Aggie hockey aiming for Grand Nationals
The USU hockey team will fight to represent the western region for their bid to the ACHA National Hockey tournament when they play the University of Denver Friday at 8 p.m.
Both Jay McFadden and Mike Daugulis, assistant captains for the team, emphasized one important advantage USU will have – the home ice advantage.
“We want a white-out this weekend at the ice center,” Daugulis said. “We want the fans to wear all white – white shirts, white towels, white hats or whatever. We want the fans to pack this place so there’s standing room only.”
When NHL teams start a playoff run to the Stanley Cup, the white-out is often used. Fans wear white shirts to support their team, and to promote fan unity. The hockey team would love to see this replicated as they start their own playoff run into the national tournament.
“We play a thousand times better here at home,” McFadden said. “It makes you play better when you have the support of the fans. We love our fans.”
USU will go in to this weekend’s regional tournament coming off a 20-1 throttling of the Utes from Salt Lake, and a solid 8-0 victory against the BYU Cougars in Provo.
“It was a great tuneup game heading into this weekend,” said head coach Jon Eccles of the BYU game. “We went down there and took care of business. We responded well to the officiating, didn’t get involved in any altercations, and I was proud of how we handled ourselves. BYU was playing very chippy and taking a lot of cheap shots, but we rose above it and Dan (Cornelius) got the shutout.”
The Aggies used both of these relatively easier games to tune up their passing attack, and to practice a new forechecking system that has been implemented since USU last played Denver and lost 5-1.
“It’s really going to be a tough game this weekend,” Daugulis said. “We have to go into this prepared and focused.”
A forecheck in hockey is analogous to a full-court press in basketball. It’s an offensive system that hockey teams employ to pressure their opponents into making a mistake and keep the puck on the offensive end of the ice. An efficient forechecking system can keep the puck under control, force the opposing defense to make mistakes and overall produce goals. The Aggies will be looking to efficiently execute their newer system against a Denver team that hasn’t seen it very much this season.
Team Captain Jordan Francom said of Denver, “They are much better than an eighth-ranked team. They are fast, well-coached, disciplined. We’re feeling good going in to play them, though.”
Francom, the only member of the team who will not be returning next season, is also the only member of the team to have been to the national hockey tournament previously. He went to nationals in March 2004 in Laurel, Md., and in March 2005 in Oakland, Mich.
“As far as talent goes, there is no team in the league better than us,” Francom said. “If we play as a team and work hard this weekend, we should be punching our ticket to Grand Rapids. The problem with our team this year has been individualism. If we get past that, we should have no problems.”
Eccles agreed with Francom.
“If the Aggies play like they’re capable of playing, no one can stop them,” he said.
Team unity appears to be at a season high, especially after the passing of Greg Fenatti’s mother. Both McFadden and Daugulis said the team was firmly behind Fenatti and his family after his mother’s passing. Eight members of the team were not present at Tuesday’s practice. Those players were in California, Fenatti’s home state, to be with and support the Fenatti family in this difficult time.
“We’re kind of like a family,” Daugulis said. “We don’t know who is going to start in the goal this weekend yet, but we do know that Fenatti has carried the team on his back for most of the year. We’re all going to be playing for Fenatti’s mom.”
The regional tournament is a single elimination bracket tournament. Only four teams from the western region will go to the national tournament, and the top two seeded teams, Colorado State and Weber State, have already earned their bid by virtue of their regional No. 1 and No. 2 rankings. The teams seeded third through tenth will play in Logan Friday and Saturday. The first and second place finishers from this two-day tournament will go to Grand Rapids, Mich., for the national tournament.
Tickets for the entire tournament can be purchased for all games or for specific, individual games. Tickets to all six tournament games will cost $25 per person, while individual games will cost $5 per person. HURD discounts do not apply for these games as they are postseason games.
–la.hem@aggiemail.usu.edu