Hockey team beats Colorado in big upset

The Weber State University Hockey Team split on the road in Colorado last weekend, losing to Colorado State University 7-2 on Friday and then coming back to back the next night to beat the University of Colorado 5-2. "Our first game was awful," said WSU Head Coach Steve Soto. "It was just back to last year and the year before - not showing up. It got pretty ugly real quick. The second game was a lot better, definitely turned things around and showed what kind of team we could be." Colorado State and Colorado have been perennial powers in the American Collegiate Hockey Association West Region, switching between first and second for the past several years. Beating Colorado puts WSU in prime position to make a run at those coveted top-two spots. Soto said he was impressed with his team's resiliency to be able to come back for the win Saturday after playing so badly Friday. "They showed a lot of character," Soto said, "and that's what we need. We've still got a lot of tough teams coming up and going into nationals and all that, you've got to play 60 minutes of hockey." The win over the Buffaloes was a team effort for the Wildcats, powered by a hat trick by forward Anton Volkov. The three goals were enough for a of the game. WSU goaltender Kyle Gover preserved the win with a solid showing between the pipes. "Everyone was just clicking," Soto said. "Everything was just going well for us. So hopefully that just carries over for the rest of the season." The ACHA rankings are expected to be released this week, so the win over Colorado couldn't have come at a better time for WSU. Colorado State appears to be a lock for first place when the rankings are released. Eastern Washington University, Utah State University, Colorado and WSU are expected to round out the rest of the top-five. Soto said he's still not satisfied with where his team will be ranked. The transition into the season hasn't been the smoothest for the Wildcats. "With the strength of our schedule we still have a lot of tough games ahead of us and a lot of time to make up those points and show what the team can do," Soto said. The Wildcats will wrap up eight consecutive games on the road when they head to Provo Friday to take on Brigham Young University. WSU will finally return to the Weber County Ice Sheet Nov. 7 against the University of Utah. "They can't wait to play a home game," Soto said. "It's just going to be that much more intense. They're going to put on a great show." cushion for WSU who led for the duration