The Lumberjacks, this past weekend, traveled down to Colorado for a bunch of games that effected their standings in ACHA play. The Lumberjacks squared off with Weber State, Metropolitan State, Colorado University, and Boise State. Four games in four days that greatly tested the depth of the Lumberjacks.
The first game of the Big Mountain Classic saw the Lumberjacks square of with the Weber State Wildcats. It was not long into the game before the Lumberjacks opened up the scoring as Joben Smith found the back of the net at the 3:56 mark. Ian Amsbaugh and Dale Kjorstad scored for the Lumberjacks respectfully later in the period, giving the Lumberjacks a 3-1 lead going into the second period. Ryan Patterson extended the lead on a Lumberjacks power play followed by Geoffrey Dick, who got in on the action, stretching the lead 5-1. Amsbaugh scored his second goal of the game, stretching it to 6-1 after two periods. In the third, Kjorstand and Smith tallied their second goals of the game followed by the Wildcats chipping one in of their own, making the final score 8-2 Lumberjacks.
The second game, the Lumberjacks squared off with the Metropolitan State Roadrunners. The game saw the lamp get written up plenty of times, as both teams combined for 14 goals total. The Lumberjacks, for the second straight night, came out and scored three goals in the first period (Donta Von Mullin, Eric Hildebrand, and Zane Macdonald were the ones to score). The Roadrunners answered back with three goals of their own however, Macdonald scored two more goals, giving him the hattrick and giving the Lumberjacks a 5-3 lead. In the third period the Lumberjacks put the game away by scoring three more goals (Geoffrey Dick scoring two and Hildebrand scoring his second goal of the night). The Roadrunners made things interesting by staying in shooting distance, but the final score read 8-6 for the Lumberjacks.
After two wins to open up the Big Mountain Classic Showcase, the Lumberjacks squared off with Colorado University. Early in the game the score read 2-1, as Colorado University scored a goal at the 13:09 mark; however, that was as close as things would get. For the third straight night the Lumberjacks' offense came out firing, as they scored five goals total in the first period. The second period was all Lumberjacks as they tallied six goals total, stretching the lead to 11-1. Colorado added a goal in the third period, making the final score 11-2. Blake Carpenter was the second Lumberjack on the weekend to record a hattrick, as he led the Lumberjacks with three goals in the game. Eric Hildebrand scored two goals in the game, followed by goals by Amsbuagh, Patterson, Holstein, Dick, Veitch, and Clyne.
The final game of the trip the Lumberjacks squared off with the Boise State Broncos. In all four games that the Lumberjacks played in this past weekend, they scored three goals at least. Amsbaugh continued his good weekend by scoring two in the first period, Macdonald also scored to give the Lumberjacks a 3-1 lead after the first period. The Broncos scored three goals in the second period making the score 4-3. This was the first time that the Lumberjacks trailed on the road trip. The third period saw the Lumberjacks tie up the score right away with Hildebrand scoring just 35 seconds into the period. The Broncos took the lead on a power play goal at the 6:34 mark. With less than five minutes to play in the game, Carpenter tied it all up at five, forcing the Lumberjacks into overtime. In overtime, Zane MacDpnald scored to give the Lumberjacks an shootout win in the Big Mountain Classic Showcase.
When asked about the weekend Coach Rybchinski said, "We made a big step this weekend with our team moving forward. We grew as a team and bonded in the four games. This will help with team chemistry moving forward and improving each day on the ice." On the weekend, Rybchinski pointed to the leadership of the upperclassman for their reasons of success. "The guys came focused and we wanted to prove that we are a good team and the rankings are justified and I think we did that," Rybchinski said as he commented on what the weekend meant for the Lumberjacks.
Next up for the Lumberjacks will be a massive match up with Montana State Bobcats at the Lumberdome. "It will be good having a good Montana State team come play us at home this weekend. It will be nice to get some home games in after being on the road," Coach Rybchinski remarked on the upcoming games. Game times for this upcoming weekend are Friday at 7:00 P.M and Saturday at 1:00 P.M.