Aggies annihilate hapless Utes 20-0
Twenty-four hours after extinguishing a good Long Beach State team’s hopes and dreams with a three-goal second period, the Utah State Aggies set an all-time record for dominance in a 20-0 massacre of the University of Utah.
Long Beach State:
Robert “Hashi” Hashimoto had four assists and Kent Arsenault got the hat trick as USU used a physical approach on defense to down Long Beach State 6-2 Friday night.
USU took a 1-0 lead in the first period when Arsenault got an assist from his line-mates Hashi and Will “Swede” Winsa, and buried the puck behind LBSU’s Frankie Mitrono.
“We all believe that tonight was our worst first period of the season,” Hashi said. We were up one to nothing, but believe me, that was slow. We were able to pick it up in the second and third periods. The coaching staff was intense in the locker room and that helped a lot.”
The Aggies came out a step slow in the second period and the 49ers scored twice in the 17th minute to go up 2-1. Joe Nalley scored short-handed and Brian Horwitz scored on a power play for the other 49er goal.
Falling behind seemed to galvanize the Ags and they dominated the remainder of the game.
“It was a letdown for a couple of shifts and got them back in the game,” said USU goalie Greg Finatti, who was brilliant in goal.
With 12:51 to go in the second period, USU Coach Jerry Crossley had the line of Winsa, Hashi and Arsenault on the ice and Arsenault confounded Mitrono again for the equalizer.
“Hashi is one of a kind as a hockey player. I’ve never really played with a guy so fast,” Arsenault said of the senior, who assisted each of his three goals.
Long Beach seemed to be reeling and hanging on the ropes while USU was energized, and with 7:23 remaining in the second period, Winsa put the Ags up for good, again on a Hashi assist.
“We’ve got scorers out there, we’ve got Swede and Kent. They’re snipers and tonight was just my night to be the playmaker. I like to fill that role,” Hashi said.
Later in the second, Aaron Schimmel made the lead 4-2. After Arsenault completed his hat trick and put the Niners away, 5-2, the rest of the game was marked by Long Beach State’s frustration. First Sean Hoang got into a shoving match with Arsenault and was sent to the box for misconduct.
Then, with 1:01 left to play, LBSU’s Mike Weber provoked Utah State defender Jordan Francom by hooking him and the two grappled. The fight was quickly broken up after Francom tackled Weber to the ice and both players were ejected for fisticuffs.
University of Utah:
The only way for Utah State to top the previous night’s win over an undefeated opponent was for the Aggies to set an all-time record, scoring an astonishing 20 goals on the hapless Utes, who were previously slaughtered 18-3 in Logan.
Scotty Beard got the start in goal for USU and made great saves when Utah managed a rare shot on goal, preserving the shutout win.
“It was the second game against them and we knew we had to come out hard and get that goose-egg,” Roberto Leo said. “We wanted that zero more than anything.”
Leo was one of three Aggies to get a hat trick, scoring four goals. He joined Kent Arsenault, Hashimoto and Brandon Latham in performing the feat. Hashi had four assists to go with his four goals and Winsa had three assists.
“This team is amazing,” team captain Scotty John said. “I can’t say enough about the guys in this group. It’s early in the season but there are better things to come.”
It is not an exaggeration to say that USU controlled the hockey puck for virtually the entire game. Utah seemed utterly impotent in every phase of the game as they struggled to clear the puck out of their zone and allowed their goalie, BJ Hepworth, to be shelled with 70 shots on goal.
“We thought about [scoring 20 goals] the last time we played them and just missed it,” Leo said. “This time that was a team goal. Coach has been pushing team goals for this game and we went out and did it.”
Leo was also part of a cohesive defensive effort that challenged every move the Utes made and was effective at killing penalties.
Utah’s best chance to get on the scoreboard came when they were awarded a penalty shot in the second period. But Beard, who said he was never nervous, stopped the puck cold and kept the Aggie dominance complete.
With 36 seconds left in the game, rookie Michael Filander bewildered Hepworth for the historic 20th goal, Filander’s second.
Speaking about the significance of the win, John said, “We’ve led in the first period of all those games we lost. We gave up the lead. This proves that we can lead and bear down on the team we’re playing and finish them off.”
The anchor of USU’s defense, Beard, said, “Our defense stepped it up. We had a team goal not to let any odd-man rushes go and that’s what they did and that’s how they won the game.”
Utah State also improved in the area of penalties. In a marked contrast to the last Utah game, where USU scored the majority of their goals short-handed, the Ags were only penalized with 18 minutes and 23 seconds in the box.
“Every ref calls games differently, but we’ve been able to recognize what ref’s are calling and try and stay out of trouble in that department,” John said. “Guys have been doing really well and we’re also killing penalties when we get them.”
Other Aggies to score on Utah were Jay McFadden (1), JK Froemming (2) and Walter Voisard (1).
-graham@cc.usu.edu