Fiscelli hits 100 career points; Buffs win both over Wyoming to open season
The Colorado Buffaloes women’s hockey team started the season off right with two home wins over the Wyoming Cowgirls. The Buffs won Thursday evening, 3-2, and shut out the Pokes 5-0 on Friday night.
The Buffs used the games to try out various roster combinations with the young team. Nine of the ten rookies on the roster saw the ice over the two games, with five playing in both games. Defensive pairs and the fourth-line forwards were different between the two games.
David Tenzer got his first two wins as head coach. The former University of Denver Director of Hockey Operations swapped roles with now assistant coach Olivia Wilburn in the offseason.
Senior forward Mia Fiscelli found the net less than eight minutes into the season. Natalie Ewald won a clean face-off to Fiscelli, who took a shot above the left circle that went past Wyoming goaltender Alayna Smith, tying the game at one. It was Fiscelli’s 100th career point in the ACHA, a milestone that took 81 games to hit. Senior goaltender Shira Wein bear-hugged Fiscelli by the bench after the goal.
“I definitely felt the love,” Fiscelli said. “Everyone was reposting the [celebratory Instagram post]. It made me feel so good.”
The Buffs followed it up with two more goals in the first period. Junior forward Anna Masiello cut through two Cowgirls to find a shooting lane and put a wrister past Smith. Late in the period, rookie defenseman Jamie Frank took a shot from the point that deflected off the stick of Wyoming forward Katherine Looby and went bar-down, awarding Frank the first goal of the year by a rookie.
That was all for the Buffs scoring on Thursday. They dominated the second and third periods, but couldn’t find the back of the net. A late goal from Wyoming forward Annabella Fausett made Colorado dig in for the last 30 seconds to secure the win.
Tenzer expressed his content with the team’s effort after the game. He wanted more offensive generation from sources other than the first line.
“I think at times last year, we relied too much on them, and they were doing all the scoring,” Tenzer said.
The Buffs followed Thursday’s game with goals from all four lines on Friday.
Fiscelli opened the scoring in the first when she took the puck from the neutral zone to the left circle, blowing past a defender for an open look at the net.
Sophomore forward Sofia Paulson was awarded a goal on a blunder by the Cowgirls. An unassuming forecheck from Paulson resulted in the puck slowly moving towards the net. Both defenseman Erica Seehafer and goaltender Cheyanne Douglas fanned their sticks at the puck on its way past the goal line, but to no avail.
The second line got active in the second with goals from Abby Zahn and Abby Piatigorsky, both a result of crashing the net after a shot. Junior forward Amelia Sowers got a goal for the third line with 35 seconds left in the game. More rookies got firsts on the scoresheet, with forwards Macey Street and Lyla Perkins each getting an assist. Wein posted her first shutout of the season with 14 saves. The offensive effort from all lines was what Tenzer hoped to see more of.
“I really liked the way they distributed the puck,” Tenzer said after the game. “Everybody was involved in the offense.”
Following the departure of the top two defensemen last season, sophomore Kieran Sullivan led the top pair. She was paired up with sophomore Kate Emeson on Thursday and freshman Elin Tulloch on Friday. Tenzer expressed his intention to spread the experience and talent across the D-pairs. Sophomore Izzy Mitchell stayed on the second pair where she was with freshman Kyra Leigh.
“We have some veterans,” Tenzer said. “Rather than stick them together and have all the freshmen together, we’re trying to spread it through the lineup.”
At 2-0, the Buffs stand atop the WWCHL standings going into Sunday, where they will face the defending national champion, Midland Warriors (1-0), on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 11 a.m. MT on Sko Buffs Sports.
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