MATT HEISTAND/Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior center Kyle Neary threads three defenders en route to the puck earlier this season at the Tucson Convention Center. The Icecats split a pair of weekend matchups against Colorado in Boulder.

The only thing that could have made the Icecats' recent road trip to Colorado any longer would have been to return home without a victory.

Fortunately for UA, they regrouped from a 4-1 loss Friday night to get revenge on Colorado 5-2 on Saturday and make the 16-hour trek back to Tucson a little easier.

The weekend split was the final series of the season that will affect UA's seed for the upcoming American Collegiate Hockey Association national tournament in March.

The No. 11 Icecats (20-4-1) have likely cemented their position for the tournament and will host their rivals Arizona State during the last warm-up for nationals, which begin Feb. 23.

This past weekend, the Icecats arrived in Boulder only a couple of hours before they headed to the arena for Friday night's matchup, and the "bus lag" showed.

In what head coach Leo Golembiewski dubbed an "ugly performance," the Icecats were outshot 28-18 and surrendered four unanswered goals in the 4-1 defeat.

"We came out sluggish, and I think we just had a natural letdown after earning the berth (last weekend) in nationals," Golembiewski said.

Unable to generate a consistent transitional game on the Buffaloes' smaller ice surface, UA was promptly handed its first road loss in eight games this season.

The victory was also Colorado's first against the Icecats in nearly 10 years.

"These were certainly big games for (Colorado)," Golembiewski said. "They were a lot stronger than when we met them in November."

The entire UA coaching staff did everything to ensure they would not lose twice to the Buffaloes in the same decade, let alone the same weekend.

"Saturday night before the game we talked about what we didn't do the night before, and the way we came back was really heartening," Golembiewski said.

When things got underway during Saturday's rematch, however, the Icecats looked like they were going to fall flat on their faces for the second night in a row.

With backup goalie freshman Rick Karasch between the pipes for UA, the Buffaloes were helped to a quick two-goal lead thanks to a couple of fortunate bounces.

After a shot from the outside found its way into the net, another puck bounced off an Icecat defenseman's knee and trickled behind the freshman goalie just three minutes into the contest.

To settle things down, Golembiewski put in his starter - freshman goalie Bryan Aronchick - and the Icecats were finally able to get into their flow for the first time of the weekend.

Playing on the first line in the absence of senior co-captain Kevin Meehan, freshman left wing Nick Woods cut the Buffaloes' lead to 2-1 after one period of play.

The Icecats picked up their intensity over the final two periods of the weekend and outshot the home team by a combined 34-10 - including four more unanswered tallies.

Senior forward Pavel Jandura and senior defenseman John Saunders found the net for two of the Icecats goals, as did junior center Dave Loftus.

Freshman left wing Shaun Brooks also rekindled his scoring touch with a goal after struggling offensively at times during the last month.

Golembiewski has pointed at Loftus and senior co-captain Kyle Neary all season long as his team's catalysts, and the junior center felt that this weekend's turnaround might have been due in part to an unexpected group of Icecats supporters that arrived just prior to UA's turnaround.

"We had a lot of fans come at the beginning of the second period Saturday, and I think that really helped us," Loftus said of the group of about 20-30 rowdy UA alumni. "We realized that we were the more talented team and were able to take control of the game."

As the Icecats prepare themselves for the final series of the regular season, they expect a very welcome addition to be back on the ice this week for the first time since early January.

After a small tear was successfully removed from his knee two weeks ago, Kevin Meehan will return to practice with the Icecats today and likely rejoin his teammates for senior weekend against Arizona State.

The prospective return will reunite the Icecats' top line of Meehan, Neary and Loftus, and re-establish the head of UA's offensive attack.

"It will mean a lot (to have Kevin back)," Loftus said. "We've had three different wingers, and we haven't had a chance to get settled, so it will be a great help."