From The Rocky Mountain Collegian
By Caleb Morrow
The Colorado State club hockey team played with revenge in Friday’s game against Colorado after dropping its first matchup this season in overtime, pulling out with a 4-1 win.
It was an emotional and physical game from the puck drop. This is something first-year coach and former CSU player Alex Latkovski knows all too well.
“I played probably 15 to 20 of these games, so I know the emotion that goes into it,” Latkovski said. “I told them before the game, if you don’t let it get to you and you control (what) you can control, you really have a step up. We are the more talented team, especially this year, so all they can do is try and hit us.”
Latkovski’s coaching advice from firsthand experience seemed to work. Through all the tie-ups, CSU clearly seemed to be the more composed team.
There were plenty of incidents, the most notable of these being what took place in the second period between the Rams’ Makai Mitchell and the Buffs’ Roman Templeton. The exchange ended with Templeton attempting to step on Mitchell’s stick. Templeton was ejected, and Mitchell was put in the penalty box.
But CSU came out ready to play immediately, scoring three goals in the first period. Carrick Stevens helped with two of the three points, whether that was scoring or assisting.
“I’m not gonna say the game was over after the first period, but we had that 3-0 lead and kind of felt like we were in control, and that’s just what we wanted,” Stevens said.
Stevens added an empty net goal in the final minute and finished with two goals and one assist. He now has a team-high 19 points on the season. The other two goals in the first period were scored by Robert Grasso and Makai Mitchell. This was both players’ sixth goal of the season.
Latkovski also knew getting out early with the lead was key to their success.
“We wanted to get the lead, and then we knew they wouldn’t be able to generate that many chances (because) of the way we played. And once we got the lead, we knew,” Latkovski said.
After taking the lead, the defense did a great job holding the lead, allowing only one goal, which came with only five minutes remaining in the game. They successfully killed all five power plays, and goalie Ethan Blackburn managed to get 45 saves on 46 shots.
“We make it very clear that we are gonna lay the body on the line no matter what,” Blackburn said. “They trust me when they mess up, and I trust them when I mess up. So I trust them to know when to block the shot and when to get out of the way.”
Control on both sides of the ice was a large theme of this game. CSU dominated the time of possession and made sure the Buffs had minimal opportunities to get back into the game.
Blackburn used an old saying to describe this, stating, “Good defense is a better offense. So we clean up our end, then we’re gonna go down there and score.”
Stevens also used a quite similar saying to describe the control factor, “Offense is the best defense. So if we’re in their zone in control, they’re not going to score.”
But after the dominant win, the team had a quick turnaround.
The Rams faced off again at CU just the next day, with the winner taking the season series. And despite putting up a hard battle, it was the Buffs who pulled ahead with the early lead of three points in the first period. CSU lost 5-4.
Yet in front of a home crowd, the Rams put on a show with a dedicated performance to back it up. CSU will now take a much-needed break before their next game.
(Originally published at https://collegian.com/articles/sports/2025/12/csu-hockey-dominates-rival-cu-with-a-statement-win-falls-in-second-matchup/)
