USU Men’s Hockey score eight times, defeating Lake Region

The Utah State hockey team played Lake Region on Saturday, Oct. 12, and USU emerged victorious 8-1. 

The Aggies took the ice in pink jerseys and wasted no time filling the stat sheet. A little more than a minute into the game, Dylan Harbour opened the scoring off a beautiful deke move to give the Aggies a first period advantage.  

USU maintained the offensive pressure the entire first period. However, strong goaltending from Lake Region goalie Rowan Cherkas kept the game at 1-0 heading into the first intermission. 

The Aggies committed a penalty just 30 seconds into the second period, allowing Lake Region to equalize. However, the Aggies were able to kill the penalty with ease. They did not concede a power-play goal the entire game, something the team is very proud of. 

An Aggie win and a pink out match

“Our penalty kill has always been super good with taking away high-scoring chances by keeping it to the outside, and that has been super nice not allowing second or third opportunities,” said goalie Titan Anderson. 

The game remained 1-0 until the 11:35 mark of the second period when Jackson Ferry rifled the puck into the back of the net to extend the USU lead.  

The rest of the second period was all Utah State. The Aggies scored six times in the period and went into the locker room with a 7-1 lead. The lone Lake Region goal also came in the period, as Kaleb Hodny put Lake Region on the board at 9:28.   

“I think guys started playing as a team in that second period. We have had times where we’ve been playing too selfish a little bit. So once we started playing as a team, it kind of just opened the floodgates,” said USU forward Zach Pires. 

The third period was relatively quiet. However, Aggie forward Alec Moser tacked on another goal at the 13:13 mark of the third period. The game would end in a USU 8-1 victory. 

The Aggies were able to shut down Lake Region offensively, allowing only one goal. 

“It’s all just strategy, and our coach is hard on being conservative and making sure we’re getting in shot lanes and shutting them down. You know, just play good hockey, and that’s about it,” said USU defenseman Brendan Woolcott. 

Overall, the Aggies enjoyed production from various players, with two goals from Ferry, two from Pires, one from Moser, one from Harbour, one from Luke Anderson and one from Sean Johnston. In addition, Anderson’s goaltending was impeccable. 

USU will look to build on this win as it battles in-state foe Utah Valley on Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Eccles Ice Center.