Game Breakdown

First Quarter

Colorado Mesa drew first blood at 13:49 on a Carson Points goal, but Daxton Jensen answered quickly to tie it at 1-1. The Mavs retook the lead on an Erich Petersen goal assisted by Connor Jensen before Ridge Crouch knotted it again at 2-2. Ari Villano gave Colorado Mesa a 3-2 lead heading into the second.

Second Quarter

Carson Points extended the CMU advantage to 4-2 to open the quarter, but Westminster answered with four straight goals — Kaydin Berry, Luke Sillstrop (assisted by Ryan Pontillo), Owen Estee (assisted by Ridge Crouch), and Cam Conti — to take a 6-4 lead. Colorado Mesa rallied with three consecutive goals of their own, including a man-up tally from Dillon Pless, followed by Connor Jensen and Julius Petersen, to close the half leading 7-6.

Third Quarter

Ridge Crouch, assisted by Theo Le, tied the game at 7-7 just 39 seconds into the third. The teams traded goals — Ari Villano put CMU up 8-7, Theo Le tied it at 8-8, and Carson Points pushed Mesa back ahead 9-8. Westminster then went on a decisive four-goal run: Ben Weber (Ridge Crouch assist), Luke Sillstrop on a man-up opportunity (Duke DeVault assist), Charlie Phelps (George Phelps assist) just 16 seconds later, and Cale Gunter (Owen Estee assist) to open a 12-9 lead. Ari Villano's third goal of the night closed the quarter at 12-10.

Fourth Quarter

Colorado Mesa refused to go away, cutting the deficit to 12-11 on a Jack Cooper goal and tying it at 12-12 on a Connor Jensen goal assisted by Carson Points with 8:37 remaining. Ridge Crouch put Westminster back in front at 13-12 with 7:37 left, but Dillon Pless tied it again at 13-13 with 1:27 to go. The Griffins delivered the decisive blow in the final seconds — Cam Conti scored with 26 seconds remaining, assisted by Theo Le, and Theo Le added the clinching goal with 15 seconds left, assisted by Luke Sillstrop, to seal the 15-13 victory. Le's goal did more than seal the win, moving Westminster into sole possession of first place in the RMAC standings and in position to host the conference tournament in two weeks if the Griffins can win out.

Griffin Performances

Ridge Crouch — 3G, 3A, 8 shots
Cam Conti — 2G, 5 shots
Theo Le — 2G, 2A, 2 shots
Luke Sillstrop — 2G, 1A, 5 shots
Daxton Jensen — 1G, 4 shots
Kaydin Berry — 1G, 3 shots
Charlie Phelps — 1G, 3 shots
Ben Weber — 1G, 2 shots
Cale Gunter, Owen Estee — 1G each
Duke DeVault — 1A, 6 shots
George Phelps, Ryan Pontillo — 1A each 
Christian Jones (GK) — 14 saves, 13 GA (60:00)

Westminster won 20 of 32 face-offs.

Up Next

Westminster improves to 8-4 overall and 7-1 in RMAC play, moving into first place in the conference standings. The Griffins face Adams State on Saturday and end the regular season at home against Northwest Nazarene next week.