The Mavericks for the first time are back on the ice this season, as a Colorado Mesa University (CMU) varsity sport after several years as a club sport. The team has started this season with an impressive 5-2 record thus far.
They had a successful season debut against Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff, Arizona. In game one of the series, the Mavericks fell to a 2-0 deficit in the first period. Later in the period, they scored back-to-back powerplay goals. Freshman Mason Ripley and sophomore Larry Simons both scored two goals each in the game.
In game two of the series, the Mavericks once again fought back after a difficult first period to earn a 3-2 victory. After going down 2-0 again in the first period, the Mavericks tied the score up in the second period. While there were no goals in the third period, the game ended with an action-packed overtime. In the five-minute sudden death 3-on-3 overtime, senior Joey Voyles scored the game-winning goal. Junior Collin Fitzgerald assisted on all three goals.
After a 2-0 start to the season, the Mavericks returned to Grand Junction at River City Sportsplex to play their first round of home games against Montana State University (MSU).
Throughout the first home game, the Mavericks were routinely penalized and put sophomore goalie Chris McElroy in tough situations. The Mavericks were on the penalty kill through the majority of the game due to undisciplined penalties. McElroy finished the game with 51 saves, only allowing four goals for the opponents, leading to a 7-4 win for the Mavs.
“Despite the score, our goalie played outstanding. In a way, he kept us in that game for at least the first couple of periods, until we started playing better,” Head hockey coach Timothy Winegard said. “Chris [McElroy] deserves that win.”
After the 7-4 victory giving the Mavericks a 3-0 winning streak, they suffered two consecutive losses. The losses on Saturday and Sunday were 3-2 and 7-2 respectively. The match on Saturday kept fans on the edge of their seats, as the Mavericks nearly clutched another comeback victory. However, in spite of the team’s effort to recover, their winning streak came to an end. Though MSU appeared sluggish in the first game of their season against the Mavs, they quickly rallied in the next two games.
“We got outworked–and I have to give credit to Montana State–they got better as the weekend went on,” senior team captain Brendan King said. “We were their first games of the season, and in game one, we got them good. They were traveling for 12 hours to get here […] and throughout the weekend, they just kept getting better and improving their play.”
Game three did not end as closely as the Mavericks became used to after the previous three matches. Sophomore goalie Jacob Babin got the start in net. While Babin allowed a handful of goals, the goalie was under constant pressure and made multiple great saves to try to keep the Mavericks in play. In spite of Babin’s efforts, the offense never got into the flow, which cost them the game.
“Our puck management needs to be better, and we need to have better puck control when we are setting plays up. I think we need to work on regrouping in the neutral zone before it gets caught up. […] I think our offensive presence needs to definitely improve [for the upcoming games], and I think that’ll be our key to success,” King said.
After a streak-breaking defeat by MSU, the Mavericks dutifully prepared for their matches against the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS) on Sep. 30 and Oct. 1. Their efforts paid off, as the team secured an impressive 12-4 victory in their first match, followed by another win of 7-3.
After their high-scoring affairs against UCCS, the Mavericks look to continue their win streak against the Air Force Academy at their base on Oct. 14.
