Nicholas Santiago / Staff Photographer

Chris Wolfinger had just made it. He was playing in his first college hockey game as a freshman against UNLV for the San Diego State ice hockey team. But when the game was finished, so were at least the next couple of months for Wolfinger.

On Sept. 26 at Iceoplex in Escondido, Wolfinger was hit with about five minutes to play in the third period. His skate dug into the ice and his legs twisted, causing his left knee to pop out. After the game, Wolfinger was taken to the emergency room on a stretcher before doctors were finally able to pop his knee back into its proper position.

“My family and I were going back and forth on surgery, but decided to let it heal on its own,” Wolfinger said. “I have been seeing the trainer for the past couple weeks while trying to get back into game shape as soon as possible.”

Immediately following the hit, Wolfinger went down writhing in pain. When the play was blown dead, UNLV’s head coach Rob Pallin yelled at Wolfinger to get up, calling him weak in a more offensive manner.

The whole team was ignited with passion for revenge following the injury, especially after SDSU fell to the Rebels 4-3.

“There will be some definite tension between our teams” senior forward Phillip Wong said. “I expect the scoring to be extremely close, but with more hits, more penalties and maybe a couple fisticuffs.”

While UNLV and Wolfinger will have to wait for a later date, the Aztecs are focused on their next challenge, San Jose State. SDSU will play host to San Jose for the first time of the season this weekend.

The Aztecs are prepared for the Spartans after hitting the road to play Arizona State last weekend. ASU is in a higher division than SDSU and proved a worthy opponent, outlasting the Aztecs in two games. Regardless, SDSU played tough all weekend.

“We played well this weekend,” senior forward Ben Nicoll said. “Team morale is still high and we are pumped to play next weekend.”

The Aztecs look to keep up their intensity for this weekend and improve their current 4-6 record. ASU improved to 8-0 on the season, and SJSU 5-2 is next.