Buffs hockey looking for better second half of 2026 season

David Hoftiezer celebrates with teammates after his goal against the University of Denver. (Photo by Isaac Sterling/Sko Buffs Sports).

Over halfway into the 2025-26 season, the Colorado Buffaloes men’s Division I hockey team is facing its worst D1 finish in program history.

Changes to Colorado’s core put it in an interesting position. The team saw 13 players age out or leave at the beginning of the season and the hiring of new head coach Peter Cardasis. Across the twenty games the team has played so far the younger Buffs team has shown its growing pains.. 

The team sits at 7-12-1 on the season, which puts it ninth in the Western Collegiate Hockey League and 68th in the American Collegiate Hockey Association overall. If nothing changes for the Buffs, the ninth-place finish would be their worst in the WCHL in their nine seasons in Division I of the ACHA. The season did not look lost when it began.

To start the season, CU had a three-game homestand. The series gave hope for the season, as the Buffs took two of the three games played at the CU Rec Center Ice Rink in early September. Those hopes were quickly diminished as the Buffs hit the road for 12-straight games in late September and all of October, where they struggled

Across the 12-game road trip, CU only won three games and was swept in three out of five of the two-game series it played. 

The Buffs were given the opportunity to right the ship before the season got too off course with five home games before the winter break. 

Being back home appeared to reinvigorate the team as Colorado played a strong game against the University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos to win its first home game since Sept. The fire that the Buffs played with in the first game against UCO boiled over in the second game of the series. Undisciplined play led to CU missing the opportunity to string together a home win streak as it lost 5-3.

With a series against the then third in the WCHL, Missouri State University Ice Bears, the Buffs fell into a three-game skid going into the Rocky Mountain Showdown.

In their first match-up against Colorado State early in the season, CU got one of its only road wins in an overtime thriller at the Edora Pool Ice Center in Fort Collins. The trip up North did not go so well this time, with the Buffs falling 4-1. In their final match before the break, CU matched its exciting match from October with a 5-4 overtime win at the Rec Center on Dec. 6.

The struggles Colorado has faced stem heavily from their special teams struggles. In the WCHL, the Buffs are second in penalty minutes (362) and are eighth in penalty kill percentage (77.3%). For power plays, they are fifth in opportunities (83) and last in power play percentage (15.7%).

In the last ten games of the season, if the Buffs want to see positive progress, they will have to improve their special teams, especially on the power play. Games have gotten away from Colorado this year because it has been unable to convert on the power play. Against Missouri State on Nov. 14, the Buffs went 1-for-5 on the power play in a game they wound up losing 5-4 in overtime.

In the final ten games of the season, the Buffs will also have to turn to the players who have been performing well to this point. Leading point scorer (12) and goal scorer (7), Cameron Piggott will continue to be an important piece of the even-strength and power play units. Workhorse goaltender Matthew Server will be the biggest key to the end of the Season for the Buffs. Server has played in 18 of CU’s 20 games and posts an impressive .917 save percentage and a 3.82 goals against average across this season.

Cameron Piggott takes a shot in a 4-1 win against UCO. (Photo by Kekoa Brown/Sko Buffs Sports).

Server can help Colorado steal games down the stretch. If the team in front of him can clean up some of the mistakes it has made and improve its power play, the Buffs can finish out this season strong. 

The men's D1 team gets back into action against the University of Mary Marauders on Friday, Jan. 16, at 8 p.m. MT at the CU Rec Center Ice Rink and streamed live on the Sko Buffs Sports YouTube channel.