Hockey remains perfect, pounds WSU
Just three games into the season, Brian Gibbons has already made a name for himself on a young Utah State hockey team.
“I feel great,” Gibbons said. “The guys are awesome.”
The forward tallied his second four-goal game of the season, in an 11-2 Aggie win over Weber State University, Friday night. After a scoreless first period, Gibbons rebounded and added two goals in each of the subsequent periods to lead the Aggies to victory.
“I’m feeling good,” Gibbons said. “You can’t not feel good after a big win like that.”
Also finding the net for the Aggies was Tyler Mistelbacher, who had three goals, for his second consecutive hat-trick.
“I thought the players all did well,” USU head coach Jon Eccles said. “They all played hard.”
Mistelbacher skated into a groove early with the help of some strong stick work, when he placed the puck past Wildcat goaltender Jonas Torgenson, just 24 seconds into the game.
The Wildcats found the back of the net three minutes later, after USU’s Brendan MacDonald got caught with a tripping penalty, which put Weber on the power play. Jordan Fass got the power-play goal for the Wildcats with a well-placed shot against USU goaltender Alessandro Mullane.
Jordan Kerr broke through for the Aggies, when he and fellow defenseman Ty Johns caught Weber State in a bad line change and made the Wildcats pay. Kerr took the assist from Johns and found the back of the net with virtually no Weber defense to stop him.
Billy Gouthro and Joel Basson scored for Utah State, and Mistelbacher added his second goal of the night on a USU power play, to give the Aggies a 5-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
The Aggies struggled in the second period, when play against the in-state rivals got chippy. Utah State was shorthanded for much of the period but still outscored the Wildcats 3-0.
“We kept our composure very well,” Eccles said. “Except during that second period where we got into some bad blood.”
Brian Gibbons’ two goals on the period were split up by a bullet from Cooper Limb, who scored for his third goal of the season.
If the second period was characterized by USU penalty minutes, the third was characterized by the lack of penalties. The Aggies didn’t receive a single penalty in the final period.
“We settled down and got focused,” Eccles said. “We went out and played hockey.”
Mistelbacher found a hole for his hat-trick goal, early on, after a frustrating second period in which he failed to complete four fast break opportunities. The forward scored, 23 seconds into the period, to send a flurry of hats to the ice.
“I missed a lot tonight,” Mistelbacher said. “You can always get better.”
Weber State found its last bit of offense when Braxton Green scored, but two goals from Gibbons on the period — first at 3:01 for the hat-trick and then, again, going top shelf against Wildcat goaltender Craig Peterson — closed out the 11-2 victory for the Aggies.
Mullane played well in goal, making 33 saves and only allowing two goals in his first start as an Aggie.
USU heads out on the road next weekend where they’ll take on Weber State, again, in Ogden, Utah, Sept. 30.
– meredith.kinney@aggiemail.usu.edu