Hockey pummels UMBC in first Nationals game
The Utah State hockey club started off their regional championship action Tuesday night against the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The Aggies came ready to play along with a full force of fans who made the trip to San Jose, Calif., to support their team.
Utah State started the first period well, controlling the puck and playing aggressively in both zones. The Aggies got off to a quick start 2:19 into the first when Joel Basson took a Rylee Orr assist and buried it in the back of the net.
From then on, USU held possession in the offensive zone and stopped the Retrievers in the neutral zone. UMBC’s defense put up a strong fight, only allowing 12 USU shots, but the Aggies continued their control.
Utah State finally got their chance late in the period, scoring on a power play with just 46 seconds left when senior Dave Wyman used the advantage to put USU up 2-0.
The Aggies started the second period with momentum clearly in their favor. USU’s Matt Hamilton scored with 13:54 left to go into the period, making the UMBC goalie pay for a bad rebound. A minute and a half later, USU’s Brandon Macdonald capitalized off the high energy to score with 12:34 to go.
UMBC came back strong, scoring two goals in 40 seconds and showing some fire after the Aggies’ quick goals, making it 4-2.
Utah State goalie Bryce Sherschel stepped up with big saves and the Aggie offense added three goals in two minutes to give USU a five-point lead with 2:52 left in the period.
The Aggie goals from Tyler Mistelbacher, Jeremy Martin and Macdonald jumped started their offense. Basson would add his second goal before the period ended going top-shelf against the UMBC goalie.
Utah State started the third period ready to play and didn’t let their six-goal lead change the intensity of their play. Feeding off the energy of the fans, the Aggies kept the puck out of the Retriever’s zone and continued their aggressive play.
The UMBC Retrievers got their best chance to score when USU’s Alex Lund was called for a hooking penalty 11 minutes into the period. Scherschel made key saves and the Aggie defense used their fast skating to their advantage to kill the penalty.
USU kept UMBC from scoring holding them to zero shots through 18 minutes of the period. The Aggies outscored the Retrievers in the third to end the game 8-2.
The Aggies will play again Wednesday night against the University of Michigan.
– meredith.kinney@aggiemail.usu.edu