Aggie hockey faces LMU Saturday
Utah State Hockey is back at home this weekend after a week away in Arizona. The team traveled to Arizona State University for two games on Oct. 17 and Oct. 18. The Aggies fell to the Sun Devils in both games, losing 5-2 in the first game and 4-1 in the second.
USU will face Loyola Marymount University this Saturday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. This is the second home game of the season and the Aggies are hoping to take advantage of home ice and get back on the winning track.
“The game against LMU should be an exciting one because we are really looking forward to playing in front of our home crowd again,” said center Josh Kerkvliet. “We are also looking to continue our at-home winning streak.”
After two straight losses on the road, USU is ready to get a win. They currently have a 2-6 record.
“When you have a team with as many new faces as we do, there will be a learning curve,” Kerkvliet said. “But we have slowly been putting it all together. This week in practice is the best we have looked all year and we are ready for the home game.”
The team has been spending this week getting prepared and refocused for Saturday’s game.
“This week in practice we did not really do anything different, we have just been working really hard and staying focused and disciplined during practice,” said defender Nathan Cook. “We need to make sure we stay focused during the game and not get caught up in any fights.”
In last year’s game against LMU, the Aggies beat the the Lions 3-1. This year’s game is expected to be a close matchup.
“Depending on how good of a team LMU has this year and how strong they come out, we anticipate it to be a pretty close game, most likely a 2 or 3 goal game,” Cook said.
The team is excited to be back playing for a home crowd in the Eccles Ice Arena and to have the fans on their side.
“We are looking forward to playing at home and to play in that atmosphere again,” Cook said. “Playing in our barn is a little different than other barns because the noise and fans create such an awesome atmosphere to play in.”
Kerkvliet added that this outlook for the season remains positive.
“We are excited for the future, especially this upcoming home game, and want to put on a good show for our fans,” Kerkvliet said.