Utah National Guard gives USU special jerseys to honor veterans
The Utah State club hockey team was presented with commemorative veterans appreciation jerseys for their game against BYU on Friday.
The Utah National Guard paid for the jerseys, which were used during USU’s Veterans Appreciation Game against BYU on Friday. The George S. Eccles Ice Center was packed for the rivalry game, ensuring a large amount of people would see the new jerseys.
“That’s what we tried to do,” said USU head coach Jon Eccles. “The bigger the crowds, the better the response. We’ve got to show the veterans some praise. We don’t do that enough sometimes.”
The players were excited about the jerseys too.
“It’s really cool that we get the chance to represent our country in some sort of way, or at least give them some honor,” said forward Cooper Limb.
“It adds a little bit of a pride into the game, because we are representing the armed forces,” said goalie Austin Willenborg.
Even though the game was against rival BYU, Limb said it was more important for most players just to be wearing the commemorative jerseys.
“It doesn’t really matter who we are playing,” Limb said.
Some of the players saw more significance in the jerseys because they have family members in the military.
“He will be gone for a year,” said forward Andrew Latham of his dad, who is currently serving in the military. “He’s not going to be around for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I’ve been looking forward to wearing these jerseys.”
“It’s a big excitement,” said forward Derrek Shoup, whose dad is also serving in the military. “I haven’t really worn anything in his honor in a hockey game. I’m excited to put it on, and he will be watching.”
Eccles also has family ties to the military.
“My father served 21 years in the Coast Guard, and then my sister has served close to 30 years of active duty and as a reserve, so it’s exciting,” he said. “I support the troops and love everything they do for us.”
The game is one of three “theme” games USU will play in this season. The Aggies will do “Pink in the Rink” a game in support of breast cancer awareness, which will be played Nov. 2 against Montana Tech.
The annual “Teddy Bear Toss” game will be the hockey team’s last theme game on Feb. 15 against Weber State. Fans toss stuffed animals onto the rink and the hockey team delivers them to the children’s hospital.
Eccles said theme games can be distracting for players, but he wasn’t too concerned about them.
“This has been a good group of guys. They are excited and pumped for the jerseys,” he said. “Things like this tend to disrupt the normal flow, but these guys are getting a little bit hardened, so it doesn’t effect them so much.”
When the puck dropped, the Aggies looked as sharp as their new jerseys. USU took the lead a minute-and-a-half into the game and they did not look back. The Aggies won by a final score of 14-1.
Limb and defenseman Shaun Gibbons both had hat tricks in the game, while forward Ian Beckstrom and defenseman Ty Johns both scored twice. Forwards Chase Allington, Chris Videto and Rylee Orr and defenseman Joe Chase also found the net for the Aggies.
With the win, USU improves to 10-2 on the season. They will play Nov. 21 against Northern Arizona.
– dahdahjm@gmail.com
Twitter: @dahdahusu