USU hockey not happy with first half of season
It has been a season of ups and downs for the Utah State hockey club thus far. But only halfway into the season, the team has not lost its focus.
USU will travel to Seattle for games against the Washington Huskies on Friday and Saturday. The Aggies carry a 7-8-1 record into this weekend.
“We should beat [Washington],” said Aggie Robert Hashimoto. “We’re going to finish this semester off strong.”
Goalie Chris Webber thinks this is a key weekend for USU.
“These are must wins,” he said. “If we get these two wins, we’ll be solid.”
The latest polls from the American Collegiate Hockey Association have USU ranked No. 4 in the western region behind Colorado State, Colorado and Southern California. The top four teams at the end of the season go to nationals.
The Aggies dropped two spots from the last poll taken by the ACHA. Many players feel the loss to USC was a big factor in their drop.
“It’s kind of sad [that USU ranks No. 4] because USC is in third,” Hashimoto said. “We played horrible that game [against USC]. We just want a rematch.”
The team is holding itself to a high standard this season, unsatisfied with being ranked No. 4.
“That California team should not be ahead of us,” said Jacob Guttormsen. “They got a lucky game. We played bad. And now knowing that, it’s definitely going to make us play better.”
Webber said, “It hurts, but I think we can pull through it. We can definitely hold this spot and maybe go ahead of USC if we beat San Jose two more times.”
The Aggies have been plagued this semester by injuries to key defensive players. Nate Pierce and Swannie Legree have both been sidelined for the last few weeks, but are expected to return after Christmas.
“The guys we have now can hold their own,” Hashimoto said. “We’ll be fine for now.”
Because of the injuries, the Aggies added Dave Langlois to their roster and moved Roberto Leo to defense until their injured players return.
USU is especially looking forward to the return of Pierce.
“[Pierce’s return] will help us quite a bit,” Guttormsen said. “With the systems that we’re playing and the more people we have back there with skill, then that’s just that much better we’ll be.”
Next weekend, USU will have a home-and-home against the Weber State Division I team. The Aggies lost an exhibition game and a regular season game to the Wildcats by a combined score of 16-3. It will be the final meeting between the two teams this season.
USU will play its first game after Christmas on Jan. 10 against BYU in Provo. The Aggies lost their first meeting in Provo this season in their first loss to BYU in team history. USU will finish its season against the Icecats in Logan on Feb. 20.
USU will play the Weber State Division II team once more on Feb. 7. That will be the last game that matters to the Aggies as far as the rankings are concerned. The final poll only counts games played up to Feb. 8.
-bhhinton@cc.usu.edu
Utah State´s Aaron Burrell moves the puck in a game earlier this year against Weber State in Ogden. (Photo by John Zsiray)