The Arizona club hockey team split a weekend series against the Colorado schools with a 3-2 loss to Colorado State, and a 3-2 win over Colorado.

“”It was a good effort for everyone that made the trip,”” said UA head coach Leo Golembiewski. “”I’m very pleased with the team as a whole.””

The Icecats were ahead 2-0 going into the first intermission against Colorado, led by forward Brady Lefferts, who had a shorthanded goal and an assist to defenseman Zack Stommen.

The Icecats never trailed and Colorado was unable to pose a true threat until 13:06 left in the second period when forward Mark Viau scored to bring the Buffaloes within a goal.

With the Buffaloes trailing 2-1, Icecats forward Robbie Nowinski sealed the game with a goalat 4:33 left in the final period, which gave the Icecats a comfortable 3-1 lead.

Arizona, which has been plagued by injuries all season, was without another key player over the weekend as defenseman Austin Capobianco was unable to play due to a shoulder injury and did not travel with the team. Zack Cherney, however, returned to the lineup after missing three games because of a concussion suffered against ASU on Jan. 30.

UA goaltender Nick Boddy had another solid performance, adding 39 saves leading the Icecats on Saturday.

“”Boddy played fantastic again all weekend,”” said associate coach Dave Dougall. “”He keeps us in games when we’re not playing up to par. The second semester he’s been on his game and he’s the senior leader that you look for.””

The Icecats started slow on Friday against Colorado, which led Arizona 2-1 after the first intermission.

Part of the reason for their slow start could be attributed to the bus drive that took an extra five hours.

The team had to board a different bus in Albuquerque, N.M. due to mechanical problems with the first bus.

Trailing 3-1 in the third period, Alex Dunning scored a goal with 5:37 left to move the Icecats within a goal, though they were never able to completely bounce back from their slow start.

Arizona (12-13-2) will try to finish its season with a winning record as it prepares to take on ASU this weekend at the Tucson Convention Center.

“”We have to have the same approach that we had the entire season, and that is to take each game one shift at a time,”” Golembiewski said. “”We need the players to play the way we want them to play as opposed to what they may want to do.””