Ags try to forget Vegas
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
That’s what the Utah State hockey team is hoping for, anyway. After losing two games to UNLV and another to BYU – both teams being unranked – the Aggies hope to forget about last weekend’s tournament in America’s playland and get back to playing good hockey.
USU will face the Weber State Division-II squad Friday in Ogden and Saturday in Logan.
“They saw a bad USU last weekend,” Aggie Aaron Shimmel said. “Our heads weren’t in the right place. They’re going to see a new and better USU this weekend.”
Assistant coach Ned Hillyard said the team talked through a lot of issues this week and is ready to play.
“We had a coming-to-Jesus talk,” he said. “Last weekend was the low point of the season. We’re refocused on hockey. We’re going to stop being tourists on the road.”
Goalie Adam Lain said the biggest problems for USU thus far have been a lack of leadership and team chemistry.
“Players need to step up and lead the team,” he said. “The team hasn’t pulled together like we thought it would.”
Hillyard said the problems the team have had haven’t been technical things.
“It’s totally just off-ice issues,” he said. “We have more speed and puck handling skills than ever. We have a lot of talent, it’s just going in different directions.”
Shimmel said after Tuesday’s team meeting that he is confident the Aggies will pull it together.
“I’m feeling better about the team than ever,” he said. “We worked out some issues and we’re feeling really good right now.”
Lain said next semester will be like a whole new season for USU.
“We’re going at it with a new outlook,” he said. “I wouldn’t count us out.”
Hillyard said he is confident that the Aggies will win both games this weekend.
“I’m excited about this weekend,” he said. “I’m not worried.”
He said that even if USU doesn’t win, as long as the team gives its best effort he will be satisfied.
“It gets to that point where you don’t care about the score,” he said. “All you care about is their game and if they give it their all.”
Friday’s game will start at 8:30 p.m. at the Ogden Ice Sheet. Saturday’s game will start at 8 p.m. at the Eccles Ice Arena in North Logan.
-bhhinton@cc.usu.edu