USU starts semester with strong road trip

The loss of 12 players from last semester’s roster didn’t stop the Utah State hockey club from having a big weekend, beating Cal-Berkeley 9-3 and only losing 2-1 against top-ranked San Jose State on the road.

Many of the off-ice distractions that plagued the Aggies last semester were nowhere to be found, Aggie Ben Wilner said.

“It was a great weekend,” he said. “We had good team chemistry. Coach was real happy. Everyone was having a good time.”

Wilner said specifically that there were no players complaining about the state of the team.

“There was a lot less whining,” he said. “Everyone just focused on playing hockey and having a good time.”

Wilner said the new attitude has given him new hope for the team.

“I was a little scared coming into semester,” he said. “After we started playing, it changed my mind.”

Last Saturday’s loss to SJSU was the second one-point loss to the Spartans this season. The Aggies lost to them 4-3 in Logan last semester.

Wilner said despite the loss, the team felt it played well.

“It was our first loss, but so close, it didn’t really matter, he said. “We were really putting on pressure at end of game. They scored a fluke goal, but we didn’t let that bring us down. We just kept working. It went down to the wire.”

USU goalie Greg Finatti misplayed a puck on a power play to allow SJSU to score one of its goals. Wilner said the Aggie goalie still had a phenomenal game.

“Finatti played awesome in San Jose,” he said. “He stood on his head for sure. He was a key factor in our game.”

Finatti saved 38 of the 40 shots taken on him in that game.

On Friday, USU took a 2-0 lead just 19 seconds into the game on its way to a rout of the Bears.

Robert Hashimoto stole the puck just after the opening face-off in the Cal zone and shot a slap-shot. The puck bounced off the goalie and was tapped in by Mikel Roy just six seconds into the game. Hashimoto then assisted a goal by Nate Pierce 13 seconds later. Hashimto said USU showed its true colors in that game.

“It wasn’t easy, but everyone was pumped up to play,” he said. “The true heart of the team showed. The early jump is what made it easier.”

Wilner said that was all the Aggies needed to get on the right track.

“[Berkeley] was just down and we were just ecstatic,” he said. “It was over after the first two goals.”

For the weekend, the first line of Hashimoto, William Winsa and Roy combined for seven of the team’s 10 goals.

“We just got a whole bunch of points,” Hashimoto said. “I don’t think [the coach] is going to change our line. Our line has been producing a lot.”

Hashimto said the team will only get better as the semester goes on.

“We’re all happy and the coach is happy,” he said. “[The remaining players] are the guys that wanted to play. I don’t see any slowing down. “

Wilner said to look for good things from the hockey team this semester.

“I think we’re going to move up pretty far in ranking,” he said. “We don’t have that tough of a semester. We can win every game from here on out. Our big goal for us is to get ahead of Weber.”

The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 8 in the region while USU sits at No. 10. The next rankings are due out Jan. 28.

-bhhinton@cc.usu.edu