Loss at Denver ends Hockey season
The USU hockey team fell in regional tournament action against the University of Denver Pioneers, 5-4, Friday night at the Eccles Ice Center.
“They were a good team – they came to play,” said Aggie wingman David Wyman. “It’s tough to go out like that.”
Wyman was one of three Aggies to score on the night. He put in one goal in both the second and the third, and led a tough Aggie forecheck that kept Denver on its heels for most of the night.
However, it is very difficult to come back from a 4-0 deficit in hockey, and that’s what the Aggies, skating without team leader Brian MacDonald, had to deal with Friday.
“We’ve come back from 4-0 deficits before,” said Aggie captain Jordan Francom. “We never got down on ourselves. Sitting there in the penalty box, when that fifth goal was scored, I thought we were going into overtime for sure, but it just didn’t work out that way.”
MacDonald was absent from the game because his father had a stroke earlier in the week. That combined with the passing of Greg Finatti’s mother made life difficult for the team off the ice.
“Brian’s absence was a tough loss to the team,” said head coach Jon Eccles, “but they left it all out on the ice. I’m proud of each and every one of them.”
The first goal of the game came when Denver’s Matt Bonnacorsi was booked to the penalty box for crosschecking at the 9:34 mark. USU took the power play, but it was Denver who would score the goal, not USU.
While under pressure, Denver was able to gain possession of the puck and clear it out of their zone. USU went on the backcheck to recover, and a lone Pioneer, Aaron Shibrowski, applied pressure while the rest of his team stayed in their defensive zone. Shibrowski chased down the puck, took it away from two Aggie linesmen and snuck it in on the right side to get a shorthanded goal for Denver. Then, with 5:27 left in the first, Denver scored again off a rebounding puck that the Pioneers Adam Corbitt punched in for the 2-0 lead. The Pioneers would score two more unanswered goals in the second period to give themselves a 4-0 lead halfway through the game.
Then came the most pivotal moment of the second period. With 12:32 remaining, Denver broke free of the USU forecheck and moved USU onto defense. A lone Aggie stole the puck and outskated two Denver defenders to go one-on-one with Klemens. He took the shot, it bounced off the goalie’s leg pad and crossed the goal line. However, Klemens cleared it out of the goal area with his stick. The horns sounded and the fans went wild, but the game officials did not award the goal to USU because they were not absolutely sure the puck crossed the line.
“It looked like it went in,” Eccles said. “I won’t second guess the officials on that one, though. The refs did a good job, and it’s not like the NHL where you have a camera angle and reviewable plays like in pro sports. You just can’t fault the officials for that.”
USU did not relent despite the call, and it would pay off. Wyman scored his first of two goals at the 11:25 mark in the second off a deflected 25-foot shot by assistant captain Mike Daugulis. The puck fell at his stick, and he punched the puck in through four Pioneer defensemen to get USU on the board.
“It was hard work, and tough without the bounces,” Francom said. “Once that first one popped in, the flood gates opened up.”
Wyman said his team remained calm and focused, despite being down by four halfway through the game. He said he and his team were confident they would work their way back into it.
“We just didn’t hit the panic button,” Wyman said.
A second and third goal followed quickly thereafter. Paul Reinhardt took control of the puck in the low corner on a USU power play, and kicked it back out to Jeremy Martin. From 40 feet out, Martin produced a laser of a shot that found its way past a previously impenetrable Klemens at the 10:13 mark. Billy Gouthro got into the action as well on another power play goal at the 7:16 mark that highlighted USU’s teamwork.
Wyman controlled the puck after Denver’s forecheck collapsed. He advanced with the puck until he was confronted by a defender 13 feet from the goal, then passed it to Daugulis. Daugulis found a streaking Gouthro who placed it in the top right corner of the goal to cut Denver’s lead to one.
The remainder of the game was a stalemate. Both Denver and USU scored once more before the game was over, and Denver advanced to the next round.
The Aggie hockey season is over.
Denver was defeated Saturday night to end their season as well. The teams that will represent the western region at the national tournament are Colorado State and Weber State – both of those by virtue of an automatic bid for placing 1st and 2nd in the regular-season rankings. Also, the University of Colorado and the University of Northern Colorado will go by virtue of winning the regional tournament.
USU split games with CSU and holds a 3-1 regular series season advantage against Weber. USU will play an exhibition game against the Wildcats in Logan Saturday night.
–la.hem@aggiemail.usu.edu