Left winger Austin Simpson led the way for the Miners picking up 7 points on the day, with a hat trick and 4 assists. Goals were not in short supply tonight, as junior defenseman Kevin Duncan (3 G, 1A) and sophomore forward Noah Vanderzwan (3G, 2A) recorded hat tricks tonight.
Freshman Angus Campbell was fantastic between the pipes, in his collegiate debut, although Texas Tech was not given much of a chance to score.
The Miners put on relentless pressure from the beginning of the game and the Red Raiders spent the whole game in their own zone. The Miners outshot the Red Raiders 53-10.
A dominant display from the Miners special teams as well as they scored 8 power play goals and allowed zero goals on the penalty kill. The Miners set a new club record with 21 goals scored at home in a single game.
The Miners are back for game two against Texas Tech, Saturday at 3:30pm.
The puck drops on the 2018-19 season this Friday, as the Miners will begin the season with a pair of non-conference games against Texas Tech.
Start time for Game 1 on September 21 is at 7pm, with Game 2 slated for Saturday at 3:30pm.
This weekend will be the fourth consecutive season that the Red Raiders meet the Miners at center ice. Friday marks the 10th time both teams have met.
Dating back to the 2015-16 season, overall the Miners and Red Raiders are 7-1 (5-1 at home, 2-0 on the road). Without including the Miners 7-1 win against Texas Tech in the semi-final round of the TCHC Playoffs in 2017.
Last season, UTEP traveled to Odessa winning Game 1, 6-3, before coming back in overtime the next morning to close out the series, 4-3, with a goal scored by Jorge Duenas.
The Miners add ten new players to their roster this season. Including former Rhinos Jake Kopinski, Austin Simpson, Jayden Ritchie, Carlo Wittor and Angus Campbell. Leading scorer, Dominik Taras will not be on the bench for the Miners this weekend but is expected to return later in the season.
Juniors’ Kevin Duncan, Jorge Duenas, Matt Sanca and Jon Sanca return for their third season in a Miner jersey. Last season, Matt Sanca helped lead the team with 42 points (14G, 28A). Forward Noah Vanderzwan returns for his sophomore year with the Miners following an explosive first season with 18 goals last season.
Quick Miner Facts
The Miners will kick off the new season at home against Texas Tech, September 21-22. This will be the 5th meeting between the Miners and the Red Raiders with an overall record of 7-1.
Texas Tech was the first team the Miners played at home during their inaugural season in 2015.
Back at home following a few weeks on the road, the Miners will host the University of New Mexico Lobos for a two-game home stand, October 20-21.
Then UTEP will head to Albuquerque, November 2-3 to complete the series. The last time the Miners played the Lobos was during the 2016-17 season.
The puck drops September 21st at 7pm at the El Paso County Events Center with game 2 on Saturday at 3:30pm. For the complete 2018-19 UTEP Hockey schedule, visit minershockey.com.
Stay tuned for upcoming game times and ticket information.
The Miners kick off conference play on the road. UTEP will play game one of the two game series against Texas State Friday, September 28 at The Pond in Austin, Texas. The Miners fell to the Bobcats, 4-2, during the first road trip last season.
However, the Miners won the following three games, including a sweep at home where the Miners tallied 26 goals.
Closing out the first weekend, the Miners will visit the Chaparral Ice rink in Austin, Texas, with a two-game series against division rival the Texas Longhorns, September 29-30. Last season, the Miners swept the Longhorns at home and split the series on the road with a 4-1 win.
The Miners will have to wait until the second semester to play the Longhorns at home, January 14-15.
Following a week off, the Miners will head back out on the road to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies, October 12-13, at the Spirit Ice Arena.
The Aggies swept the Miners during week one last season, but the Miners got redemption and swept the Aggies in El Paso, 3-1 and 5-4. The Miners met the Aggies during the first Round of 2018 TCHC Playoffs and won 5-3 to advance to the semifinals.
The Miners will face off against the Aggies following the winter break, January 7-8, at the El Paso County Events Center.
UTEP will head east, to Austin, for the final game of the two-game series against Texas State (October 14), started the previous road trip. The Bobcats will head to the Sun City for the final weekend of play, February 1-2, before playoffs.
Back in El Paso, the Miners will host the East Texas Baptist Tigers, November 16-17. The Miners and Tigers split at home during the final homestand of the 2017-18 season. This will be the only meeting between both teams as the Tigers will play in the northern division of TCHC this season.
Closing out the first semester, the Miners will play Dallas Baptist Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1. UTEP remains victories against the Patriots with wins in the last four meetings both at home and on the road.
