BOULDER (02/11/12) – The No. 4 University of Colorado Division II men’s ice hockey team fell 4-7 to the No. 8 San Jose State University Spartans on Saturday night at the CU Ice Arena.
The Buffaloes defeated the Spartans 4-2 in their last meeting at the Beehive Showcase on Nov. 18.
Jeff Palmer, J.P Park and Cody Glickman all scored for the Buffaloes while Chase Komatz, Brennen Stieneker, Tyler Moore and Alex Lencioni all picked up assists. Komatz’s assit marked is 16th consecutive game with a point.
San Jose State hit the ice hard scoring in the first 1:10 of the game. The Spartans quickly added to their lead scoring two additional goals to shut out the Buffs in the first twenty minutes.
In the second stanza the Buffs began their offensive assault. 3:04 into the period Palmer found the back of the cage on a power play for his first point. But Palmer wasn’t done yet, 3:47 later he picked up another goal. San Jose State was quick to rebuttal however, scoring two goals to regain momentum and end the period 5-2.
As the final stanza of the contest kicked off, the Spartans did not hold back, scoring two goals in the first seven minutes of the period marking their fourth unanswered point. With 8:38 remaining the Buffs made a last attempt to gain control when Lenicioni found Park for a goal. Colorado continued to fight with Cody Glickman scoring the Buffaloes final goal of the contest.
“We played flat out sloppy hockey for two period,” said forward Alex Gresh. “We didn’t communicate and made poor passes. We need to take the third period and work from there if we want to do better.”
Buffaloes goaltender Mike McGrath picked up 12 saves before being replaced by Alex Pomerleau, who acquired 35 saves in the evening.
Next, the Buffaloes will faceoff against the Division I University of Arizona Wildcats on Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m. Colorado concludes is regular season play on Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. against the No. 10 University of Denver Pioneers. Both games will be played at the CU Ice Arena.
Admission to all home Division II games is $3 for students with a Buff One card and $5 for the general public.
