Aggies split weekend action
The Utah State hockey team lost their first game of the year 6-2 against the University of Utah Utes last weekend.
Aggie head coach Jon Eccles said his skaters may have overlooked the Utes.
“Last night was a wake-up call for us,” Eccles said. “It was just like we came in here thinking, ‘Alright, we should be in first place, just give us the win.'”
The Aggies started out slow and were scored on in the first few minutes, never getting a chance to take the lead. The Utes scored within the first two minutes of all three periods.
“Last night we had no jump, no energy, no one was focused,” said forward Matt Hamilton, the lone senior on this year’s team.
The Aggies tied the game at one apiece on a power-play goal by forward Ian Beckstrom, but the Utes pulled ahead again.
Hamilton scored in the second period to tie the game at two. It was the closest the Aggies came to victory as Utah scored four unanswered goals to win the game.
Although the Aggies lost, they tried to stay positive.
“It was a good loss for us to help us get back on track,” Eccles said.
Utah State bounced back the next night in strong fashion against the Weber State Wildcats, beating them 10-1. This marked the first time this season the Aggies broke into double-digit scoring.
“It’s almost like a different team,” Eccles said. “I was pretty excited how each period we seemed to get better and better and better. We didn’t back off. We kept the intensity up.”
Aggie forward Chris Videto opened the scoring for the Aggies after intercepting a Wildcat pass and taking it in for a breakaway goal. Videto joined Hamilton and forward Cooper Limb as Aggies to score two goals on the night. Also involved in the offensive outburst were forwards Brian Gibbons and Beckstrom. Defensemen Jordan Kerr and Gary Higgs also scored for the Aggies.
This was Kerr’s first game back after serving a one-game suspension for fighting.
“It felt good getting back in the game,” Kerr said. “It’s stressful just sitting there and watching the team play. It’s not fun at all.”
The Aggies were backed by the strong play of goalie Jordan Nighttraveller.
“He knew he was going to start tonight and he was excited,” Eccles said. “I was really hoping for a shutout for him, but that one just trickled through there. He played a great game.”
Nighttraveller saved 30 shots on the night.
Even after a tough loss to a team the Aggies normally dominate, there was still confidence in the locker room.
“It was just big team effort to come back and work hard and play hard,” Kerr said. “I knew we were going to do it, but it was good to see.”
One cause for the drastic turnaround may have been more of a mental change than a scheme change, according to Hamilton.
“We were just way more focused tonight,” Hamilton said. “Tonight we just knew we had to come out and prove a point to everybody.”
The first American Collegiate Hockey Association rankings were released last week. Utah State was ranked first in the West ahead of Colorado State, a team the Aggies have already beaten, and Northern Arizona.
The Aggies take to the ice again this Friday at 7 p.m. against BYU at the George S. Eccles Ice Center in North Logan.
– sean.osullivan@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @seansy89