The No. 3 Icecats went up to Colorado this weekend for three games and came down with just one loss, but one lost goalie.

Four minutes into the second period during Saturday's game with Colorado State, Icecat goalie Joel Hilshey went down to make a save and heard a "pop" in his left leg.

"We're not really sure yet, there's no discoloration," Icecat head coach Leo Golembiewski said. "We're hoping it's just a bad pull. It was a great weekend other than that."

Golembiewski said Hilshey has progressed to the point where he can now put weight on his leg. But his status for this weekend's series with Marquette has yet to be determined.

With Hilshey in the lineup on Friday night against Colorado, the Icecats (19-6) prevailed 4-3. A power-play goal in the third period by junior Brian Consolino was the difference.

The Icecats came out on top on Saturday as freshman Eric Holton took over for Hilshey, and the Icecats cruised to an 8-1 victory on the strength of Ryan Rockabrand's hat trick. On Sunday, the Icecats fell behind 3-0 to CSU and never recovered, losing 7-3.

"Any time you have to play three games in two and a half days it puts a lot of pressure on the team," Golembiewski said. "But we scheduled it that way because you have to play four days in a row if you have any chance of being national champion."

The American Collegiate Hockey Association tournament starts Feb. 27 with two wild card games. The remaining eight teams then play round-robin games in two divisions with the top two teams playing for the title Mar. 2.

The Icecats will return home this weekend after a monthlong road trip to face Marquette. Their Thursday practice will be the first in more than three weeks at the Tucson Convention Center.

Both games with Marquette will start at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on KTKT (AM 990).