Seattle to Logan: a tale of two brothers
There are a lot of new faces on Utah State’s club hockey team this year, but two of the new players have known each other for a long time.
In fact, Chris Videto and Aaron Ward have played hockey together near Seattle since their peewee days.
“I’ve known him since like 12 or 13 years old,” Videto said. “We started playing together in youth hockey and he came over to the association that I was at. With the exception of one year, our under 16 year, we’ve pretty much always played together.”
It was almost natural they would both go to the same school to keep playing hockey together.
“We had looked at a couple other schools together,” Ward said. “I had looked at a few separate schools but we looked at a few schools together, including Utah State. We came here and took a visit and we just really liked what we saw.”
Ward and Videto were both aware of Utah State because they both knew former Aggie players Jay McFadden and Matt Ferris, and Ward’s sister attended USU.
“We talked to those two guys that were here and they talked to Jon about us and we talked to Jon at the same time, so it was a little bit of a connection through that,” Videto said.
Both Ward and Videto are appreciative they went to a new school with someone they already knew.
“It’s better that way because if you’re more shy or quiet, it’s easier if you have someone else there that you’ve known all your life,” Ward said.
They also provide moral support for each other as well.
“If you need anything, he’s usually the one to go to if you have a problem,” Videto said. “I’ll usually ask him for just about anything.”
Because they’ve been playing together for so long, they have an understanding of where the other player will be on the ice. There aren’t a lot of chances for them to show this skill off since they play different positions, but they still have their moments on the ice.
“Sometimes you’ll see a glimpse of it,” Ward said. “Like I’ll know he’s at this spot and he’s my go-to guy or something like that in certain situations.”
When they came to Utah State, Videto fit right in to the top offensive line, while Ward had some trouble breaking through the depth at the defense position.
“I got the opportunity to play with Brian Gibbons and Cooper Limb and they’ve kind of helped me step up a little bit,” Videto said.
Videto’s hard-nosed style fits perfectly with skill and finesse Gibbons and Limb bring.
“I think i’m more of a go in, forecheck, throw the body around and go to the net type of player, and I find loose pucks and try to make it hard for the goalie to see,” Videto said.
The trio of Gibbons, Limb and Videto lead the team in points. While Videto has thrived in his role on the top line, Ward started the season slowly but has picked his play up in the second half of the year.
“I had kind of a rough start, but once i got into it, I started to feel good,” Ward said.
The defense is the deepest part of this year’s squad, and Ward had some trouble in the beginning of the year cracking the lineup. Once he started playing consistently, he was able to show what he could do.
“He got the opportunity and took advantage of it, and he’s doing really good,” Videto said. “I knew from the beginning that as soon as he got that shot that he’d be able to take it.”
Ward’s style of play fits in well with the up-tempo pace the Aggies like to play with.
“Everyone tells me I have a lot of speed, so I try to use that and try to be more aggressive that way,” Ward said.
Not only do they fit in well on the ice, but they like Logan and Utah State.
“I love it here,” Videto said. “It’s kind of a small town vibe, but everybody kind of thrives on the hockey team, too, as well as the football and basketball team.”
The sense of familiarity Utah State offers is a positive for Ward.
“It’s a great community,” Ward said. “Unlike other schools where it’s bigger and you don’t get to see a lot of people, you get to see a lot of the same people here.”
Videto and Ward will be playing three games this weekend starting Thursday against the No. 3 ranked Colorado State Rams. All three games start at 7 p.m. at the George S. Eccles Ice Center in North Logan.
– sean.osullivan@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @seansy89