Seniors put everything on the line in regional match
After a grueling hockey season, the No. 6-ranked USU Aggies will be playing the most important game of their lives this weekend, against No. 7 University of Southern California on Friday at 8 p.m in the Eccles Ice Arena.
If the top-seeded teams all win their games on Friday, USU will be matched up against the Colorado Buffaloes Saturday for the third time this year. If any of the lower seeded teams – BYU, Long Beach or Oregon – pull an upset, the teams will be reseeded for Saturday’s games.
Team Captains Scotty John and Robert Hashimoto both talked about the incredible urgency of playoff hockey. If the Aggies win twice, they are going to nationals in Colorado Springs to try and make history. If they slip up, the season will end with the team regretting what could have been.
“This is elimination hockey. There is no room for error,” John said. “We can’t lose. Guys are going to be as jacked as they’ve ever been.”
For seniors like Hashi, Roberto Leo and Josh Groves, who have meant everything to the program in their time here, this is the last chance to prove themselves on the national stage.
John said he thinks the seniors will rise to the challenge.
“I liken it to [my] sophomore year when it was [Aaron] Burrell and [Nick] Thiros’ last year,” he said. “We were seeded sixth going into nationals, and the amount of urgency those two seniors played with was enough to put us at fourth in the nation. I foresee Hashi, Berto and Groves stepping up.”
Several players’ parents are flying in to Logan to watch the Aggies battle it out with the Trojans, a game Hashi said will be intense and emotional.
“This is my last chance to get to nationals, so these two games are very important to me and to a lot of seniors,” Hashi said.
The third-seeded Buffaloes and fourth-seeded Spartans of San Jose State have to be the favorites to emerge from regionals holding the golden tickets to nationals. But fifth-seeded Denver University is a powerhouse as well, and John called No. 9 Oregon a sleeper team.
If other teams are counting USU out based on the Aggies’ poor performance against lowly BYU last week, or the two beatings San Jose put on the Ags, they are in for a rude surprise. USU has been a different team on home ice all year, and the guys know how to flip the switch and play USU hockey when it matters the most.
John said USU has a statistical scouting report on the Trojans, but having not played them yet this season means the Aggies will have to “feel them out a little bit in the first period to see what kind of style they play.”
Ultimately it doesn’t matter to the Aggies who the opponent is when they have to win no matter what.
“We prepare for every game the same way,” John said. “We plan on wearing them down by being real physical. That’s the best strategy going into playoff hockey, physicality.”
Home ice doesn’t mean anything if no fans show up, so both captains said they are hoping to see the bleachers packed with screaming fans clad in Aggie Blue and Fighting White.
“It would mean a lot to a lot of the guys,” Hashi said. “Having a big crowd on Friday night would boost our confidence and our spirits. The fans will definitely help us out. Our crowd is basically our seventh man on the ice, so we need them to be there to help us out in beating USC.”
Friday’s action kicks off at 11 a.m. with a matchup between No. 3 Colorado and No. 10 BYU. Although one game going into overtime could create a domino effect which would see hockey played at the “Ec” well past midnight, No. 5 Denver and No. 8 Long Beach are currently scheduled to play at 2 p.m. At 5 p.m. San Jose State and Oregon will play, a game both Hashi and John picked as a possible upset. Then at 8 p.m. the puck will drop with USU’s season, and the senior class’ legacy on the line.
Single game tickets are available for $5, and tournament passes are $20.
-graham@cc.usu.edu