Where football can’t beat the Utes, hockey sure can
As one-sided as Utah State’s laugher of a victory over the Skating Utes of Utah was, it could have easily been worse for the visitors. The Aggies were short-handed virtually the entire game due to the strict enforcement of new rules, but if they had had five skaters on the ice together for any length of time at all Friday, it’s conceivable they could have scored 30 goals on their hapless opponents.
A sellout crowd at the Eccles Ice Center got their money’s worth of great hockey atmosphere as the Aggies scored early and often. Although it seemed there were one or two Aggies in the penalty box for the entire game, USU’s skaters were able to cover a lot of ice and completely dominate the Utes.
The visitors seemed out of sorts and ill-prepared for the loud, intimidating crowd and the swift USU skaters. The Utes’ ineptitude verged on comical as they spent the better part of the first period tripping over their own equipment and sprawling onto the ice.
One first-period sequence was representative of how totally in control the Ags were: Roberto Leo intercepted a pass and skated the length of the ice with two Utah players draped all over him, chopping at the puck with their sticks. They caused Leo as much bother as a pair of fruitflies at a Sunday brunch. He finished the play by flicking another short-handed, unassisted goal past Utah’s shellshocked goalie, making the score 4-0 inside the first six minutes of play.
USU’s roster is deep – USU Captain Scotty John called it “the deepest team I’ve ever played on” – and loaded with players who have been playing for two or three seasons like John himself, including Robert “Hashi” Hashimoto, William “Swede” Winsa, Leo, Josh Groves, Jordan Francom, Maciej Malicek and goalies Greg Finatti and Scotty Beard.
When John was asked how his team was able to score so many short-handed goals, he replied, “We’ve got a lot of speed and we’ve got tandems that work really well together. Hashi and Swede, Groves and Francom – I mean those guys in pairs are just unbelievable.”
Robert Hashimoto said, “The returning players are the true heart of this team,” but pointed out there are some talented newcomers as well. Hashi singled out Matt Geer and Kent Arsenault as players to watch.
Although Hashi was complimentary of USU’s victim, saying, “They’re a good team. It was the first game and they didn’t know what to expect and I think throughout the year they’re going to get better and better each game,” the truth is the Utes were totally outmatched and Utah State won’t be able to get away with playing short-handed against the better competition.
John said, “This year there’s brand new rules. The NHL went to new rules last year and all the stuff we’ve been doing since we were little kids – the hooks, one hand on a guy – that’s all illegal now.”
The USU Captain said he believes his team will adjust to the new rules over the next few weeks.
“I honestly think that just over the course of this game we really got more disciplined and it’s only going to take three or four more games before we pick that up,” John said.
In the tunnel outside USU’s locker room at the Eccles Ice Arena, John was clearly excited about his team’s prospects for the upcoming season.
“We’re taking it week by week so we just try and win the next game,” he said, “but I think there could be really good things in store for us.”