Bronchos look to rebound in three-game home stint

Written by svidal Sports Nov 5, 2009

By Chris Wescott, The Vista Sports Editor

The surging University of Central Oklahoma hockey team met their match last weekend in Wentzville, MO. The Bronchos dropped their third and fourth game of the season against the No. 1 Lindenwood Lions.

All four of this season’s losses have come against Lindenwood. However the Bronchos are 9-0 against the rest of their schedule so far this year. UCO gets three games at home this weekend to get them back on track. They play two against No. 16 Oakland University and a rare Sunday game against North Dakota State.

The Bronchos and Oakland Bears are no strangers. They played each other twice last season in Rochester, MI. UCO will look to avenge the two losses that the Bears handed them in that series. The Bears won the first game 4-1, and the second 4-3.

In the first game last season between these two teams, Jonathan Cannizzo scored the lone goal for the Bronchos, with Greg Masters on the assist. Justin Sgro started in net for UCO and faced 21 shots, while allowing four goals by.

In the second match up, UCO faired a little bit better offensively scoring three goals on the night. Captain AJ Alfrey scored a goal and had an assist on the night. Fellow captain Matt Cohn sunk another shot in net and was also credited with an assist. Casey Smith scored the third Broncho goal. Other players credited with assists that night were Kevin Fukala, Tony Panizzo and Jonathan Cannizzo.

The official ACHA Division I rankings come out this Friday and should see both teams ranked once again in the top 25. Oakland currently sits at the 16 spot with a 10-2 record. The Bronchos rank ninth in the nation with a 9-4 record on the year. North Dakota State, who the Bronchos will be facing on Sunday, comes into this matchup un-ranked and with a 2-3 record.

The team leaders in points so far this season are Jonathan Cannizzo who has 20 points in 13 games, with a team high 11 goals to go with his nine assists. Second on the team in points is Jacob Roadhouse who has eight goals and 11 assists. Matt Cohn is third on the team with five goals and 12 assists.

The Bears spread the offensive attack around a little bit more than UCO. They have eight players with over 10 points to UCO’s five. Leading Oakland is Jordan McDonald, who has 12 goals and six assists. Brett Haugh is second on the team in goals with eight.

North Dakota State’s offense is led by Matt Odom who has three goals and three assists. Shawn Savler and Corey Arones both have three goals and two assists a piece.

Opening faceoff for Friday night’s match between UCO and Oakland is set for 7:35 p.m. On Saturday night the two teams play again at 7:30 p.m. Then in a rare Sunday game, UCO plays North Dakota State at 2:30 p.m. All three games will be played at Arctic Edge Arena in Edmond.

This article has originated from: http://uco360.com/?p=2468