In a must-win weekend for the hockey team, the DePaul faced off against the top-ranked Aurora Spartans for a home-at-home matchup.

With the postseason just around the corner, DePaul just needs to win one game of their final four matchups remaining to secure a playoff spot in the Northern Collegiate Hockey League playoffs.

“We knew we needed a win and tried the best that we could,” forward Jake Bolger said.

On Friday, the Blue Demons traveled to All Seasons Ice Rink in Naperville, Illinois to begin the weekend against the Spartans. Before the weekend, Aurora, held the top spot in the conference with an overall record of 9-1-1-1. Unfortunately for DePaul, the Spartans’ firepower was too much for them to handle and were swept during the weekend.

The first period showed a hard-hitting but controlled game as the Blue Demons were able to skate off tied at 1-1 after 20 minutes. But for the rest of the game, DePaul was outworked in all aspects of the game and quickly fell apart as time went on, as Aurora scored six unanswered goals throughout the next 20 minutes, making it a 7-2 game.

There was little hope going into the third but with the season on the line, the Blue Demons tried everything they could to get back into the game. Even with one more goal coming from DePaul’s Jack Hemmingway early in the third period, their hopes were too late as the Spartans were able to score five more goals in the period, making it almost impossible to mount a comeback from and officially sealing the game with a 12-3 win.

“This one is a tough one to swallow,” Head Coach Danny Randall said to his team in the locker room after the game.

Saturday’s game followed the same story but this time, both teams traveled to Fifth Third Arena in Chicago, the home of the Blackhawks’ practice facility.

Just 10 hours after Friday’s game ended, the teams faced off once again in what proved to be a one-sided tilt.

Aurora game flying out the gate, netting four goals in the first period compared to the Blue Demons’ lone goal scored by Helf, making it 4-1 after the first.

Although Helf was able to net his second goal of the night just five minutes into the second period, the Spartans intense style of gameplay proved to be too much as they scored five more goals in the second, making it a 9-2 game after two. Helf’s pair of goals proved to be the only ones scored in the game, as Aurora netted two more in the third, officially securing the sweep with an 11-2 victory.

With the Blue Demons final pair of games ahead of them next weekend, the team is in desperation mode to make the playoffs. They still need just one win to punch their ticket to the postseason, and will come at home against the only other team also fighting for their playoff lives, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titans, who sit behind DePaul in the NCHL standings.

The final pair of regular season games will take place at Johnny’s Ice House West on Friday, Feb. 7 at 8:30 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 8, at 3:30 p.m.