Colorado Men's DII Dominates Big Mountain Classic Showcase

Colorado men’s DII celebrates a goal in a 6-5 win over East Texas Baptist University. (Photo by Kainoa Hiatt/Sko Buffs).

The Colorado Buffaloes men's Division II hockey team went undefeated in the Big Mountain Classic Showcase this weekend. The Buffs played four games in four days and outscored opponents 20 to 12 as they faced off against teams from coast to coast. 

Over the course of the four games, the Buffs’ special teams shined. On the power play, CU went 3/14, good for 21% this weekend. The power play goals were spread out, with each coming in a different game, and they were only unsuccessful against the University of California, Berkeley. On the penalty kill, the Buffs were even more successful, only allowing three power-play goals across the weekend and stopping Providence College from scoring on four opportunities.

Freshman forward Brick Fisher had a standout performance over the weekend. Fisher had 10 points across the four games played, scoring six goals and assisting on four. His best game of the weekend came against the Providence Friars on Sunday with a hat trick and an assist in the 6-4 win.

Game One - Colorado, 6-2

Even though Colorado had a stellar showcase, they started the weekend slowly. In the first period against the Dakota College-Bottineau Lumberjacks, the Buffs went almost seven-and-a-half minutes until they had their first shot of the game. After getting its first shot, CU’s offense was able to get its footing and get back into the game.

Playing against the flow of the game, the Buffs were able to score first on a rebound chance during a three-on-two rush.

Coming into the second period, Colorado turned the offense and the pressure up. Right out of the gate, the team played with a quickness that was not seen in the majority of the first period.

The jump that the Buffs had in the second period would be rewarded with a three-goal period. Elyjah Sue, Calvin Stone and Fisher all had strong individual efforts that resulted in strong snipes by Lumberjacks goaltender Josh Mack.

The period was not without blemishes, though. Back-up goaltender Harrison Smith held the line for the Buffs early in the game, stopping 11 shots through over a period-and-a-half of action. Smith would lose his shut-out bid on a long wrister by Marcus Loortis that found its way through traffic in front of the net.

The Buffs would enter the third period with a commanding 4-1 lead that they would successfully defend. The lead was briefly in jeopardy as the penalties began to pile up for Colorado. 

A five-on-three opportunity for the Lumberjacks occurred seven minutes into the period after Brandon Hackett went to the box for tripping and Sue followed him with a roughing penalty 14 seconds later. Dakota-Bottineau capitalized on the five-on-three but failed to connect on the power plays it received late in the period.

With the Lumberjacks closing on CU’s lead, defensemen Gage Perri and forward Brick

Fischer piled on to the total to put the first game of the showcase to bed.

Game Two - Colorado 6-5

Coming off of a strong performance against Dakota-Bottineau, CU turned its attention to the East Texas Baptist University Tigers for their second game of the BMCS. 

The momentum from its win the night before propelled Colorado to a strong start, out-shooting the Tigers 8-2 in the first 10 minutes. CU’s hot start would not last, as after an unsuccessful power play, ETBU began to flip the script and dominated the pace of play.

Momentum would swing back in favor of the Buffs towards the end of the first. On a rush down into the Tigers’ defensive end, Will Hadrick would leave the puck for Connor Smithburger just inside the blue line, who would skate it to the top of the circles and wire one past the glove of Gavyn McCutcheon.

For the second period, the Tigers came out faster than the Buffs, spending the majority of the first three minutes in their offensive zone. The Tigers’ luck would change, however, when an errant pass at the blue line would bounce over the stick of Morgan Blair and spring Fisher and Sue on a two-man breakaway that Sue buried on the pass from Fisher. 

This goal would reinvigorate the Buffs’ offense. After a coincidental roughing call on Jason Guntow and Dominic Aliaksandrov, Hadrick would use the extra space to find a wide-open Stone in front of the crease for a 3-0 lead.

The Tigers would not let the three unanswered goals get to them, however, as they quickly responded. After Kory Diponio lost an edge in the offensive end, ETBU pounced on the loose puck to create a two-on-one opportunity the other way that Timothy Ruff finished. Less than a minute later, Barran Van Polen fired a loose puck into the back of the net on a bad rebound by Caleb Allen.

Both teams would trade opportunities with neither being able to come out on top until Fisher

and Smithburger combined for a goal that did not touch the ground until it hit the back of the net. Fisher flipped the puck up to Smithburger, who batted it forward and then into the back of the net for the goal of the weekend.

ETBU continued to claw back as forward Marcus Providence created a high danger chance for himself. Providence took the puck right off the stick of Chase Messner and walked in for a breakaway that he lifted over the right pad of Allen to put the Tigers back within one.

Stone would regain the two-goal lead for CU on a goal that was eerily similar to his first as he put one past McCutcheon’s glove. Colorado would take that three-goal lead into the third.

The Tigers would not give up as early in the third. Dante Patrini was able to tip a feed from the corner into the top right of the net to stun Allen. This momentum kept the Tigers going as they continued to play physical and fight for every loose puck to keep themselves within one. 

Playing hard and fast, the ETBU would be rewarded with a massive five-minute-long power play as Will Hadrick got a game misconduct for spearing. Early in the power play, the Buffs dominated the Tigers as they clogged passing and shooting lanes to kill off nearly three minutes of the power play. The shot blocking of the Buffs would come back to bite them, however, as a shot by Jake Bergmann would bounce off a body in front and give the Tigers the equalizer with 4:25 left. 

