Ags blast Metro State
The USU hockey team defeated the Metro State Roadrunners Saturday night for a second time, triumphing 16-3.
The game started off strong with USU center Billy Gouthro scoring the first point less than three minutes into the game, assisted by left wing Matt Hamilton.
Gouthro and forward Brendan MacDonald both contributed offensively, each obtaining hat tricks in the third period.
Gouthro said a major contributor to the nine goals the team scored in the third period was the effort they have been putting into their power plays lately.
“In every game there’s going to be the situation where you’re playing a man down,” Gouthro said. “It’s what we have to prepare for, and I think it worked out for us tonight.”
MacDonald contributed the number of goals to the team’s ability to improve and play together.
“Even when things weren’t going well, we stuck together as a team and kept at it,” MacDonald said. “I think the boys really stepped it up.”
Gouthro agreed.
“We moved the puck, we communicated and we played well as a team,” Gouthro said.
Although USU played well together, defenseman Mike Daugulis said the team still has some major things to work on.
“It was a good effort but we shouldn’t have given up, allowing Metro the three goals they scored in the third period,” he said. “There was a lack of back checking, and we’re going to need to step it up if we’re going to get wins against better teams.”
Something else the team has been working on is the number of penalties received each game. Saturday night was a goner, with USU skating away with 19 penalties compared to Metro State’s 24.
Daugulis said playing against Metro this week was a lot like last weekend, in regards to penalties.
“It’s always a trippy game when we play Metro,” he said. “But I think our fans help us get into it.”
Daugulis said perhaps the most memorable penalty box visit happened during the third period, when fighting broke out resulting in disqualification of two USU players and two Metro players.
Daugulis, one of the ejected players, described the chaos in detail.
“What started it was (USU wing Kent) Arsenault getting sucker-punched in the face and then several of us jumped in including me, Wyman and I don’t know who else,” Daugulis said.
Daugulis said what really provoked him was when a Metro State player jumped on his back, choking him by pulling on his chin strap. Daugulis proceeded to throw the player to the ice, flipping him on his back, but not even throwing a punch – an action Daugulis said he regrets.
“If I’d have known I was going to get kicked out of the game, I would have thrown a punch,” Daugulis said. “I wish I would’ve. I was disqualified, but I still had both my gloves on. When your teammate gets sucker-punched in the face, you stand up for him.”
Although penalties were popular Saturday, some still feel the team is doing better.
“We still need to work on things before our big games next weekend but I think we have a good chance of being successful,” MacDonald said.
–jodi.burton@aggiemail.usu.edu