Aggies send the Pioneers packing, Mulneaux scores his first
LOGAN– “He’s a shorter guy, but he compensates well for it,” said Utah State University coach Sam Lindquist as he described Aggie defenseman Nolan Mulneaux. “He’s quick, he’s strong on the puck and he’s very opportunistic.”
At the 12:34 mark in the second period, that defenseman saw an opportunity and took it. Mulneaux scored his first goal of the season after he intercepted a bad pass by the University of Denver and skated his way into the offensive zone, leaving two Pioneer skaters in his wake. A defenseman poked the puck away from Mulneaux, but Nolan Gifford recovered and attempted a shot that rebounded directly onto the stick of Mulneaux, who buried a backhanded wrist shot into the net. This moment earned him Player of the Game from his teammates.
“It’s good to see him get his first of the season,” Zach Pires said. “For him to get one really fires the bench up, then everyone wants to rally around him. It’s good to see.”
Utah State would go on to win the game very convincingly 5-2. Additional goals were scored by Pires, Brogan Young, Jackson Ferry, and Caleb Sandborn, who scored in the last second of play on an open net.
“I think we tried to even our ups and downs,” Lindquist said. “We just tried to play consistently. I think it was a good response to even out that bad run.”
This win snaps a difficult stretch of play for the Aggies after they lost the last two games in a row at home.
“We took a hard look in the mirror. Losing those last two sucked,” captain Ben Carlson said. “But tonight, we came out with some fire and energy. We weren’t going to lose this one.”
After the loss on Saturday, Carlson said the team needed to be more disciplined outside of the rink. They held a players-only meeting earlier in the week, the details of which are unknown, but it seems the message got through.
“The guys talked this week about what’s needed to win, and I think it’s come together,” coach Olli Jansson said prior the game. “They found a solution.”
The Aggies will be taking on Metropolitan State University of Denver in game two of a triple header weekend. Metro State is currently ranked second in their division. The game will be Friday night at 7 p.m. at the George S. Eccles Ice Arena. The game can also be watched on the Utah State hockey YouTube page.
“We need to clean up our defense,” Pires said. “They have a lot of good offensive guys. If we can lock down the defense and keep scoring goals, we will be okay.”
Carlson said the team needs to work on their passing as well. Poor passing contributed heavily to the recent losses, but the senior is confident this weekend will be good for the team.
“We’ll bring it,” Carlson said. “And we know the Aggie faithful will too.”