Montana Tech Hockey Struggles in Tough Road Series Against Boise State: Injury Woes and Penalty Challenges
The injury-plagued Montana Tech University (Tech) Hockey battled Boise State University Broncos (BSU) in another tough road trip for the Diggers.
The Diggers would travel to Boise, Idaho, to take on BSU in a two-game series on Friday and Saturday, September 27 and 28. This was originally to be a series of games as part of the Boise Showcase, including teams from Minnesota Duluth and the Univerity of Cal Berkeley. However, both teams dropped out of the tournament prior to the start of the season due to logistical constraints.
Game 1 vs Boise State University:
Despite a 52-save performance from Tech goalie Brecken Kasse the Diggers fell 12-0 on Friday. Tech’s offense struggled as they were kept off the scoreboard, leading to a frustration that resulted in 15 penalties on the night. The Tech penalty kill was one of the positive takeaways from Friday’s game, as the team killed 14 penalties on the night and conceded one goal out of BSU’s 15 power plays - coming over 3 minutes into a 5-minute major.
“One of the few times we thought the team showed discipline and played with any structure was on the penalty kill,” noted head coach Dave Rathgeber..“But given that we weren’t able to generate offense at 5 on 5, spending half the game in the penalty box made things even more of a challenge,” he said.
The Broncos offense was prolific in the game, scoring early in the first period and adding three more goals in the first frame to lead 4-0. The Diggers have been guilty of starting slow, and for the third time in as many games, with goals being scored against within the first 2 minutes. In the second, Tech would hold BSU to three goals, with two coming late. In the final period, BSU would net four goals as Trent Harrison came off the bench to relieve Kasse. Offensively, Tech would muster 12 shots on the Bronco’s goal.
Game 2 vs Boise State University:
In game two, BSU got on the board early in the first and jumped out to a 5-0 lead within the first 5 minutes - an act that would see goalie Trent Harrison relieved and backup Eddie Kazmierzcak enter to try and settle the team. Although Kazmierczak’s play was strong, the end of 20 minutes saw the Diggers down 9 -0. In the second, Tech’s offense showed a moment of spark with a goal of its own, scored by Cade Holland off assists from Riley Kelly and Rye Vincent midway through the frame.
Tech’s defense would hold BSU to just three goals in the second as Kazmierczak would come and make 19 saves and follow up that performance for another 17-save period in the third. However, BSU would net three of their four goals on special teams, with two scores being on the Power Play and another shorthanded. Kazmierczak would end the game with 36 saves on two and a half periods of work. BSU would win the second and final game of the series in Boise 16-1.
Up Next
Montana Tech will now shift its attention to another big road service in Idaho, this time to Idaho State University (ISU). ISU got swept this past weekend by Utah Valley University after being outscored 23-1 in their two-game set. The Diggers hosted the Bengals in the spring of 2024 in 2 two exhibition games that saw the Diggers sweep the series.
