GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – In a rematch of the regular season finale six days, top seed and No. 13 nationally-ranked Colorado Mesa nearly duplicated its effort in taking a 23-3 win over No. 4 seed in the RMAC semifinal, ending the Grizzlies' 2023 season at 2-8 overall.
 
The hosts took a 13-2 advantage in the opening period, despite the game's first goal by Travis Brave Heart after taking a feed from Matthew Lash at the 12:42 mark.
 
That's when CMU took over, scoring the next 10 goals to take a commanding 10-1 lead. 
 
Brave Heart stopped the bleeding with a score with 2:34 left, with Lash again earning the assist to make it 10-2, but the Mavericks answered with a 13-0 run to put the game away before a goal by Dawson Balabanoff with 8:33 left in regulation accounted for the game's final tally.
 
Colorado Mesa enjoyed a 48-18 advantage in shots and 53-14 edge in ground balls.
 
The Grizzlies improved both this season's overall and RMAC win totals by one, including a thrilling win over Colorado State Pueblo last month to snap a 10-game losing streak.