The San Diego State men’s hockey team defeated the Colorado Buffaloes 5-4 on Saturday, Feb. 3 at Kroc Center Ice Arena.
It was the second night in a row that the Aztecs took on the Buffaloes after losing the previous game on Friday night. The Aztecs now have two remaining home games and they both will be against the Oregon Ducks.
SDSU goaltender Garrett Fuller was back in the net on Saturday after giving up six goals the previous night. Head coach Phil Bateman spoke about the decision to start Fuller after the previous night against Colorado.
“He’s been the go-to all season,” Bateman said. “He’s got such a stellar pedigree, we have complete faith in him and I knew he was going to come back with that and he’s been a rock all year for us.”
The Aztecs were able to get on the board first 3:31 into the first period following a goal by forward Gavin O’Bryan. Eight minutes later Colorado was able to tie the game after a goal by forward Adam Trunko.
Soon after, SDSU was called for a penalty for too many men on the ice after a line change. Colorado took advantage of the power play and took the lead with 5:49 left in the first on a goal by forward Marc Borghi. Coach Bateman spoke about the penalty after the game.
“The (defense) got a little crossed-up,” Bateman said. “One of the extra D jumped on thinking it was his assignment. It happens sometimes just in the chaos of the play and thankfully it didn’t end up being a backbreaker.”
Entering the second period, the Aztecs trailed 2-1 and gave up another goal eight minutes into the second to Colorado forward George Issa.
With 3:52 left in the period, SDSU was able to cut the lead to one with a goal by Cameron Ferraz off of assists by Patrick Fast and Braden Mayer.
Colorado was then called for a cross-check by forward Garrett Micciche, but SDSU was unable to take advantage of the power play. Right after the Colorado penalty kill, Brandon Grant scored off a drop pass by Luke Desmarais for the Aztecs to tie the game at three heading into the third period.
The game remained tied throughout the first ten minutes of the third period with both teams trading shots on goal. With 9:20 left in regulation, SDSU defenseman Sean Yeo and Colorado forward Roman Di Domizio were called for roughing after fighting after the whistle.
During the four-on-four, Grant scored his second goal of the game with seven seconds left in the four-on-four. The goal gave the Aztecs a 4-3 lead with 7:27 left.
Twenty seconds later, forward Marcus Kim scored another goal for the Aztecs to give SDSU a two-goal lead with just over seven minutes left.
The Buffaloes played with a sense of urgency and cut the lead to one on a goal by forward Max Pasiennik to make it 5-4 with 3:42 left in the game.
With 2:07 left in the game, the Buffaloes were called for a boarding penalty on Di Domizio. However, Mayer was later called for a hooking penalty with 31 seconds left.
The teams were four-on-four before the Buffaloes then pulled their goaltender Caiden Boucher for an extra skater.
For the final seven seconds, Colorado had a six-on-four advantage before the time expired. The Buffaloes were unable to score and SDSU won 5-4.
Aztecs forward Nolan Conrad spoke after the game about the team’s improvement from the previous night against Colorado.
“We were fired up,” Conrad said. “We knew what had to be done, I think yesterday we played great and just honestly it didn’t go our way, so I think that tonight’s effort proved that we were the better team.”
The Aztecs next game will be against the Oregon Ducks on Friday, Feb. 9 at Kroc Center Ice Arena at 8 p.m.
