Fort Collins, Colorado- The 8th ranked Colorado State Rams defeated the Wyoming Cowboys Wednesday evening by a score of 16-0.  This score was almost to be expected considering the small size of Wyoming’s program.

“I hope they continue to build,” said Colorado State coach Flip Naumburg.  “It is amazing, however, that teams like Michigan and Wyoming are in the same division because one is nothing remotely like the other.”

It was a good chance to give everyone on Colorado State’s lengthy roster ample playing time and see what they can do in a game.  The two players that stood out the most on the day for the Rams were Jake Flax (Steamboat Springs HS; CO) and Stephen Unkrich (Mountain Vista HS; CO).  Flax led the team in scoring with 9 points total, 5 goals and 4 assists, with Unkrich accumulating 5 points, 3 of which were goals and the other 2 assists.

“I’m proud of the way that Jake Flax played tonight,” commented assistant coach Alex Smith.  “It wasn’t just his points, which were great, but he played the game the right way from start to finish.  It’s nice to see someone who works so hard get rewarded on the score sheet.”

Colorado State controlled the ball for most of the game, and that is evidenced by the game’s stats.  Face-off specialists Pat Miller (Air Academy; CO) and Scott Gelston (Air Academy; CO) were both perfect on the day for face-offs, and Austin Best (Poway HS; CO) and Clayton Wilbanks (Heritage HS; CO) both were successful on their one attempt.  The Rams were also very successful riding the clear against Wyoming, limiting them to only 2 clears on 16 attempts, and they won nearly five times as many groundballs as the Cowboys.

Colorado State’s defense also played a great game, limiting the Cowboys to only one shot.  They made the job easy for backup goalie Andy Flax (Steamboat Springs HS; CO), who played for 3 quarters and didn’t face a single shot.

The Rams’ next game won’t be nearly as easy against an 11th ranked Colorado Buffalo team that will come out fired up and play with an intensity Colorado State will need to match to come away with the victory.  Not only is there the in-state and conference rivalry on the table, but both teams are still fighting for a spot in the MCLA tournament.

This weekend is huge for us in a lot of ways,” said Smith.  “We are on the bubble to get into the tournament right now and a win would go a long way for us.  We’ve had some tough losses to good teams this year and it would be great for our confidence to come out and play a full 60 minutes against CU.  It will take a full game to beat CU because they are playing great right now.”