The Miners will kick off their final road trip in Dallas with a two-game series against Texas Christian University, (January 17-18). Last year, the Miners swept the Horned Frogs in El Paso, 3-1 in game one and 3-2 in overtime in game two.
Closing out the road trip, UTEP will take on the TCHC Champions the North Texas Mean Green (January 19-20) at the Dr Pepper Star Center-Farmers Branch. During the last meeting the Miners swept the Mean Green in El Paso.
For more info on the Miners, visit their website, and stay tuned for upcoming game times and ticket information.
2018-19 TCHC Conference Schedule
September 28 – at Texas State
September 29-30 – at University of Texas
October 12-13 – at Texas A&M
October 14 – at Texas State
November 16-17 – vs East Texas Baptist University
November 30-December 1 – vs Dallas Baptist University
January 7-8- vs Texas A&M
January 14-15- vs University of Texas
January 18-17 – at Texas Christian University
January 19-20 – at North Texas
February 1-2 – vs Texas State
Miner Forward Jorge Duenas put the Miners on the board first, giving UTEP a 1-0 lead. Texas A&M Huston Svondrk answered and tied the game at 1. Then the Aggies’ Gary Russell, scores and the teams head into the first intermission with A&M taking a 2-1.
Back for the 2nd period, the Aggies increased their lead when Andrew Monhollen gets one past UTEPs’ Lazarski. Matt Sanca responds and cuts the Aggie lead down by one goal, making the score 3-2 at the buzzer.
Heading into the final frame, the Aggies waste no time and score once again, putting the Miners down by 2 goals. Following two back-to-back penalties on the Aggies, the Miners go on a 5-on-3 power play. Taking full advantage of the power play, Josh Baeza finds the back of the net and brings the Miners within one goal of the Aggies.
Still on the same power play, Miner Forward Matt Sanca scores unassisted and ties the game at 4. The Miners then take advantage of another Texas A&M penalty and Matt Sanca scores, completing the hat trick, to give the Miners their second lead of the game.
With two minutes remaining, the Aggies pulled their goalie. Shortly after, UTEP’s Kevin Duncan gets called for crosschecking with 1 minute and 26 seconds to go in the game.
Despite the 6-on-4 Aggie advantage, the Miners hold on to their lead and defeat the Texas A&M Aggies, 5-4 in Round 1 of the TCHC Playoffs.
With the win, the Miners advance to the Semi-final round where they will face off against top seed North Texas at 2:45pm MST
Following a 0-3 start on the season, the TCHC Champs have gone on to improve to 17-9 overall. Coach Herman comments on the final home stand, “Looking forward to closing out the season this coming weekend. It’s been a great season at home this year and we look forward to ending on a high note.”
This will be the first meeting between both teams as the ETBU joined the TCHC conference at the start of this season. Currently, 12-5 on the season ETBU has notable wins over Texas A&M, Dallas Baptist, North Texas and Auburn University.
This Friday, the Miners will host their final Science on Ice home game. Over 900 students will be in attendance at Friday’s game. Throughout the game, students will learn about the science behind the sport of hockey.
From the science applied when creating ice to how skates are made, students will enjoy a fun educational day at the rink.
The Miners will honor the Senior Forward Josh Baeza before the game. Baeza has played for the Miners for the last 3 seasons. As part of the inaugural team, Baeza also played a role in creating the club team on campus by petitioning the Recreational Department to start the club. Baeza will graduate in May with a degree in Finance.
The business major will play his final game at the El Paso County Events Center this Saturday. In their final home of the season, the Miners will honor their fans at their Fan Appreciation game.
Scouting the Tigers
ETBU is led by Forward Riley Knott and Michael Garvie who each have 56 and 44 points this season. Knott leads with 20 goals and 36 assists.
While Garvie has scored 26 goals this season. Goaltender Nick Bozzuto has logged 1082 minutes in net for the Tigers as the only starting goalie for the season. Bozzuto has allowed 78 goals, 4.32 per game and has 372 saves this season.
Quick Miner Facts
Up Next
The Miners will head to Austin, Texas for the Texas Collegiate Hockey Conference Playoffs. Playoffs start February 8th. There is a ‘GoFundMe’ account to help the team raise money for the trip.
The puck drops for game 1 on Saturday at 3:30pm and the series will conclude Sunday at 11am. For detailed ticket information, click here.
Author: Tricia Luna – UTEP Hockey Club
Photo:
The puck drops for the two-game series on Saturday at 3:30pm and a new start time of 11am on Sunday. This will be the only meeting between the teams during the regular season. The last meeting was last fall where the Miners topped the Mean Green 10-1.
