The UNM Ice Wolves ended the fall with their first two wins against the visiting Northern Arizona Ice Jacks.
Friday night's game was a 6-4 nail-biter at Outpost Ice Arena.
Saturday, UNM's blowout win against the Jacks 7-0 at Blades Ice Arena was the complete reverse.
The wins weren't the only firsts for the Ice Wolves. Assistant coach Nick Hoffman got his first two wins as a coach, filling in for head coach Dwight Stockham, who was out of town.
Goalie Matt McMaster also had his first shutout of the year Saturday night.
"It was a great game and a long time coming," McMaster said of his performance.
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NAU came into Friday's game on a tear with a 7-2 record on the season, a stark contrast to UNM's 0-7 mark.
UNM came out strong on Friday in front of a substantial crowd at Outpost Ice Arena. Putting early pressure on the NAU goalie and drawing penalties seemed to be the strategy, and the Wolves cashed in two early power plays for goals by Ian McMaster and Mike Villareal.
Things settled down as the game wore on, and the Ice Jacks battled back to tie it at two early in the second period. The rest of the period was a back-and-fourth battle as both teams amassed more than 10 shots in the period. UNM's Jason Schulz and Billy Cottle scored to help the Ice Wolves maintain a 4-3 lead at the end of two.
UNM turned the jets back on in the third, forcing the Ice Jacks to commit penalties to slow the attack once again. Villareal's second goal of the game gave the Wolves a two-goal lead with 15 minutes to play. Each team would tack up one more, but in the end, NAU fell short.
"Friday was a good game," Hoffman said. "I think it finally got us over the hump. This is a good team that improves every time they touch the ice. It's good to see them get that first win."
Saturday's game in Rio Rancho drew a much smaller crowd, but the Wolves didn't seem to mind.
"This was an awesome game," senior defenseman Ben Njus said after the game. "The team is really playing together. It should really build our confidence for the spring."
The story of the game was UNM's all-around play as they outshot NAU 49-23. The Wolves started off strong with an early goal by Edgar Solis, which would prove to be all they needed. Matt McMaster stopped all 23 NAU shots, including at least six point-blank chances.
The Wolves now head home to have the holidays off before returning to the Ice in January.
