Ag hockey lose as Lain saves 66
A school-record 66 saves by Utah State goalie Adam Lain wasn’t enough Wednesday night as the Weber State Division-I team beat the Utah State hockey club 3-0 in North Logan.
Lain broke the previous record of 59 saves held by Josh Groves against the same WSU D-I squad on Dec. 13, 2003.
“It feels good to be playing well again,” Lain said. “I felt like I was on top of my game and made some good one-timer saves and had a good game overall.”
The rest of the Aggies were certainly grateful to Lain for keeping the game close.
“He stood on his head for 60 minutes and kept us in the game,” Aggie Nick Thiros said. “Adam Lain is the star tonight.”
However, Lain credits the Aggie defense for the support they gave him.
“The defense played a lot better than in previous games against these guys,” he said. “It kept the score down for sure.”
USU looked as though it was on top of its game, but couldn’t find the back of the net for the first time this season.
“We were just looking for that tie-up goal and get the momentum and put one away for the win, but it didn’t happen tonight,” USU’s Nick Haase said. “This game could have gone either way.”
The Wildcats, who currently rank as the No. 6 D-I school in the country, scored two goals in the third period to put the game away.
“I think that was the period that we kept the puck in their end the most,” Thiros said.
The Aggies had a 5-3 advantage at one point in the final period but could not put the puck away.
The first WSU goal in the second period was tipped in by the stick of the Aggie’s Scotty John as he deflected a pass in front of the USU net. Lain was not expecting the tip and moved himself to the far side of the net to stop a possible one-timer.
“It was a goal, but it was a mistake that anybody can make,” Haase said.
“I just felt bad for Scotty,” Lain said. “He was blaming himself. That stuff happens.”
USU was also without Roberto Leo, who was home sick with food poisoning.
Leo was replaced by Chad Johnson on the starting line.
“[Leo] is one of the key players,” Thiros said. “Whenever you take a key player out of the lineup, the team loses a little bit.”
USU will play the Arizona State D-I squad Friday and Saturday in Tempe, Ariz. The Sun Devils are currently ranked No. 9 in the country in D-I.
The Ags are positive that they will be in full force against Arizona with Leo back in the game.
“We’re confident that we’re going to play well in Arizona,” Haase said.
-bhhinton@cc.usu.edu