Scouting the Mean Green
The Mean Green are 4-3 in conference play. Prior to the Thanksgiving break UNT swept LSU posting wins of 8-4 in game 1 and 16-4 in game 2.
Similar to the Miners, the Mean Green swept both Dallas Baptist and Texas Christian University putting them in 5th place in TCHC.
North Texas is led by Senior Forward Andrew Keane who has 26 points this season. Keane leads with 13 goals and 13 assists. Tanner Holmes has logged 553 minutes in net for the Mean Green. Holmes has allowed 42 goals, 4.55 per game and has 217 saves this season.
In addition, James Bennett has made 3 appearances this season allowing 9 goals, 4.89 per game and has 36 saves this season.
Miners Give Back
The Miners hope to spread a little joy this holiday season as they collect children’s books this weekend during the UNT series. Bring a children’s book and receive one (1) ticket to the December 2-3 series against UNT. Books will be donated to a local school in the El Paso area.
Quick Miner Facts
Up Next
Following the Holiday Break the Miners will host the Univeristy of Texas Longhorns at home (January 9-10).
Late in the 1st period, Dominik Taras would put the Miners on the board first assisted by Jon Sanca and Kevin Duncan.
A TCU penalty at the start of the 2nd period put the Miners on the power play and Kevin Duncan would score 31 seconds in assisted by Jon Sanca to put the Miners up by 2 goals.
Early in the 3rd period, the Horned Frogs get one past Lazarski and come within one goal of the Miners. The third period would see plenty of time spent in the penalty box by both teams. Jorge Duenas gets called for a checking-from-behind penalty and is ejected from the game.
With 2 minutes remaining in the game, sophomore Jon Sanca gives the Miners a 2-goal lead, thanks to a perfect feed from brother Matt Sanca and Dominic Taras.
With 49 seconds left in the 3rd, a fight breaks out near the Miner goal and Jason Moore is called for a roughing penalty and Mackenzie Hollis gets called for fighting resulting in a game misconducted and is ejected from the game. Miners take game one with a final score, 3-1.
Back on Saturday afternoon for game 2, TCU scores the only goal of the period and leads the Miners 1-0 at the end of the 1st.
Matt Sanca and Dominik Taras score back to back goals within seconds of each other to give the Miners their first lead of the game. But, the Horned Frogs answer and teams head to the locker room tied at 2.
A nice save by Lazarski late in the 3rd keeps the score tied at 2 and the game heads into overtime. In the OT, Dominik Taras – set up nicely by Matt Sanca – scores and the Miners sweep the Horned Frogs with a 3-2 overtime win.
UTEP improves to 8-3 in conference play. The Miners now take 2 weeks off, then close out the fall semester at home on December 2nd and 3rd against the University of North Texas Mean Green.
Texas A&M was first to score in the 1st period and the Miners would head to the locker room down by one goal.
Eager to get the game going for the Miners, Nick Howell took advantage of the Miner power play and tied the score midway through the 2nd period.
Noah Vanderzwan would open the scoring for the 3rd with a shorthanded goal and give the Miners their first lead of the game. With about 4 minutes to go in the game, Jorge Duenas assisted by Nick Howell scored giving the Miners a 2 goal lead. The Aggies unable to respond and the Miners would hold their lead and win the game.
Returning Saturday night for Game 2, the Miners hit the ice ready to close out the weekend. Getting past the Aggie’s goalie, Dominik Taras would score first for the Miners, his 4th goal of the season. Texas A&M would answer with 2 goals and take the lead to the end the 1st period.
Noah Vanderzwan scores 8 minutes into the 2nd period and ties the game at 2. The 2nd period would see plenty of time spent in the penalty box by the Miners but the Aggies weren’t able to capitalize and the score remained tied at 2.
Back for the 3rd, Vanderzwan was called early for tripping and the Aggies would score on the power play taking the lead. Quick to respond Matt Sanca with the assist from his brother Jon Sanca would score and tie the game at 3. With 8 minutes to go in the 3rd, the twins would connect again as Matt would set up Jon and would score giving the Miners back the lead.
However, with 10.5 seconds left, the Aggies would get one passed Lazarski to tie the game and force overtime. The Miners applied pressure early on in OT, and Dominik Taras scored 3 minutes into overtime, allowing the Miners to sweep the Aggies.
“It was a good team effort this weekend. We knew we were going to have to pull together as a team if we wanted to find success. I was really proud of the guys on how they responded,” comments Coach Herman.
