Welcome back to Mountain West on Ice. In this second edition, we will be recapping all of the action from this past weekend!

Air Force (1-3)

The Falcons split their weekend series against Canisius College.

Game 1 (AF: 7 Can: 3)

In the first contest, the Falcons were able to overcome an early deficient in first period and were able to control the game. With F Even Feno netting a hat-trick for Air Force. After 2 periods, Air Force led Canisius 3-2. Then in the third period, the offense exploded for the Falcons, they racked up 4 goals in the third to close out Canisius. Aside from Feno scoring a hat-trick, other key contributors to the offensive effort were Kieran Durgan who scored twice and Trevor Stone and Kyle Haak who each scored once. Special teams also played apart for the Falcons on both sides of the puck. Their power-play scored 3 goals on 6 PP opportunities. On the defensive side, the penalty kill for Air Force was able to kill all 7 of Canisius’ PP opportunities. Air Force net-minder Billy Christopolulos was able to pick up the win, his first of the season, stopping 25 of 28 SOG (Shots on Goal).

Game 2 (AF: 0 Can: 2)

The second game of the series was almost the complete opposite of the first. After netting 7 goals just the night before, Air Force couldn’t find the back of the net at all in their second meeting with Canisius. Through sixty minutes of play, they were turned away by Canisius goalie Blake Weyrick, who stopped all 34 shots he faced. This was the first career shutout Weyrick. Air Force was also unable to build off of their PP momentum from the game before. They were unable to convert on all 4 of their PP opportunities. G Billy Christopoulos stopped 16 of 18 SOG.

Looking Ahead

Air Force begins a two game road series against Niagara University this weekend

Boise State (8-2-1)

Boise State swept their series against Western Washington State, outscoring their opponent 20-2 in the two games!

Game 1 (BSU: 10 WWS: 2)

The Broncos continue to rack up the goals as they cruise through the season. In their first game, Boise blew out Western Washington 10-2. The rapid pace at which they scored was pretty unbelievable. They scored 4 goals in the first, 1 in the second, and 5 in the third. Boise State had 7 different players score goals in this game. Those players were Jake Minton, Sven Marnauzs, Sam Goodman, Cameron Benson, Michael Carranza, Brandon Benson, and Trevor Smith. BSU G Corey Crummick stopped 17 of 19 SOG and earned his 2nd win of the season.

Game 2 (BSU: 10 WWS: 0)

It’s almost funny that the only difference between the first and second game of this series was the fact that Western Washington didn’t score in the second game. It’s very rare in hockey that you see a team score double digit goals in back-to-back games. The usual suspects for Boise State once again showed up on the scoring sheet. Michael Carranza and Jake Minton both scored twice, Sven Marnauzs, Zachary Biebuyck Cameron Benson, Mitcheel Kramer, and Brandon Benson all scored as well. G Kyler Ayers saved all 19 shots he faced in the game and secured the shutout.

Looking Ahead

Boise State will taking on the University of Oregon in a two game road series

Colorado State (1-5-1)

CSU got swept in their weekend series against Loyola Marymount University.

Game 1 (CSU: 3 LMU: 6)

Colorado got off to a fast start in this game. They led after the first period 3-0, on goals scored by Sean Patten, Robert Smith, and Sebastian Wilson. It seemed like everything was going CSU’s way, then the second period rolled around. The script was flipped on the Rams and they found themselves on the receiving end of 3 unanswered goals scored by Loyola Marymount. At the end of 40 minutes, it was tied at 3. LMU was able to keep the ball rolling in the 3rd, as they scored 3 more unanswered goals to cruse to a 6-3 victory. CSU goalie Davis Kitagawa stopped 30 of 35 SOG.

