CSU Hockey Rolls at Home
The top-ranked Colorado State Rams hockey team took to the ice
Saturday night to take on the 12-6 San Jose State Spartans. The
Rams had some serious confidence going in after having stomped the
Weber State Wildcats 14-0 the night before.
The Rams kept constant pressure on freshman goalie Ryan Lowe,
who made some good saves and prevented the high-powered Ram offense
from taking advantage of scoring opportunities until 5:08 to go in
the first period. CSU forward Josh Bowers found a hole in Lowe’s
armor and exploited it to give the Rams a 1-0 lead after one
period.
The Rams dominated the second period, keeping the puck in San
Jose State’s zone. When a Spartan could carry the puck down the ice
he was quickly turned away by the hard-hitting and good
fore-checking of the CSU defense as well as the Rams’ stonewall
goalie Logan Huffman.
The Rams spread the puck around and got goals from Ryan Lewis,
Mike Holthuser, Jeff Mann and Josh Pulliam, which allowed CSU to
pull away from the Spartans and put the game out of reach with a
5-0 lead by the end of the second period.
“This hockey team is as good as any I have been associated
with,” said CSU head coach Dave Delozier, who last season coached
at the University of Colorado-Boulder. “It’s a team with skill and
character, with great leaders that work hard and every player does
the little things that win games.”
As the third period got underway, frustration set in on the
Spartan bench and penalties began to be an issue for both teams. At
times three players were packed into the penalty box for CSU, but
that didn’t stop the Rams from adding to the score with a
power-play goal from captain Jason Bowers. Lewis, Pulliam and Josh
Bowers all netted their second goals of the night in the third as
the game concluded with a 9-0 CSU.
Delozier said the back-to-back victories “felt good. The team
has been on a roll since the Michigan game.”
The Rams lost to Michigan 3-4 and after the loss made a
commitment to “run the table for the next seven games and control
our destiny,” Delozier said.
CSU will now gear up for this weekend’s two-game series with the
No.2 Colorado Buffaloes. Friday’s game will be at EPIC ice rink and
Saturday’s game will be in Boulder. The last time these two teams
played, Nov. 8 and Nov. 9, the Rams won 5-4 in Boulder and the
Buffs won 5-1 at EPIC.
With four of seven games remaining, Delozier said his team has
yet to reach its goal.
“We’ve won three of them; four to go,” he said.
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