Not many club sports are active this time of year, but the UW men’s hockey team continues to be worthy of attention this season.
The team played against No. 1 ranked Colorado State Rams Friday. In a fierce battle between the two teams, the Cowboys ultimately faced a 3-1 loss against the border rivals. The team now stands at a 10-7 ranking.
“The loss against CSU was a tough one,” said team president TJ Hill. “We play this team four times every season and have lost to them each time for three years now. This game was one of our closer ones and it’s our hope that we will defeat them in games to come.”
The Cowboys did not face the challenge alone as a large and loud crowd came to support the brown and gold. Their enthusiasm created a true rivalry game environment at the Laramie Ice & Events Center.
There were a total of 75 penalty minutes from both teams during the game and four ejections.
With the welcoming of new head coach Dan Lang, the team shows promise for the seasons to come.
The Cowboys only anticipate losing one to two players this year compared to two years ago when they lost a majority of their players.
With the season approaching its end with the final ACHA national tournaments in March, the Cowboys hope to earn more wins so they can place in the national tournament.
“Right now we are ranked No. 15 in our division,” said Hill. “We are right on the bubble of being able to continue into the national tournaments where only the top 10 teams are taken. Hopefully the numbers work in our favor and we get a couple more wins so that we can be in the top 10.”
“If our team doesn’t go as far the championship tournament this year I don’t think we’ll beat ourselves too much up about it,” Hill added. “We’ve been working really hard to get all of our players up to speed and by our next we should all be in a place where we can make it into the championship tournament. We are a good team with a good fan base, we only expect to go up from here.”
Fans can support the team by attending their last home game Feb. 9 at the Laramie Ice & Events Center against the University of Colorado – Boulder.
