USU knocks out Idaho State at the first home game of the season
On Sept. 30, USU’s club hockey team went up against Idaho State in a barn burner of a game. At their first home game of the 2023 season, USU wowed the fans with assists, goals, teamwork and sportsmanship.
Senior forward Sean Johnston scored the first goal of the game with an assist from Ben Carlson, senior forward, and Caleb Sanborn, freshman forward. Within the first three minutes of the game, the team brought the score up to 3-0.
Most of the action in the first quarter was with Idaho’s goalie, with USU continuously taking the shots that raised the scoreboard. With 1:06 left in the first quarter, Alec Moser, senior forward, and Tate Jenson, freshman defenseman, assisted Dillon Hale, junior forward, to score the last goal of the first period, bringing the scoreboard up to 8-0.
Idaho came back from the first period by scoring the first goal of the second period. Johnston kept the team’s lead up with assists from Carlson and Sanborn, leaving the score at 9-1.
With 10:03 left in the second period, senior forward Sam Voss raised the score to 11-1, both goals within two minutes of each other.
With USU in the lead on the scoreboard, people started to turn their heads toward other action on the ice.
Hockey is known for its physicality, and this game certainly gave the new crowd members a taste of what that looks like.
“I think this game was pretty physical. Once you’re up by a lot of other goals, it is typical for the team to focus more on hitting than scoring,” said senior defenseman Trace Farr.
“My favorite part about the hockey games are the fights — it adds intensity and makes things more exciting,” said local fan Todd Checkette.
Referees break up a fight on the ice rink at George S. Eccles Ice Center on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2023.
With three different fights throughout the entire game, fans were able to get a glimpse of what’s to come in the future, especially at more intense games.
“Weber is a team that hits a ton, and that game is by far one of the best games we will play,” Farr said.
The second period ended with perseverance from Moser, who didn’t take much time to get up after an injury. His example of determination didn’t go unnoticed by the fans.
Ben Tschida, freshman forward, took no time to continue USU’s growing score. With only 43 seconds into the third period and a stellar assist from Josh Girard, freshman defenseman, the score went up to 13-1.
The team didn’t just continue to play with great skills and teamwork, but they also showed great sportsmanship.
“What I really liked to see from my team today was that they played the game. I’ve seen other teams play down to their opponents, but our boys continued to play hard and fast,” coach Rob Girard said.
“I think one of the most important things our team does is taking the time we have to stay locked in mentally so we don’t fall behind when we are at an advantage,” said freshman goalie Kale Samuels.
With 20 seconds left in the last period, junior forward George Kuehn scored the last goal of the game with assists from Josh Girard and Mason Mulneaux, granting USU a win of 18-1.
After a significant win in their season opener, the Aggies are hopeful the team will make its way to nationals.
“Our number one goal as a team is to get an auto-bid to nationals and then do our best when we get there,” Farr said.
“We’ve been focusing a lot on locking down our power plays during practice and hopefully that will help us reach our team goals,” Samuels said.
“My mantra for coaching is, ‘play hard, play fast, play right,’ and that’s what we hope to do this season. We’re really working on finishing by scoring a higher goal ratio compared to the shots we make,” Rob Girard said.
Fans are expecting to see USU at nationals this year and are hopeful they will own the ice up there too. But there are still so many other things to look forward to before then. Each game comes with its favorite moments.
“A couple of the new guys scored their first goal for USU today,” Farr said.
Tate Jenson, freshman defenseman, and Josh Girard scored their first goal for USU, marking one of the top moments in today’s game.
Hockey hits the ice again on Oct. 5 against Montana State. But according to Coach Girard and most players, the most anticipated game of the season is against Weber State on Oct. 27, and fans should prepare to be entertained.