Hockey likely to go to nationals
The Utah State hockey club swept San Jose State last weekend on a critical road trip for the Aggies.
USU defeated the Spartans 7-6 Friday, and 11-5 on Saturday.
“We came together as a team,” said Aggie Chad Johnson. “We gelled for the first time ever this season. We just dominated.”
Aggie Jacob Guttormsen also thought the weekend went as planned.
“I think the weekend went great,” he said. “We came with a goal and left with success with that goal.”
Aaron Burrell tied the USU record for points in a game with nine, coming from four goals and five assists. He tied Nate Anderson and teammate Robert Hashimoto for the all-time mark.
“Burrell is playing awesome right now,” Guttormsen said. “He was in a little scoring slump for a little bit, but he came out and brought up the team.”
Saturday’s game was also special for goalie Chris Webber, as it was his first appearance in San Jose since playing for the Spartans last season.
“I think I played well,” Webber said. “A lot of old teammates heckled me.”
Webber said he was very disappointed in the officiating for both games, as he felt many penalties that were called against USU should not have been penalties. He also said the fifth goal San Jose scored Saturday was not a goal.
The Aggies had to score five third-period goals to win Friday after they were down 4-2 after the second period.
Johnson said the team was a little tired for the first game after a 15-hour bus ride to San Jose with only an hour or two of sleep before the game.
USU now turns its attention to the University of Colorado. The Buffaloes will come to Cache Valley Friday for a game which will have a significant impact on the final rankings.
The Aggies currently rank fourth in the West Region of Division II while the Buffaloes rank second. USU can likely move into third place with a win over the defending Division II national champions, considering that Southern California, who currently ranks third, will not play Colorado this year.
The top four teams in each region qualify for the national tournament in Laurel, Md., March 3 through 6.
“The win [over San Jose] secured our spot in nationals for sure,” Guttormsen said.
The team is trying to stay focused for its biggest game of the season thus far.
“I think we’re pretty pumped up,” Webber said. “We want to get ourselves in third. It’s going to be a very physical game. We want to make sure our systems are flawless against a team like this.”
Johnson said, “We feel pretty comfortable coming into the game. We should come out on top.”
Guttormsen said, “Colorado is a huge game for us. I think this is going to be the top game of the season. We know we’ll have to bring our ‘A’ game.”
The Aggies will face the Weber State Division II team Saturday for the sixth time this season. USU has won every meeting by a combined score of 35-19.
“You can’t count those guys out because they’re still trying,” Webber said. “We have got to make sure we finish them out.”
-bhhinton@cc.usu.edu