University of Arizona men’s hockey dropped both games in a two game home series against the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The Wildcats were coming back after a break that started Oct. 12 and these were Arizona’s first games at home since Oct. 4.
Game 1:
Haydn Gould started in net for the Wildcats for his fourth start of the season. Through his first three games, Gould was 3-0 and was averaging 1.66 goals allowed, including a shutout win against ASU in the last home game on Oct. 4.
With 12:48 left in the first period, UNLV went up 1-0 on a power play goal. This score held until the end of the first period, with UNLV failing to score on another power play late in the period.
Around seven minutes into the second period, Arizona thought they had the tying goal, but it was called off by the referees. On the very next sequence, UNLV scored to double the lead to 2-0.
UNLV extended the lead to 3-0 with 8:43 left in the second period, and Arizona was trailing by three goals for the first time all season.
The Wildcats responded almost immediately, however, as forward Justin Hughes scored with 7:10 left in the second period to cut the UNLV lead to 3-1. This was Hughes’ 5th goal of the season and he now leads the team in goals this season.
The third period saw both teams go on a power play multiple times with Arizona having a five on three for a full minute, but neither team was able to score on the opportunities and Arizona lost game 1 of the series 3-1.
Game 2:
After suffering his first loss of the season the previous night, Arizona started Gould in net again for game 2 of the series.
Arizona got off to a 1-0 lead on a goal by forward Jack Kurrle. In his second season with the Wildcats, Kurrle has taken a leap with his 5 points in seven games, ranking fifth on the team in a tie with other forward Michael Pizzo.
The second period was not a good one for Arizona. After a quick goal from UNLV to tie the game at 1, 2 more goals were scored in the period to give UNLV a 3-1 lead.
The Wildcats were able to cut the lead in half to 3-2 on a goal by forward Sam Myers. However, this was the last of Arizona’s scoring as UNLV hung on to win 3-2 and give Arizona its first back to back losses of the season.
Looking Ahead:
Arizona is now in a three way tie for second place at the top of the WCHL standings with 9 points along with the University of Colorado Boulder and UNLV. The University of Utah leads the WCHL with 14 points on the season.
Arizona’s next game will be Nov. 1 as the team travels to Oklahoma for a two game series. The Wildcats are set to embark on a month full of road games with the next home game not coming until Dec. 6 against ASU.
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