ThunderWolves' playoff chances dwindle with loss to Metro

DENVER, Colo. - Metro State played like a first-place team Tuesday, making quick work of a ThunderWolves team fighting and clawing for every chance they could get in a 3-0 victory.
Tuesday's game, a make-up for a Sunday matchup that was postponed due to a snowstorm, saw the ThunderWolves fall behind early when Metro State's Tyler Hambrick knocked in the game's first goal to take a 1-0 lead.

From there, though, CSU-Pueblo recovered, nearly equaling Metro State in the shots category for the rest of the half. In that time, the Pack got four corner kicks and did their best to get some goals, but unfortunately, their opportunities fizzled away.

"I think we did a good job creating those opportunities in the first half, getting good passes off and being aggressive," Pack coach Roy Stanley said, "but that final pass and final finish just didn't happen."

The ThunderWolves' chances of climbing back into the game went away at the end of the first half, when Metro State added two goals within one minute of each other to close the half and take a 3-0 lead into the break.

In the second half, the ThunderWolves managed to get more opportunities, but again, had trouble closing the deal.

"I think we deserved a goal or two in the second half," Stanley said, "but we just needed someone with that finishing touch. It's hard, because we're doing things right, working our tails off to create chances, but we just can't get that final cross pass to get goal-scoring
opportunities."

The loss leaves the ThunderWolves on the outside looking for a playoff spot, virtually eliminated from contention. The Pack is two games behind Colorado Mines and Regis for the final playoff spot, and would need a host of scenarios to fall into place to make it to the playoffs. The Pack would have to take care of its own business and win its final two games to have any shot at qualifying. Additionally, with Mines and Regis playing each other Friday, the loser of that game would also have to lose its final game. On top of all that, for the ThunderWolves to have a shot of winning the tiebreaker, which is goal-differential in conference games, the gap between the teams must be closed. Currently, CSU-Pueblo has a goal-differential of -4 while Mines and Regis are +11 and +15, respectively.