DENVER (10/20/10) – The University of Colorado hockey team will face Colorado State in the second annual Rocky Mountain Center Ice Showdown at the Pepsi Center on Friday Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m.Tickets for the game are $20 and includes free parking and a ticket to a Colorado Avalanche game on Nov. 15 against the St. Louis Blues or on Feb. 14 against the Calgary Flames, a $42-$58 value.
For every ticket sold, $5 will be donated to the Colorado hockey program.
Tickets can be bought from any member of the CU varsity or junior varsity teams or online at www.pepsicenter.com/groups/Avalanche/CUCLUB. Make sure you choose the University of Colorado section so the Buffs get your donation.
You can also order tickets by contacting Jason Schofield with the Colorado Avalanche at 303-405-6182 or at jschofield@pepsicenter.com.
The CU-CSU hockey game has become one of the premiere events for the University of Colorado and the school is excited that the game will once again be held at one of the best hockey venues in the country.
“I believe the game between the CU and CSU hockey teams help promote not only the game of hockey but also how far our programs have come,” said Kris Schoech, director of CU collegiate sport clubs. “The game itself has become such a fan favorite for students, staff and alumni that we are unable to realistically host it on the CU campus. Therefore we are thankful to have a partnership with the Avalanche and Kroenke Sports to host this event at the Pepsi Center.”
Oct.29 will be a full day of hockey with three games being played on the Pepsi Center ice.The University of Denver and Metropolitan State College of Denver will begin the action at 3 p.m. while CU and CSU’s division III junior varsity squads hit the ice at 5 p.m. before the varsity clubs at 7:30 p.m. The $20 ticket is good for all three games.
At last year’s inaugural event, the Buffs fell down 3-0 in the first period but played stellar defense the rest of the way and slowly chipped away at the Rams lead. CU scored two goals in the second to cut the CSU lead to one and then scored twice in a matter of 36 seconds in the middle of the third stanza to tie the game and take the lead.
This time around, CU head coach Ken Fikis said he expects his squad to have a much better first period then the one last year but that the rivalry game will be a toss-up.
“We don’t want to be down 3-0 when it comes to the second period,” Fikis said. “We kind of think that we’re a better team than they are this year because we have a little more experience but in a game like this it doesn’t matter. Whoever plays harder and wants to win is going to win that game.”
The victory at the Pepsi Center last season propelled the Buffs to complete the weekend sweep of the Rams the following evening in Boulder. Colorado won the season series against CSU and would go on to finish the year with a 24-11 overall record and a third place finish in the nation, the team’s best final ranking since 2003 when they won the national championship.
Colorado returns 17 players from last year’s squad including All-American goaltender Kevin Litinsky and leading goal scorers Conor Williams and Mark Viau.
Litinsky has led the league in shutouts in each of his three seasons between the pipes and set a new personal season high in that category last year with him not allowing a puck to get past him in five games.
Williams has led the team in regular season goals in each of the previous three seasons while Viau had a breakout year during the 2009-10 campaign, setting personal bests in goals, assists and points.
The Buffs and Rams will play three more times after their meeting in Denver with them facing off on Nov. 5 at EPIC Ice Arena in Fort Collins, Feb. 4 at the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland and Feb. 11 at the CU Ice Arena in Boulder.
