Aggie hockey smashes Cougars
The Utah State club hockey team gave rival BYU a wild sendoff from the Eccles Ice Center, demolishing the Cougars 12-0 in the Aggies’ penultimate game of the season.
USU got on the board less than a minute into the game with a goal from Rylee Orr. Fans responded by throwing stuffed animals onto the ice for the team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss. The game was paused while workers removed the stuffed animals from the ice and bagged them up to be donated to hospitals.
“We always love the Teddy Bear Toss,” said USU head coach Jon Eccles. “We’re trying to outdo what we did last year. I think we did over 500 teddy bears or stuffed animals that we’re trying to give to kids in the hospitals, and so it’s always fun. The boys get really excited for it.”
The Aggies manhandled the Cougars in the first period and went into the locker room with a 6-0 lead. Cooper Limb, Stu Hepburn, Andrew Latham, Julian Herrera and Chris Videto scored in the first for USU.
“Tonight I thought we played good,” said Latham, who had two goals on the night. “When you play a team like that it’s tough to come out and stay strong, not get too selfish, but overall I thought we focused on some things we needed to work on and just came out hard and played our game.”
Latham started the scoring in the second period for the Aggies, putting the puck behind BYU goalie Scott Mehr to make it 7-0. USU coasted for the rest of the game, scoring two more goals in the second period and three more in the third.
Aggie goaltender Keegan McHenry had a great night between the pipes, recording 23 saves and the shutout.
“It’s always great to have a shutout,” McHenry said. “It’s one of the best feelings in the world as a goalie. It’s my second one of the year, so I’m feeling really good about it.”
McHenry gave credit to the Aggie defense for his performance.
“My D has been good all year,” he said. “They talk to me, you know, really good communication, really makes my job a lot easier.”
The game got physical toward the end and some punches were thrown. Herrera and BYU’s Mitch Facer spent time in the penalty box after an altercation. Facer would then get five minutes in the box for misconduct.
“Frustration,” Eccles said of BYU’s chippy play toward the end. “I mean, unfortunately, they don’t have a very big team. Their 14 guys, they’re tired. They’re getting hit all over the place. 12-0. They’re trying all they can. They played better the second period and a little bit better the third period, but … I think we got in their heads a little. The pounding and the hitting takes a toll.”
The Aggies return to home ice tomorrow to take on rival Weber State in USU’s regular season finale.
“We really want to end on a good note,” Latham said. “Last one of the season, last one for the fans, so we’re going to come out really hard and try to win it.”
The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:30 p.m. at the Eccles Ice Center in North Logan.
– ej.jungblut@gmail.com
Twitter: @JungblutEric