The Kentucky Wildcats thrashed the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, Sept. 7, by a score of 7-1 after the Buffs shut out the Cats 2-0 the night before in the first game of the pair’s weekend series in Lexington.
In the Sept. 6 matchup Kentucky had difficulties getting going from puck drop. The Cats struggled to maintain possession when getting chances, which made it near impossible for them to properly set up their offense.
These woes carried over into the power play, where the Cats couldn’t capitalize in man-up situations either, failing to score in all four opportunities.
Colorado brought the intensity early while also possessing the puck for what seemed like well over half of the first period, scoring just two minutes in and preventing Kentucky from ever catching a groove.
Saturday night’s game proved the weekend series to be a tale of two games for Kentucky.
In their second chance, the Cats got it going offensively, connecting on crisper passes with more communication, resulting in less turnovers. Regardless, the Buffaloes kept the intensity high on the ice, causing scuffles that lead to multiple five-on-three situations.
Freshman forward Ty Patefield spoke about the team’s performance in both games.
“I think there were some first-game jitters,” Patefield said. “I didn’t think we played terrible the first night. I think they are a little slower and we picked it up… so we buried them.”
Patefield, who netted his first career goal on Saturday while Kentucky was short-handed in the first period, was one of the key contributors in the second-night victory. His defensive efforts were noticeable on the ice as he remained physical and active on the puck while also keeping relatively cool despite rising tensions.
“It was awesome, you got to get in the game with the hits and then I just got a turnover around the net, tucked it in and got to celebrate with the crowd,” Patefield said about his first career goal.
Also among the goal scorers on Saturday were junior captain Marc L’Heureux, who put in the Cats’ third goal, and sophomore winger Nick Delaney, who netted three of the Cats’ seven goals, including the game’s first two.
Delaney spoke on what head coach Tim Pergram told the team in the locker room after its game one loss.
“He pretty much just said we didn’t have enough time,” he said. “It’s our first weekend, tryouts were last week and we’ve only had three practices.”
Since completing their tryouts on Aug. 31, the Wildcats had only one week to try and mesh together a squad that saw over half of the group replaced before its opening weekend.
“We have a lot of new freshmen this year, we have a lot of returners,” Delaney said. “It’s about evenly split, so it’s just a lot to bring in and with little time, we’re just doing what we can right now.”
The lack of experience from much of the roster was on display as the Cats struggled to keep the Buffs out of their heads throughout the game after pushing, shoving, thrown punches and crude statements made started to get to them.
“Never retaliate with that sh*t, because they can easily come back and score a couple of goals,” Delaney stated in regard to Colorado’s antics.
Of course, the Buffaloes never came back on Saturday, but not everyone decided to take the advice offered by their teammate. Freshman defenseman Sam Thompson was notably kicked out of the game with just 19 seconds left after falling victim to Colorado’s antagonistic behavior. Fans saw plenty of penalties awarded to both sides in the ensuing extra curricular activities.
Looking ahead, Kentucky will face off at midnight against Penn State and East Texas Baptist University on Sept. 13 and 14 respectively at the Lexington Ice Center. Fans should expect to arrive early to ensure they have a spot in the venue as lines begin as early as hours beforehand. The game itself is projected to begin at midnight.