Colorado State will take on the defending two-time MDIA national champion UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos on Thursday, February 23rd before doing battle with Division III Whittier on Saturday, February 25th. UCSB has jumped out to a 4-0 start on the season so far, including two 10-9 overtime victories at home against Chapman and Brigham Young University. The Gauchos defeated BYU on Monday by coming back from a four goal deficit in the fourth quarter and kept their three-year home winning streak alive. Since 1999, CSU holds a 4-2 series advantage over UCSB. The series has developed into one of the most competitive rivalries in the MDIA with no game being decided by more than three goals. CSU and UCSB exchanged wins in the 2003 and 2004 national championship games. The Rams won last year's match-up 8-6 at the First Four in Carson, CA.

The Whittier Poets have been one of the premiere Division III teams in the western United States for quite some time. They have reached the NCAA playoffs in three out of the last four years and advanced all the way to the Final Four in 2003. While the Poets have yet to play a game, they will play BYU on Thursday before they face off against the Rams. Saturday's game will mark the first ever time the two teams have played and only the second NCAA team on Colorado State's schedule since Flip Naumburg's arrival as head coach in 1998. Colorado State will take on three Varsity opponents this year as Notre Dame de Namur (Division II) and Colorado College (Division III) are on tap in the next month.

CSU will be led by senior goaltender Pete Jokisch, who returns for his third straight year in charge of the nets. He and fellow senior captains Kellin Bershinsky (defense) and Micahel Murphy (midfield) get ready to kick off the 2006 campaign on the road for the fourth straight time in their career. Junior midfielder Pat Bird is the remaining captain and one of the most dangerous players in the MDIA. All four are hoping to rebound from last year's disappointing end to the season.