University of Mary Marauders plunder Colorado in two-game series sweep
- Quinn Kreck
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
In its first series back since winter break, the Colorado Buffaloes men’s Division I hockey team was swept by No. 10 University of Mary. In the two games, the Buffs were outscored 14-0 and were outshot 95-63.
The strong goaltending tandem of Caleb Cross and Zane Clawson dominated the Buffaloes, both stopping over 25 shots in their starts. In Cross’s start, he stopped 28 shots and a penalty shot while Clawson saved 34. Cross is tied for second in the country in wins at 14, and has a .929 save percentage, while Clawson has won two-thirds of the games he has started and has a .915 save percentage.
Mary spread out the wealth this weekend, with 10 separate goal scorers on the 14 goals against Matthew Server. Sophomore Crae Dawson had an especially dominant weekend against the Buffs with five points across the two games, including a two-goal, two-assist performance in Saturday’s 6-0 win.
The Buffs’ struggles on the power play were heavily prevalent over the weekend. On Friday, the team went 0-for-4, and 0-for-6 on Saturday. The Marauders’ penalty kill looked strong as it played an aggressive box formation to create panic in CU’s power play.
On the other hand, the Buffs’ penalty kill had a great weekend, going 9-for-10 and allowing CU to stay in both games. The penalty kill units played a similar box formation to the Marauders that allowed them to pick off passes and get the puck out of their defensive zone.
Game One - Mary, 8-0
In game one, the Buffs struggled to generate offense. Across the 60 minutes, Colorado was outshot 49 to 28 and held to single-digit shot totals in two of three periods.
Buffs’ goaltender Server kept it close, stopping 15 of 16 shots he faced in the first period, but the offense could not get started. On two power play opportunities, Colorado had one shot on goal and gave up a short-handed goal. The power play units struggled to enter the offensive zone as Mary played a strong penalty kill at the blue line.
Colorado’s best chance of the period came for Elliot Testa when he was awarded a penalty shot after being tripped by Amraj Gill entering the offensive zone. Testa came at Cross on his left side and fanned on the shot attempt, allowing for an easy pad stop by Cross.
Heading into the second, the Buffs did not appear out of it. They were only down by one goal and outshot by six. A big kill by Colorado’s PK unit kept the deficit at one after a Micheal Rhein slash three minutes and 13 seconds into the second period.
When Hunter Merrick went to the box for roughing almost four minutes later, however, the Buffs' penalty kill fell apart. Mary forward Alex Senf created confusion at the blue line and walked unmarked into the top of the circles and ripped a wrist shot high glove by Server to give the Marauders the 2-0 lead.
Mary quickly jumped back on the board with a goal by Joe Gronholz in the crease as he cut across Server to bury it in the open net for the final goal of the period, with nine minutes and 13 seconds left in the second.
The third period was where the game finally slipped away from the Buffs. Colorado conceded five goals in just over ten minutes, all coming at even strength. Mary nearly doubled CU’s shot total in the third, peppering Server with 17 while Cross faced only nine. The Marauders took game one 8-0.
Game Two - Mary, 6-0
In game two, the offensive struggles for Colorado followed, and Mary continued to dominate.
The first period once again gave the Buffs false hopes as they made it out of the first period tied at 0-0. CU’s penalty kill played a large role in that first period as they killed two penalties, only allowing two shots on goal. Both teams started a little slower than they did in Saturday’s game, as CU only had nine shots while Mary had 12.
The second period quickly gave the Buffs a reality check as Dain Sardelli scored a wrister from the right dot over the glove of Server 37 seconds into the second. After the early goal, CU was able to dictate pace for a little while, outshooting Mary for a stretch of the middle frame.
Momentum swung back in the direction of Mary five minutes into the second as a blocked shot in its defensive zone would lead to a rush the other way. Levi Flatley skated it in and wrapped around the net to find a wide-open Crae Dawson, who beat Server glove side.
The Marauders did not let off the gas after extending their lead, as less than a minute later Nick Bradshaw pounded home a rebound in the crease.
Colorado did not go without chances in the second period, however. The struggling power play of the Buffs had four opportunities to take the ice and failed to convert. The same issues that they faced in game one continued to plague them.
In the third period, Mary continued to dominate play and put up three goals. All of the Marauders' goals came from right in front of the crease as they easily found their way to the front of the net. Colorado struggled to get back into the game down by six and was unable to score for the second straight night.
What’s Next
CU will look to get the offense back on track against the University of Oklahoma Sooners next weekend. The Sooners are fifth in the Western Collegiate Hockey League while the Buffs have slid into 10th. Colorado will take on Oklahoma on Saturday, Jan. 24, and Sunday, Jan. 25, at the CU Events Center Ice Rink and live on Sko Buffs Sports.
Cover photo by Kekoa Brown/Sko Buffs Sports
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