Hockey club keeps composure, downs Weber
“What a brutal display of athleticism,” senior mechanical engineering and USU hockey fan Mark Hullinger said, echoing the thoughts of the 2,000 plus who were in attendance at the George S. Eccles Ice Center to watch the Aggies beat Weber State University 7-2
Thursday night.
Weber State finished with eight roughing penalties, seven misconduct penalties, two unsportsmanlike penalties and the ejection of two players and a coach.
After a fairly calm first period, things got chaotic in the second period. The climax of the rough play came with 4:53 left in the second period when WSU’s Dan Dixon came bursting off of the Weber bench with his glove off and his middle finger raised at the referees who had just given him a 10-minute misconduct penalty. Dixon was ejected.
“It was a case of Weber State not having anything to play for,” Aggie Head Coach Jerry Crossley said. “This was their last game. That’s why they played the way they did tonight.”
“We play them so much that it’s a real love-hate relationship. You can see by their class,” team captain Paul Amidon said and paused. “They have no class.”
The Aggies didn’t respond to Weber’s dirty play, finishing with only 10 minutes in penalties and one misconduct penalty.
“That’s something that Utah State hasn’t always had,” defenseman Ryan Keys said. “We did a good job of keeping our head tonight.”
USU fans didn’t help matters any, at least not for Weber State. It didn’t take long for the rowdiest fans to discover the best place for heckling at the new Eccles Ice Center is right next to the Weber State penalty box and the path from the ice to the locker room. Some fans were a little too rambunctious, leading to about seven ejections.
Aggie players appreciated the fan support.
“The crowd is like a sixth and seventh man out there,” Aaron Burrell said after scoring three goals for a hat trick in the game. “That kind of fan support makes you check harder, you don’t get tired, it gets your adrenaline pumping. They were great.”
Amidon said, “The crowd was awesome. They were loud, they were rowdy [and] they were hilarious.”
Utah State finished the season with a perfect 7-0 record in their new home.
From here, the Aggies will have a few weeks off before they head to New York to compete for the national championship. The tournament will be held Feb. 27 through March 2.
Their first game will be Feb. 27, at 2 p.m. (MST) against SUNY- Stony Brook.
“I’d just like to thank the fans for their support,” Amidon said. “Now we’re off to New York to represent our school.”
With the victory over WSU, the Aggies capped off on of their most successful regular seasons in club
history.