By Ryan Carlson (@RyanCarlson88):
It’s back on the road for the San Jose State men’s hockey team as it travels to the mountains of Northern Arizona to take on big teams in the west with hopes of turning its season around.
The Spartans will face the undefeated host NAU (7-0) who are coming off two wins against Texas El Paso. Then they will face the Williston State Tetons (3-6) all they way from North Dakota. Finally, they will face the Utah State Aggies who are 7-2 this season and are looking to keep climbing the ranks of the Mountain West Collegiate Hockey League.
As for the Spartans, they are preparing for the 12-hour bus ride that leaves Wednesday night at 10 p.m. to NAU and play the very next day on Thursday night. Followed by two more back-to-back games on Friday against Williston State and Saturday against Utah State.
One player to watch is the netminder for the NAU Lumberjacks Jaxson Gosnell who is No. 2 overall in the league with a save percentage of .976.
It hasn’t been an easy road for the Spartans this year as they head into the Arizona Tournament with a record of 2-7-1.With that said, they desperately need at least one win on this road trip. Especially after dropping two games in Los Angeles last weekend against Loyola Marymount and UCLA.
Spartans will look to improve their record before coming home to begin a three-game homestand against Weber State, San Diego State and Santa Clara University.