USU ready to hit its home ice
After losing two of three road games last weekend, the Utah State University hockey team is getting ready for its first home game in its own ice rink Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Not only is this game marking the first USU hockey game in the new George S. Eccles Ice Center, but the game is also between one of USU’s biggest rivals.
“I learned very early that Weber is one of our biggest rivals,” freshman defender Brandon Lang said.
So far this season, the rivalry has been fairly even. The first game, which was an expedition match between Weber State University and USU, ended in a tie.
Since then, the teams have played two season games, both of which were in October. The Aggies ended up losing the first match 0-9, but came back the next day and won 3-2.
But the Aggies have more than just their rivalry to worry about.
Last weekend, the Aggies took a three-game road trip to Colorado and Wyoming, ending with only one win against the University of Wyoming.
Their first match was against No. 2 ranked University of Colorado. The final score of 2-0 gave the Aggies only their fourth loss of the season, but captain Paul Amidon said the loss doesn’t mean too much.
“I don’t think we played as well as we could have,” Amidon said. “I feel we had the better team.”
The size of the rink is one of the big reasons the Aggies feel they didn’t play as well as they would’ve liked to, Lang said.
“It was a smaller rink than we’re used to playing in,” Lang said. “It took some of our guys a little bit to adjust to that during the game.”
But Lang did give credit to Colorado and said they were a great team, but if they played in Utah, the game would be a bit closer.
The second game against Colorado State University handed USU their fifth loss of the season ending with a score of 6-3.
In the third period with the score tied at three, the Aggies had two of their top forwards, Ian Tracy and Nick Thiros, kicked out of the game for fighting, which led to three more goals from CSU.
USU ended up having 57 minutes in penalties against CSU, including eight minutes from their goalie, Adam Lain.
“I don’t think Utah State has ever [had] a successful trip to Colorado,” Amidon said.
Following the two losses in Colorado, the Aggies feel they have a lot they can learn from, Amidon said, including working better as a team and passing.
The Aggies won their last match against the University of Wyoming 4-0.
The win was largely due to the work of Lain, Lang said. Lain made some incredible saves which saved the shutout, he said.
Tickets for Wednesday’s game against Weber are on sale at the Taggart Student Center Ticket Office and the Spectrum. A limited number of tickets will be sold at the door before the game.