USU hockey posts 13-5 goal difference over home-stand
Utah State University’s hockey team competed in a two-game home-stand Nov. 14 and 15, beating Grand Canyon University 9-0 and falling to the Weber State Wildcats 5-4.
The Aggies started out the tilt against the Antelopes with a purpose, scoring the game’s first two goals within the opening six minutes. Bradley Green (assist-Gavin Lubin) and Sean Johnston (Green, Keegan O’brien) netted the opening goals, which amounted to the opening of the floodgates. From that moment on, GCU found themselves chasing the Aggies and struggling to find any offense to counter.
After a short “getting to know you” series between the teams following the goals, USU wasted no time and forward Chris Cutshall scored off a turnover in front of the net to put the team up three goals. It was apparent that the Aggies were not going to let up, fending off the short bursts of offensive chances and physicality the Antelopes brought their way. Before heading to the first intermission, Johnston scored his second goal of the night to put the home team up 4-0.
In such lopsided games, one of the key strategies is to stay focused and not let up, even though the contest seems out of reach. The middle 20 minutes proved to be a challenge for USU in that regard, as the team began to play loose and committed unnecessary penalties. While the players did extend their lead to 6-0 from goals by Johnston and Green, the dominance from the first period all but vanished.
“I thought we took a nap in the second period, only scoring two, and I wanted the guys to pour it on even more,” head coach Todd Renae said.
In the third period, USU returned to its first period form and shut down GCU for the rest of the game. The Aggies played relentlessly and performed more disciplined than they did in the second. Cutshall, O’Brien and Green all notched goals in the final frame to push the lead to a staggering 9-0. “Leading by six going into the third period against GCU, the message was simple: we wanted double digits on the board for scoring,” Renae said.
Though the squad fell one goal short of their mission, the game was still a display of overwhelming offense. Not one to be overlooked, Ethan Wiese had a stellar performance between the pipes, stopping all 44 shots he faced to earn a well-deserved shutout. In one of his few starts of the season, the backup goaltender proved to be a more than capable number two when needed.
After the 9-0 drubbing of the Antelopes, the team played their second game in as many nights on Nov. 15, hosting the Weber State University Wildcats. USU looked to continue their winning ways on what would prove to be a challenging game against a talented Wildcats team.
Photo by Iain Laurence
“They have gotten a lot of good new players and a lot of depth. They are coached well and come to play every night,” Renae said.
The first period started a little slowly for USU, as the Aggies found themselves chasing Weber State up and down the ice. Early turnovers and poor puck management gave the Wildcats time and space to control the flow of the game. Then, after sustaining pressure in the Weber State offensive-zone, the Aggies broke through and forward Tomas Maciunas scored the game’s first goal. But, like a leaky tire, the pressure slowly slipped away from USU and the team found itself making ill-advised plays and committing untimely penalties.
After a dominant series with the extra man advantage, the Wildcats tied the game at one goal a piece off Jeremy Regeon’s stick. Following the goal, the Aggies appeared to use their physicality to jump start the team, but they still looked a little off with the puck. Their fortunes would change momentarily though, with the team taking advantage of a Wildcats interference penalty. USU’s Austin Moser scored a power play goal off the initial faceoff of the power play to put his team up 2-1.
It was after this moment in the period when the Aggies started to show signs of consistency and they took the lead into the locker room heading into the first intermission.
The Aggies started the second period much like they played to begin the first, with the team skating one step behind Weber and gave up scoring chances off poor playmaking. USU did, however, play the body to compensate, leading to an eventual penalty to the Wildcats.
Despite failing to score with the man advantage, the Aggies controlled the puck well and gained momentum which led to a goal after the penalty expired. Fernandez notched the tally off an assist by Gavin Lubin to put the team up 3-1. Unfortunately, that goal proved to be the last bright spot of the period and Weber State stole the show.
Fatigue seemed to be taking over for USU, as the Wildcats out-hustled and out-skated them for the remainder of the middle frame. However, Renae pushed back on the idea of the team being tired and instead pointed to unforced errors.
“I don’t think [fatigue] played a factor against Weber. We made some mental errors that they were able to capitalize on.”
Nevertheless, the Wildcats overwhelmed the Aggies, scoring three unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead heading into the second intermission.
USU was determined to right the ship in the third period and Weber State was equally determined to keep them at bay. Unfortunately for the Aggies, the Wildcats began the period with better puck management and picked up a goal to extend their lead to 5-3. Things seemed to unravel for the home team, as a parade to the penalty box hurt any chances of putting together any sustained offense.
“Penalties killed us against Weber,” Renae said. “Weber is a team that can only score off the rush or on the powerplay. It was evident last night; Weber had a powerplay goal and all others came off of the rush.”
Despite the score and the uneven play from both teams, the game was hardly over and USU showed enough resilience to start climbing their way out of the self-induced hole. Physical play and pressure on Weber’s goalie proved to be a recipe for success, as Austin Moser scored to bring the Aggies within a goal. A late-game push in the final two minutes had the Wildcats on their heels and USU seemed to be getting closer to tying the game. However, Weber State held down the fort and escaped the game with a 5-4 victory.
After a weekend that proved to be a tale of two hockey games, Utah State stays in Logan to host the annual “Beehive Showcase” Nov. 21-24. The Aggies begin the event on Thursday, facing off against the Northern Arizona University Ice Jacks at 7p.m. in the George S. Eccles Ice Center.