Game 2 (CSU: 3 LMU: 7)

CSU was playing catch up for a majority of this game. They found themselves down 2-0 after the first period of play. In the second, they were able to tie the game up at 2, with goals by Adam Anderson and Derek Nead. Things looked to be trending their way until the 3rd period. LMU opened up the third period with 3 straight goals to take a commanding 5-2 lead. CSU was able to cut into the deficent a little bit, with Sean Patten scoring a goal midway through the 3rd. But LMU would close out the game with two goals at the end to seal a 7-3 win. Two CSU goalies saw playing time in this game. Dayn Pyykkonen stopped 31 of 37 SOG, and Ted Bunton stopped 3 of 4.

Looking Ahead

CSU will look to get things back on track this weekend, as they take on the University of Northern Colorado in a home and away series.

San Diego State (3-2)

SDSU played a single game last weekend against UCLA. The Aztecs were able to secure a 8-1 victory.

Game 1 (SDSU: 8 UCLA: 1)

San Diego came out of the gate fast, Tyler Smith scored a goal for the Aztecs within the first minute of the game. This would help set the tone for the rest of the game. They would scored again in the first, this time the goal coming later in the period. Aaron Mayer scored almost 17 minutes in. UCLA would respond before the period ended, and the first frame ended with the score 2-1. The second period would prove to be much more of a defensive struggle then the first. The lone goal scored it this period belong to SDSU. Tyler Smith netted his second goal of the game. In the third period, SDSU was able to pull away. Scoring 5 unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes. These goals came from Aaron Mayer, who scored two goals in the third to complete the hat-trick. The Aztecs would also get offensive production from Callum Mcrae who scored once, and Patrick Miller, who found the back on the net twice in the 3rd. Aside from one goal in the first, San Diego goalie Nick Ilvento remained perfect throughout the rest of the contest and ended the night stopped 20 of 21 SOG and the win.

Looking Ahead

Next up on the schedule for San Diego is a game against Utah State, followed by a game against Weber State.

University of New Mexico (5-4-1)

The Lobos found themselves on the losing end of both of their games against the University of Texas-El Paso this past weekend.

Game 1 (UNM: 5 UTEP: 7)

The story of this first game was the fact that UNM found themselves in a hole early, and they were never able to dig themselves out. UNM was able to score one goal in the first, that came from Graeme Chiasson. A good start, if UTEP hadn’t of scored 4 goals of their own in the first period. It was 4-1 heading into the second period. In the second, UNM was able to cut the lead in half pretty early into the second period on a goal scored by Nate Taglialegami. El Paso was able to respond to this by following up UNM’s goal with 2 of their own to widen their lead to 6-2. UNM would once against cut this deficient in half late in the second, on Taglialegami’s second goal of the game. At the end of 40, it was 6-3. El Paso would score again early in the 3rd, extending the lead to 7-3. UNM would scratch and claw the rest of the 3rd. Scoring two more goals, but they would be in vain. Taglialegami would score a hat-trick with a third goal coming in the 3rd, and Mackenzie Smith would also net a goal. But UNM would come up short. UNM net-minder James Bostian would stop 15 of 22 shots.

Game 2 (UNM: 3 UTEP: 11)

The second game in the series wouldn’t be nearly as close as the first. After being shutout in the first 2-0, UNM would score two goals in the second. Michael Kalaber and Mackenzie Smith would find the back of the net for the Lobos. But UTEP was right there with them, scoring 4 goals in the second and taking a 6-2 lead into the third. The action in the 3rd period was pretty anticlimactic. UNM would get one more goal in the third, scored by Chance Sparks. But El Paso dominated the 3rd and most of the game for that matter. They finished out the game by scoring 5 goals in the third and completing the sweep of UNM. UNM Goalie Nathan Russel would stop 14 of 25 SOG.

Looking Ahead

The Lobos will look to get back in the win column in a upcoming road series against Northern Arizona University.

University of Nevada-Las Vegas (6-2)

The Rebels were able to split their weekend series against ASU. Winning the first game 3-2, then losing the second game 2-3. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any box scores or stats about the games, other than just the scores. But UNLV will be playing Grand Canyon University in an upcoming weekend road series.

Next Week

Recap the action from this upcoming weekend, and we’ll take a look at how Boise State is able to keep filling up the net!