Hockey team hopes to maintain region standing
The Long Beach State 49ers and the Southern California Trojans will face off against the Utah State hockey club this weekend at the Eccles Ice Center in North Logan.
The Aggies hosted the Arizona State Division-I squad Thursday night.
USU has not faced LBSU or USC this season and players said they are expecting hard-fought games from both teams.
“We’re expecting some tough games,” Aggie Jordan Francom said. “These are must wins for us to go to nationals. We’re not looking by them or anything.”
The 49ers come into this weekend with a 4-3 record. LBSU has managed two wins over USC, but notched losses against San Jose State and the Arizona State’s D-III team. They currently rank No. 6 in the West region of the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
USC has struggled through the early part of its season with a 6-8-1 record with losses to LBSU, Cal- Berkeley and UCLA.
The Trojans, who finished No. 4 last season, currently rank No. 7 in the West region.
“USC and Long Beach are going to be tough teams to play,” Aggie Roberto Leo said. “All the California teams are not that bad. They’re getting better and better every year.”
The Aggies lost their only home game against USC last season, which held USU back at No. 4 in the rankings until the final poll was released with the Aggies at No. 3.
Leo said USU cannot assume USC, a team that earned a trip to nationals last season, will play poorly just because of a slow start this year.
“This is where teams can either turn it around or just break down completely,” he said. “You just got to go out and play hard.”
The second conference poll will be released next week and will reflect all games played through this weekend. The Aggies currently rank No. 3 in the West region, holding a slim lead over SJSU. If USU beats both LBSU and USC, it will most likely keep its position. However, if the Aggies lose one of the games, they could drop as low as No. 5, which would not qualify them for the national tournament.
“Hopefully we’ll keep the momentum going from these past games where we played well,” Aggie goalie Adam Lain said.
Lain had a couple of prime performances last week, saving a school record 66 shots last Wednesday against the Weber State D-I team, and saving nearly another 60 shots against the ASU D-I squad last Friday.
He is expected to start at least one game against the California schools.
-bhhinton@cc.usu.edu