PREVIEW: #21 Utah vs #6 Jamestown

February 3, 2017 Salt Lake City, UT The first ACHA Division 1 home games in University of Utah school history are finally here as the Utes welcome in the University of Jamestown this Friday and Saturday. With the Utes just one spot away from the Nationals field, a win or two over this highly-ranked team could be enough to punch Utah’s ticket to the tournament. ABOUT THE SERIES: Jamestown currently holds the all-time series lead 2-0. The first meeting between the two teams was earlier this season in North Dakota, as the Utes fell to the Jimmies 4-1 and 2-1 in the second week of the season. ABOUT THE UTES: The Utes are coming off their final D2 games of the season last weekend as the team picked up their third straight Wasatch Cup title, beating Weber State and Utah State by 6-2 scores. The Utes are 17-7 on the season and are 4-7 against Division I opponents this season. The Utes have a ten-game winning streak going into this weekend, including a three-game win streak vs Division I teams. The Utes are ranked 21st in the latest ACHA D1 Rankings released on Wednesday, moving them just one spot away from the top 20 which would qualify the team for Nationals. ABOUT THE JIMMIES: The Jimmies are coming off a weekend win over then #6 Arizona State at home 3-2 last weekend and are riding a four-game winning streak heading into Salt Lake City. The Jimmies are 16-11 on the season and are 11-8-2 against Division I teams this season. The Jimmies are one of the top ten teams in the country this week, moving up three spots to #6 in this week’s computer rankings. The Jimmies are in their first season in the ACHA and are unable to compete at Nationals this season. PLAYERS TO WATCH: FOR UTAH: Connor Meaney, Julian Cronan, Nick Fornelius, and Brett Myer all have team-high four-game point streaks heading into this weekend against Jamestown. Cronan is the hottest of the four with points in 9 of his last 10 games. Alex King leads the team in goals with 15 and Myer leads in assists with 23 and points with 36. Patrick Kasper has won five straight games in net this semester, posting a 2.33 GAA and .936 save percentage. FOR JAMESTOWN: Jason Richter and Trevor Okino lead the team in points with 23 each this season. Richter is the leading goal scorer with 11 and Okino leads in assists with 21. Tyson Brouwer is the main guy in net for the Jimmies, posting a 11-10 reocrd with a 2.76 GAA and .907 save percentage. Friday night’s game at the Utah Ice Sheet begins at 8pm MT with Saturday’s weekend finale beginning at 7:30pm MT. Both games will be broadcasted on Utah Hockey Game Day Live. Tickets are still available for both games.