Burns Ice Arena in Denver.