BYU NewsNet - BYU Hockey to Face Top Team

Players on the BYU hockey team will have to adapt quickly to new line mates this weekend when the team travels to Colorado to take on Metro State and Div. 3's No. 1-ranked team, Northern Colorado University.

Players on the BYU hockey team will have to adapt quickly to new line mates this weekend when the team travels to Colorado to take on Metro State and the No. 1-ranked team in Div. 3, Northern Colorado University.

"I was getting good production out of a couple players on my first and second lines, but not much out of my third," head coach Ed Gantt said. "The chemistry just didn't seem to be there, so we moved some things around to make all of our lines scoring threats."

BYU will need all of the scoring it can get when it faces off against offensive powerhouse Northern Colorado. The Bears are 9-0-0 this year and have outscored their opponents 75-20.

"Just because they are in Div. 3 doesn't mean anything," Gantt said. "They are Div. 3 because they are a small school, but they are every bit as competitive as anyone else on our schedule."

Northern Colorado University has proven that they deserve the No. 1 ranking in Div. 3 with big wins over Div. 2 Colorado State, and against the two No. 1 teams in both the Atlantic and Northern division of Div. 3. The Bear's undefeated record is due to their offensive dominance.

The new line changes could pose extra difficulty for the Cougars this weekend, but a smooth transition and increased offensive productivity are expected.

"There have been a few changes with the lines and so we are going to try to work better with this new style," said Ben Shugart. "We are going to have to get used to new line mates, but as long as we play as a team, in the systems that the coaches have given us, we should be alright."

The Cougars are now 3-1-0-1 on the season and will be looking to get their first win on the road. The overtime loss to Utah State and the comeback by UVSC, were both facilitated by short let downs by the Cougars.

"It just seems like in the past couple of games that there have been a few minutes that we have stopped playing BYU hockey, and those minutes have really come back to bite us," Shugart said.

The Cougars will take on Northern Colorado on Friday night and will then face an unpredictable Metro State team on Saturday. Metro State has struggled at times this year, but has had brief moments of success against some top-ranked teams in college hockey. The Cougars beat Metro State 10-2 last year in Provo, and will look to duplicate their performance this weekend.