By Bret Fitzgerald
The IceCats took game one from the Bears of Northern Colorado in back-to-back games over the weekend, but fell short of coming away with two wins, dropping the second game in a closely fought battle.
The ”Cats came out flying in the first period of the first game. Adam
Campbell, Travis Kotter and Justin Pehrson all netted a goal, giving Provo a 3-0 lead going into the first intermission.
“It made me feel good to see some of the kids that haven”t scored before finally get in the column,” said IceCat head coach Walt Mehr. “We”re starting to come together a little bit.”
The action changed pace in the second period, as both teams played with a much more physical attitude, which led to a lot of checking, fighting and penalties.
“I thought we came out good, but they came up with their hands up and their sticks down,” said freshman forward Ryan Flink.
With 14:14 left in the second period, defenseman Travis Little put the puck in the net for the IceCats, making it 4-0.
“I was just following Pehrson in from the wing, and I went in the middle and he shot it, the puck bounced out, they mishandled it, and I tapped it in,” Little said.
The Bears weren”t discouraged, however, and they came back with a vengeance. The Bears scored the next three goals, and made it 4-3 with 12 minutes left to play.
Goaltender Tamio Stehrenberger came up huge for the IceCats as he shut down the Bears offense toward the end of the game.
“You”ve got to psyche yourself up,” Stehrenberger said. “You really want to win the game, so you play beyond yourself.”
Although it was early in the second, Little”s goal proved to be the game winner, giving the IceCats a 4-3 victory.
“I didn”t really expect it,” Little said. “You never really expect it.”
The IceCat coaches were quick to praise the Bears” defensive play, especially their goaltender.
“I don”t know what he did,” said IceCat assistant coach Patrick Perrett. “He had some spinach in between periods. He came out like Superman in the third period. But we were able to squeak one by and come away with the win.”
In the second game, fortunes reversed and the Bears left town with a 4-3 win of their own.
The penalties piled up, and they played a huge part in the game, as the IceCats were short-handed nearly half of the game.
“We spent way too much time in the penalty box,” Mehr said. “We did a good job killing them, but it screws up your offense. We just didn”t put it in the net.”
One penalty in particular hurt the ”Cats, putting them a man down for 7 minutes in the second and third periods.
“We talk a good game in the locker room, we talk a good game at practice, but when we get in the game we do stupid things,” said IceCat assistant coach Ed Gantt. “I mean, there”s no excuse for a team that has taken three butt-ending calls for disqualification. It”s stupid; you can”t have it.”
The IceCats look to rebound next Friday and Saturday in Oklahoma against the Sooners.
