Men's D1 swept in pair of home-opener heartbreakers
Men’s D1 hockey was the last club hockey team to have its home opener, and they saved the best series for last.
Colorado (4-2-1-1) fell 5-4 on Friday, and 6-5 in overtime on Saturday, to the Oregon Ducks (4-1-1-0).
This two-game series was a nail-biter, with neither team leading by more than two goals all weekend. Although the Buffs scored both opening goals, they spent much of the weekend playing from behind.
The main reason Colorado played from behind was its penalty-killing unit, especially on Friday. The Ducks went 5 for 9 on their power-play opportunities, scoring four goals on Friday.
The Buffs struggled to stop cross-crease passes, letting Oregon dominate in the offensive zone. Oregon forward Korey Cardenas Aston cut up the Colorado’s PK all weekend, scoring four of the Ducks’ five goals.
Unlike last year, the Buffs deployed two different goalies in both games. Jared Packman started Friday, stopping 37 of 42 shots. Head coach Peter Cardasis turned to rookie goaltender Ethan Laughlin for Saturday night’s tilt.
Laughlin led the Buffs to a 5-4 overtime win over Oregon in Eugene just three weeks ago, but his 35-save performance wasn't enough in OT this time. Both goalies played strong, keeping their teams in both games up until the final buzzer.
Offensively, CU kept up with the Ducks. Eight different Buffs found twine over the weekend, including Hunter Merrick, John Carnie and Elliott Testa, who scored their first goals of the
season. The offense was especially impressive in the opening period of CU’s first game.
Game one
With an almost full CU Rec Center Ice Rink, the Buffs fed off the energy of their home opener and came out quick. The Ducks could not handle the pressure, as Carson Streich headed to the box on a cross-check call 40 seconds in. David Hoftiezer punished the Ducks with a slapshot from the point through traffic to put Colorado up 1-0 early.
After a failed second power-play chance for CU, the Ducks got their first look. Cardenas Aston scored his first of many on the power play with a backhand shot that trickled through Packman to tie the game at one.
Entering the second period, the Buffs continued to dictate pace and opened the period scoring again. Quentin O’Connor, a new Buff, scored his second of the season on a rebound chance to restore the CU lead.
Up 2-1 late in the second, Colorado began to lose their discipline. Samuel Pearson took a charging penalty with 4:06 to go, and Jake Rosolanko served a too many men penalty with 1:25 to go. Cardenas Aston scored a pair of power-play goals for a hat trick, giving the Ducks their first lead going into the third.
Coming out of the locker room, CU returned to the pace of the first. Samuel Pearson tied it 3-3 two minutes into the third.
As quickly as the Buffs went up, another penalty sent the red-hot Ducks on the power play. Cardenas Aston got his fourth point of the night, finding Lewis Majkozak across ice for a wide-open net to regain the lead.
Majkozak added to the Ducks’ lead on a breakaway after a missed pass by CU in the offensive zone to make it 5-3.
With a little over half a period left, the Buffs faced an uphill battle. Brody Pearson set up Rosolanko for a wide-open net, giving the home crowd hope.
The energy in the building left when Hoftiezer was called for a 10-minute game misconduct for diving onto Wilson and mouthing off to the officials, giving the Ducks another power-play chance. The Ducks could not convert, but held on to take game one.
Game two
Colorado came into the second game looking for revenge. Kevin Maisells got the home crowd on its feet with a short-side goal on Finn Wilson for an early lead.
Just like the early lead, the discipline problems followed the Buffs into game two. Ben Rabinowitz was called for slashing, and the Ducks power play unit chugged along. Cardenas Aston stayed hot, scoring his fourth and final power play goal of the weekend.
Oregon continued to ride their momentum, as Clayton Collier scored less than a minute later for a 2-1 lead with 7:32 to go in the first.
As the first wound down, CU began to wake back up. On only their fifth shot of the game, Merrick put home a rebound to tie it.
Sixteen seconds into the second, Cardenas Aston went to the box on a cross-checking call. On the power play, CU was called for their second too many men of the weekend to negate the opportunity. At four-on-four, Oregon utilized the extra space better as Donovan Bradford went coast-to-coast to give the Ducks the lead back.
With a goal needed, Carnie made something out of nothing and wired a shot past an unsuspecting Wilson to tie it again.
Bradford quickly took the excitement out of the Rec once again, scoring on a brutal turnover to retake the lead. The ice began to shrink as Oregon fought to hold onto its lead.
Entering the third, the Ducks still led 4-3. Both teams traded shots, and neither goalie conceded to the pressure for most of the third.
Testa finally broke Wilson with a wrister from the left dot tying it for the Buffs.
With the game tied, CU sat back and pushed for overtime. Oregon had other ideas, turning up their offense. A simple pass from behind the net slipped into the slot to Majkozak for another Ducks score to lead 5-4 with 5:11 to go.
With hope leaving the crowd, the Rec Ice Rink began to quiet down. The Buffs bench tried to get the team fired up, and the offense began to push. With Oregon playing passively, Hoftiezer picked up a loose puck, put it past Wilson, and brought the crowd back to life and tying the game.
Both teams finished the third period, playing simple hockey to end regulation.
Overtime was all Buffs, with Pearson and Testa generating multiple chances, but momentum switched quickly.
In the offensive zone, CU turned over the puck and went for a quick change. With two players heading to the bench, Bradford caught a pass went on a breakaway. He went in on Laughlin and backhanded the winner for his third of the night.
After being swept by the Ducks, Colorado will head to Missouri for a two-game series against the Missouri State Ice Bears next weekend. Game one will be at 7:00 p.m. CDT on Oct. 16, and game two will be at 6:00 p.m. CDT on Saturday, Oct. 17.
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