CU managed to kill off the remaining two minutes of the major penalty without giving the Tigers the lead and only gave up one more shot.

With the clock draining down to the final two minutes, the game seemed destined to go to overtime but a sloppy change by ETBU would result in a too many men on the ice penalty. Colorado leaped over the boards with an opportunity to win the game in regulation with 1:18 to go. The Buffs would spend the majority of the final minute in the zone, and with 20 seconds to go, a simple wrister by Fisher would come off of McCutcheon’s pad right to Aliaksandrov, who easily put it in the wide-open net to seal the win for the Buffs.

Game 3 - CU 6-4

After an exciting finish the day before, Colorado now had to face the Providence College Friars. Unlike the two games before, CU actually came out hard in the first period, scoring three goals on eleven shots. 

The scoring frenzy did take some time to get going as the first goal came with 7:43 remaining in the period. A greasy shift by Diponio started with a strong forecheck that poked the puck loose for Aliaksandrov, who took it down low to the red line, then passed it right back to Diponio in front for a five-hole goal.

The Buffs kept applying pressure, which earned them a power play off a cross check by Jack Krattenmaker. Power play one took the ice and wasted no time as Aliaksandrov saucered a cross ice pass to Fischer, who ripped the one timer to increase the lead to 2-0.

Fischer was not finished in the first yet. On a delayed penalty, he received another cross-ice pass from Smithburger on the rush and he finished that chance as well for his second of the night. At the start of the second, the Buffs had a large 3-0 lead to work with. Colorado did not let up there, as on a quick turnover in their own defensive zone, Sue sent Fischer on a breakaway. Fischer made no mistake and went forehand backhand in tight on Dean Saccomano for his third of the night and gave CU the 4-0 lead.

The Friars finally responded with 15:14 left on the board as Michael Marchese took a long stretch pass in tight on Smith to beat him short side. Momentum would shift the Friars’ way for the remainder of the second as they had two power play opportunities and outshot the Buffs 8-to-6, but they could not capitalize.

Going into the third period, the Buffs three goal lead looked insurmountable for the Friars. Zaine Polacsek would increase the lead to four quickly for Colorado with a wrist shot for the point that had eyes for the far post 56 seconds in. 

Providence would not go quietly. Marchese scored off a rebound chance in front with 15:59 to go in the game. Now, within three, the Friars upped the pressure, forcing the Buffs to play tight defense with little mistakes.

Colorado played without making any errors they could not fix for most of the middle of the third, but after a neutral zone turnover by Hadrick, Providence finally broke through. Nicholas Squashic took it off Hadrick’s stick and walked into the zone on a two-on-one and beat Smith cleanly.

That goal was enough for the Friars to continue their high-pressure play. On another neutral zone turnover, Providence gained the blue line on yet another two-on-one that Marchese would flip across to Derek Daley for an easy goal.

The Buffs four goal lead quickly faded to one with 6:38 to go in the period. With their lead in jeopardy, the Buffs turned on the afterburners to focus up and finish off the game strong. Colorado spent a majority of the final five minutes in Providence's zone and when they went empty net, captain Issac Nefs fired one from the red line to solidify the Buffs’ victory.

Game Four - Colorado 2-1

In its final game of the weekend and the BMCS, Colorado was up against the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears. The Golden Bears were one and two in the showcase coming into the matchup against the undefeated Buffs.

For the first time in the weekend, the Buffs did not score first as a Diponio holding call would put Cal on the power play. Colorado started the kill strong, but three quick passes in the offensive zone would allow Mark Rejna to wind up a one-timer from the point through a screen that was placed perfectly at the far left post.

The story of the first period would end up being Golden Bear starting goaltender Aidan Comeau. Colorado would bring the pressure the whole period, but they could not solve Comeau as he stopped all 14 shots he faced in the first.

Down by one entering the second period, the Buffs spent the first half of the second still trying to break Comeau. Just like so many hot goalies before him, Comeau was finally beaten by an unlucky bounce down low. Sue was looking to get a backhand feed to a wide-open Fischer, but the puck kicked off the foot of Cal defenceman Trent Teruya and between Comeau’s five-hole.

Comeau shook that goal off and continued to fight off the Buffs’ onslaught of offense. At even strength, the Buffs could not get a second by Comeau, so when they were awarded a third power play opportunity, they were hoping to use the extra space.

Only 19 seconds into the Buffs’ power play, Tanner Simpson would end up taking a tripping penalty to negate the man advantage for CU. Four-on-four hockey allowed for the ice to open up for both teams. 

Fischer would end up finding an open lane after picking up a loose puck in his own defensive zone and going coast to coast, blowing by Jason Lee on his way to lifting the puck over Comeau’s pad. Fischer’s goal would end up being the final goal of the game.

Allen got the start for CU against Cal and backstopped them to the finish after Fischer’s four-on-four goal. Allen stopped the 13 shots that he faced after letting in the power play goal early in the first to allow the offense’s slower day at the office to be just enough to win their last game. 

What’s Next

Colorado looks to keep its six-game win streak going against Southern Methodist University next weekend. SMU is third in the Texas Collegiate Conference with 31 points, while CU is first in the Big Mountain Hockey Conference with 52 points. The Buffs face off against the Mustangs on Friday, Jan. 23, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 30, at 5:30 p.m. at the CU Recreation Center Ice Rink and live on Sko Buffs Sports YouTube.