OGDEN -- Ogden had an opportunity to clinch a division playoff spot and make up ground on thid-place Cheyenne with a win over the second-place Boulder Bison during their three-game series at the Weber County Ice Sheet.
Boulder had other plans as their quest to catch first place Idaho got a boost with a 12-5, 6-3, and 6-3 sweep of the Mustangs over the weekend.
"When you're going up against a team like Boulder who is probably the second or third best team in the league you need depth," Ogden coach Joe Pfleegor said. "We didn't have that this weekend."
Injuries to key offensive players Lukas Moudry and Greg Gross hurt the Mustangs who stayed close or led up to the third period in each of the three games.
"We just have too many injuries and with a short bench you could see the tank run empty," Pfleegor said.
With a chance to clinch a playoff spot on the line the Mustangs took an early 2-1 lead after the first period on Friday.
Alex Glockner was brilliant between the pipes early on for the Mustangs and stopped 34-of-42 Bison shots on the night.
Things deteriorated for Glockner in the second as Boulder raged back with four unanswered goals that put them up 5-3 before Ogden's Devin Detillieux scored a late period goal pulling the Mustangs to within one.
It was all Boulder in the third period as seven different Bison found the net as Ogden replaced Glockner with Aleski Kiviranta who stopped 12-of-16 shots.
Boulder's Taylor Porrier ended the night with a hat trick and four points while the league scoring leader Chris Guidotti notched six points with a goal and five assists.
Saturday's game saw a nearly identical start as both teams battled to a 2-2 stalemate going into the third period where Boulder again came up big with four goals to finish off their second win off the series.
Guidotti led the Bison offense with four points on a pair of goals and two assists, while Ryan Gauthier logged a trio of assists.
Tensions boiled over eight minutes into the third period as a pair of ferocious fights broke out after a scrum in front of the Ogden net.
Two players from each team were ejected from the game with suspensions from Sunday's game being handed down to Boulder's Josh Rolfe and Ogden's Brenden Kelso.
Ogden immediately went on the power play as Guidotti was sent to the box during the ensuing face-off but Boulder killed their third power play of the game and countered with a trio of goals.
The Mustangs best chance at a win came on Sunday morning as Ogden took a 2-1 lead on goals from Dax Hobbs and Alex Pizzaro in the second period and held it until six minutes into the third when another Boulder frenzy saw three scores in four minutes and a total of five goals in the final period.
Guidotti logged another three assists and a goal ending the weekend with 14 points for the Bison while Taylor Porrier, Jake Bauer and Ryan Gauthier earned two points apiece with a goal and assist each.
Glockner again was brilliant through two periods for Ogden stumbling again in the third as the Bison outshot the Mustangs 52-24.
Ogden will look to punch its ticket to the postseason with a win over Park City on Friday at the Ice Sheet.
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