COLUMN: Rivalry hits a peak this weekend
It has been a crazy season between the Utah State hockey club and the Provo IceCats.
Two brawls, two USU blowouts, one bloody picture, three BYU letters stating its disgust of USU fans and now two games to decide who goes to nationals and who stays home.
It all started back on Sept. 16 during a preseason game between USU and BYU. USU cleared the puck down to the BYU end and IceCat goalie Tamio Stehrenberger beat Aggie Roberto Leo to the puck and passed it away. But instead of Leo skating around the goalie, he skated through him, landing Stehrenberger on his back.
Needless to stay, mayhem broke out as 11 of the 12 players on the ice were throwing punches, with the first being thrown by Stehrenberger. But after the fight, it was Stehrenberger who came out with blood on his face.
The next time BYU came to Cache Valley, USU fans were armed and ready with signs of the IceCat goalie’s bloody face with the slogan “Fear the True Blue” on them. At first, Stehrenberger thought it was funny, as he held one in his hand as they announced the starting lineups. But he wasn’t laughing after the game started when he was pulled from the game after allowing three goals in 7:12.
The Aggies won that game 12-4, but not after another 11-player brawl. Stehrenberger was brought back into the game late as backup goalie Ben Shapiro wasn’t having any success either.
For reasons still unknown, Aggie Ben Froehle cross-checked Stehrenberger in the back after a whistle blew and knocked him down, causing a small fight to break out with him and two BYU players.
But the next time the puck went into the USU zone, IceCat Derek Stell hit USU goalie Adam Lain in the face as he skated by, and all hell broke lose. All in all, 16 players have been disqualified from games between these teams this season.
After the game, BYU fans were absolutely disgusted with what they described as “obscene” pictures of their goalie being passed out like candy to the USU fans. Letters were written to the Logan Herald-Journal, USU President Kermit Hall and the commissioner of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, which resulted in very strict seating guidelines at the next USU-BYU game in North Logan.
Three weeks ago, the stage was set for a showdown. A week after BYU beat the then-No. 4 San Jose State Spartans 5-4, the Aggies lost to the Spartans 8-0. SJSU then moved to No. 3 in the rankings and BYU closed to within three votes of USU at No. 4. Only the top four teams in the region go to nationals.
And so all bragging rights between the Aggies and IceCats have been put on hold until after this weekend. The teams will play at the Peaks Ice Arena in Provo Friday at 8:15 p.m. and at the Eccles Ice Center in North Logan Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
The winner goes to nationals and the loser has to hear the other cheer about it for another year.
-Bryan Hinton is a Junior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to bhhinton@cc.usu.edu