With the victories, the Miners improved to 4-3 (conference play) and hit the road to Dallas to play Dallas Baptist in a game series. This will be the first meeting between both teams since the TCHC Championship game last February.
The Miners will then play SMU on Sunday before heading back to El Paso
Video courtesy UTEP Hockey
After a chilly start to the new season on the road, the UTEP Miners are looking to open their home season with victories this weekend as they take on the Northern Arizona Ice Jacks in a two-game series at the El Paso County Coliseum Events Center, 4100 East Paisano.
The Miners, under coach Tom Herman, are 2-3. They opened the season with losses to Texas A&M and Texas State, but pulled off two wins against Texas Tech this past weekend.
The UTEP Miners Hockey Club is a registered student organization that was formed in 2015.
The team competes in the Texas Collegiate Hockey Conference, which is part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. The TCHC features two divisions and a final championship tournament that comes with an automatic berth into the ACHA Division 2 West Regional.
UTEP competes in the South Division with Texas, Texas A&M and Texas State, while the North Division features Texas Tech, North Texas, TCU and Dallas Baptist.
The games are set for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, and 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14. Tickets are $7 for all seats and are available at the El Paso County Coliseum Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 800-745-3000 and online.
Keep up with the Ice Miners via:
Twitter: @UTEPHockeyClub
Facebook: facebook.com/MinersClubHockey
Instagram: instagram.com/utephockeyclub
Last season the Miners and Aggies split 2-2 overall. To complete the road trip, the Miners will play Texas State (Oct.. 1) in Austin.
UTEP will then head north to the pan handle to face off against Texas Tech (Oct. 6-7). Returning home after two weeks on the road, the Miners will host Northern Arizona University in the the season home opener (Oct. 13-14).
Last season NAU finished #2 in the West Region to earn a bye to the National Tournament. This non-conference home stand will prove to be a big test for the Miners early in the season.
The Miners will open their TCHC home schedule against the Texas A&M Aggies (Oct. 20-21). This will once again be a big test as the Miners and Aggies battled for first place in the TCHC all season long last season.
“It will be an exciting two weeks in El Paso opening up against NAU and then against our TCHC rival Texas A&M. Both weekends will be very competitive and very important to us as a club and our success throughout the season,” comments Coach Herman.
After a two-week home stand, the Miners will head back on the road to face-off against the Dallas Baptist Patriots (Oct. 27-28). The Miners defeated the Patriots in the TCHC playoff final last season 6-0 to be crowned the inaugural TCHC Conference Champions.
The Miners will head back on the road (Nov. 3-4) to Flagstaff to complete their series against the Ice Jacks of NAU.
Following two weeks on the road, the Miners will head home to host Texas Christian University (Nov. 10-11).
This will be the Horned Frogs first trip to the El Paso County Events Center and the fifth meeting between both teams. The Miners are 4-0 against the Frogs over the past two seasons.
The Miners will close out the first half of the season at home against the University of North Texas (Dec. 2-3).
Coach Herman commented, “The first half of the season will be a big test for the club. We play the top team from the North last season in DBU as well as four games against our divisional rival Aggies. And on top of a tough conference schedule the first half, we play four non-conference games against NAU who was ranked in the top 5 the entire season last year.”
To finish their TCHC home schedule in the spring semester, the Miners will host the University of Texas (Jan. 9-10) and Texas State (Jan.20-21). The Miners will also host East Texas Baptist University (Feb. 2-3).
The Miners road schedule will see them in San Diego to play two non-conference games against SDSU (Jan. 12-13), as well as TCHC games against Texas State (Jan. 25) and UT (Jan. 26-27).
UT will host the TCHC Playoff tournament (Feb. 8-10). Following last season’s championship, the Miners will look to head back to the tournament to defend their title.
“Opening up against the NAU Ice Jacks will be a very good test for our club. They were 1 of 2 representatives from the Western Region to automatically qualify for Nationals. Our club knows they will be looking to improve from last year just as much as we are. We played one of our best games last season against them in January. It should make for an exciting opening home stand,” comments Coach Herman.
Last season the Miners hosted the Ice Jacks in their second home weekend of the season. The Miners swept the series with a win on Friday (5-2) and Saturday night (4-2). In late January the Miners met Northern Arizona in a three game matchup. The Miners lost game one (2-0) but swept the rest of the weekend against NAU to cap off the final road trip of the season.
Game time is TBD. The two game series will be played at the El Paso County Events Center.
The Miners finished 7th in the Western Region while NAU finished 2nd, qualifying both teams for post season play at the ACHA Tournament.
El Paso Herald-Post El Paso News & Opinion
