The University of Wyoming hockey club wrapped up its 2008-09 season last weekend with a pair of wins against Colorado College.
Led by Erik Blomberg (Parker, Colo.) and Graham Barrett (Colorado Springs, Colo.), the Cowboys skated to victories of 8-6 and 6-3 at Honnen Arena in Colorado Springs to finish at 13-11.
UW, however, will not compete at the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division III Pacific Regional this weekend. The Cowboys qualified for the tournament but were disqualified when the ACHA determined that UW used an ineligible player in two games this semester.
"The entire team is very upset that we won't get to play at regionals, but there's nothing we can do about it now," UW Coach Shawn Rockey says. "We just need to make sure everybody brings their grades to us in the future to avoid this sort of situation."
At least the Cowboys finished on a positive note against the Tigers.
In the series opener, Blomberg and Cody Leeper (Jackson) each scored a
pair of goals and Elliott Bauder (Douglas) and Michael Leriger (Houston,
Texas) contributed a goal and an assist to lead the Cowboys.
Ryan Tufte (Jackson) added a goal and two assists for UW, which seized control of the game with five unanswered goals after falling behind 1-0. Willie Forbes (Casper) scored the Cowboys' other goal.
Barrett, Rockey (Rock Springs), Ryan Allred (Laramie), Rick Comer (Gillette), Craig Luplow (Banner) and Brandon Moore (Littleton, Colo.) all recorded one assist.
In goal, Drew Luplow (Banner) turned aside 21 shots to earn the win.
UW was equally dominant in the series finale, building leads of 3-0 and 5-1 en route
to victory.
Blomberg padded his team-leading points total (22 goals, 10 assists) with two more goals and Barrett posted a goal and two assists to push his season totals to 14 goals and 13 assists, good for second on the team.
Forbes, Leriger and Rockey also scored goals for the Cowboys. Luke Walker added two assists and Allred, Moore and Rockey assisted on one goal apiece.
Robert Kola (Colorado Springs, Colo.) picked up the victory between the pipes with 24 saves.
"It was a good way to finish the season. Everyone played well and had fun, even though we had the thought of not going to regionals lurking in the back of our minds," Rockey says. "The season was a success, overall, and definitely a building block for the future."
Posted on Tuesday, February 10, 2009
