Aztec ice men pin a shocker on No. 2 UNLV with 3-2 loss

The San Diego State University men’s ice hockey team may be just 1-7 to start the 2026-27 ACHA season but an asterisk certainly has to be placed beside it.

The Aztecs took on the UNLV Skating Rebels in an Oct. 9 non-conference contest at the City National Arena. The Skatin’ Rebels need no introduction after winning the ACHA Division I national championship in 2024 and advancing to the 2025 semifinals.

UNLV defeated SDSU last season by an 11-0 score. It wasn’t close.

Some may have expected another blowout but that was not the case at all as the Skating Rebels had to work hard to record a gritty come-from-behind 3-2 victory in what was their season home opener.

No. 2 UNLV defeated host Arizona State by scores of 5-1 and 3-0 to face off the new ice campaign on Oct. 1. SDSU’s lone win on the season was at ASU on Sept. 11 by a score of 3-2.

“The guys put three good periods together for sure,” SDSU head coach Dean Wilson said in regard to his team’s landmark effort. “They worked hard, deliberate, blocking shots, getting the puck out. We didn’t have a bad period. They out-shot us but we kept them from getting second and third chances.”

This season’s UNLV team features 16 returning players, highlighted by team captain Dillon Kuntz on defense, and 11 newcomers.

SDSU’s upset win at ASU featured goals from Mason Brown, Cameron Ferraz and Patrick Fast, backed by stellar goaltending from Brody Hsiao (60 saves).

The Aztecs were convincingly out-shot in each period against the Skatin’ Rebels but did not collapse. SDSU stayed close on the scoreboard by limiting UNLV to one goal in each period.

Mason Kelly opened scoring for the hosts with a shorthanded goal 5:23 into the contest, assisted by Ryan Winklebleck.

The Aztecs manged to solve the Skatin’ Rebels’ defense for a goal in each of the opening two stanzas. Newcomer Cameron Stangl scored a power play goal at 5:55 (just 32 seconds later) to tie the score, 1-1. Braden Mayer and Zac Casinghino drew the assists.

UNLV held the advantage 21-5 in shots. Hsiao made 20 saves to keep the Aztecs in the game.

Fast scored the jump goal in the second period, scoring at the 5:57 mark off passes from Kolby Hennessy and Brown.

SDSU nearly kept the lead through the middle period before Alex Lunski knotted the score, 2-2, at 14:54, assisted by Mario Dimaggio. The hosts held a 16-2 advantage in shots in the period. However, despite being out-shot 37-7 through 40 minutes (with 35 saves from Hsiao), the Aztecs were still clinging to a 2-2 standoff against one of the elite Division I teams in the nation.

The third period featured a 24-2 edge in shots by the Skatin’ Rebels. But Hsaio was like a vacuum cleaner in the crease, allowing only one puck to get behind him. Oliver Band scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at 7:49, unassisted.

Hsaio (1-3) finished the game with 58 saves as the final shot count read 61-9. Owen Zenone was credited with seven saves for UNLV, which improved to 3-0 on the season.

Of note, Zenone stopped a breakaway by Brown in the final four minutes to prevent the visitors from tying the score. The puck deflected off Zenone’s shoulder and jersey.

It was ever so close.

“It was a great game, our goalie Brody stood on his head all game for us,” Wilson said. “It came down to the wire at the end and Mason Brown got robbed by the goalie’s jersey on a breakaway that would’ve tied it up.”

The Skatin’ Rebels won the rematch on Oct. 10 by a score of 12-1 as UNLV’s firepower was showcased. The winners piled up a 66-16 shot tally but it wasn’t a blowout on the scoreboard, at least initially. The Skatin’ Rebels led 1-0 on a first-period goal by Gaige Giblin after a 24-4 shot barrage.

SDSU closed down the shots in the second period — 16 to 8 for the hosts — before allowing four goals for a 5-0 deficit. UNLV out-shot the Aztecs 26-4 in the third period while scoring seven times for the 11-goal victory. Deven Nagra recorded a hat trick.

“The next day we were just drained physically,” Wilson said. “We gave up seven goals in the third period. But I’m proud of them.”

The Skatin’ Rebels improved to 4-0 but were frustrated by the SDSU goaltending tandem of Hsiao and Liam Dee for the most part. Dee (0-4) finished the rematch with 54 saves.

Casinghino scored the Aztecs’ lone goal at 7:33 of the third period on a power play, assisted by Mayer and Brandon Grant). The goal, the first of the season for Casinghino, made the score 6-1.

Casinghino finished the two games in Las Vegas with a goal and assist while Mayer collected  two assists.

Jimmy Mologousis stopped 15 of the 16 shots he faced in the UNLV net. The Skatin Rebels were 2-for-6 on the power play while SDSU was 1-for-7.

The Aztecs host the University of Oregon Oct. 30-31. The Oct. 30 contest is slated for a 7:30 p.m. face-off while the Halloween encounter is set for a 5 p.m. puck drop.