Aggies face rival Weber State twice
Since starting the season 3-5, the Weber State University men’s hockey club has been on a tear as of late – going 20-3-1 from November on – and is confident it can improve on last season’s third-place finish at the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Division II National Championships and win the entire thing.
The USU hockey club would like to give Weber a rude awakening.
The two arch rivals will meet again in a home-and-home doubleheader at the Weber County Ice Sheet, with the Aggies on the road Friday and hosting the Wildcats Saturday. Both games will start at 8:30 p.m.
“They really don’t have a weakness,” said forward Kelly Froerer. “They have a lot of players that can score, but they can be beat.”
Despite the Wildcats’ dominant play as of late, the Aggies are motivated to play a team both Kelly and Ryan Froerer called their biggest rivals. Although USU is 0-2-1 against the Wildcats this season – their most recent game, Dec. 9 last year, was a 4-1 setback – all three games have been hard-fought, close games. WSU has never swept the Aggies, which will give the Aggies plenty of additional motivation going into Friday’s game, Froerer said.
One of the biggest reasons the Wildcats have been successful in recent years is their ability to recruit players from outside the state of Utah, Ryan Froerer said.
“Their coach does a lot of recruiting from out of state,” he said. “Their players get their buddies to come play, as well.”
When asked what the Aggies can do to get the Wildcats out of rhythm, Kelly Froerer said USU needs to be physical. He said WSU is a finesse team that plays solid hockey on both sides of the puck, but has been known to become unnerved when playing physical teams.
According to Ryan Froerer, when the Aggies play a team like the Wildcats, determination will most likely be the deciding factor. A victory or two over the Wildcats would be a huge confidence boost going into the RMCHA playoffs.
“More than anything, we need to play with a lot of determination,” he said.