The University of Arizona men’s hockey team (16-13) fell to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (27-8), 6-2 in the second round of the ACHA National Tournament on Friday, March 14, in the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri. 

The Wildcats came into the game as the No. 15 seeded team in the 24-team bracket, with UNLV being the No. 2 seed. Arizona entered the matchup after beating No. 18 University of Oklahoma in the first round.

Arizona started the game with Hadyn Gould in the net. Gould has been the team’s primary goalie throughout the season, starting 23 games for the team with a 15-8 record during the regular season. 

UNLV would open the scoring with 13:39 into the first period, as they got on the power play and capitalized with a goal by Oliver Band to give the team a 1-0 lead. This score would hold going into the second period as the remainder of the period stayed silent. 

The second period saw UNLV rack up 2 more goals. Mason Kelly scored UNLV’s second goal at 10:39 into the period. Rebel Dylan Jensen would also find the back of the net to extend the UNLV lead to 3-0 going into the third period.  

UNLV extended the lead to 4-0 just a minute into the third period as forward Cole Wyatt scored. Less than 2 minutes later, Deven Nagra scored to give UNLV a 5-0 lead, forcing Arizona to use their timeout. 

The Wildcats were finally able to get on the board with forward Tyler Shetland scoring to cut the deficit to 4. However, UNLV responded with another goal as Bradley Golant made it 6-1 with under 6 minutes remaining. Forward Michael Pizzo was able to score a last-minute goal to cut the lead to 6-2, which would hold as the final and end the Wildcats’ season. UNLV would outshoot Arizona in every period of play, totalling 46 shot attempts compared to Arizona’s 17.

Despite the tough loss, Arizona was still able to shine in certain moments against a UNLV team that went on to win the ACHA M1 National Championship. With the hockey season over, new hopes and focuses extend to the 2025–2026 season.

Follow the Daily Wildcat on Instagram and Twitter/X