Utah State hockey wins Beehive Grill Showcase
The Utah State club hockey team competed in the Beehive Grill Showcase this weekend and came away with three wins against the under-18 Utah Regulators, UNLV and San Jose State.
Aggie captain Brian Gibbons recorded a hat trick against UNLV on Friday and the Aggies won by a final score of 8-0 after beating the Regulators 3-0.
“Offense was obviously pretty good,” Gibbons said. “We put up 8 goals. Definitely a better showing than yesterday. We just came out ready to play.”
The Aggies faced off against a good SJSU team on Saturday. San Jose was ranked along with USU in the first American Collegiate Hockey Association poll.
The Aggies never trailed against San Jose but the Spartans would get within one goal twice. Utah State pulled away in the third period to win 6-2.
“We were excited to play San Jose,” said head coach John Eccles. “They’re ranked I think seventh in the west. Last year they gave us a great game. We were excited because we wanted to really have a test.”
And the Aggies were tested. The Spartans played a physical game, but Utah State out-hit them. The Spartans kept answering, but Utah State pulled away.
“It gives those guys in there confidence that if we play a physical game, there’s no team really that can hang with us because we’re so deep physically, defensively and offensively that once these guys start hitting, it really sends a message,” Eccles said.
The physical play of the Aggies helped them win the game against SJSU.
“We came back in the third period and walked away with it because of our hitting and because we didn’t want to lose,” Eccles said.
Utah State has the confidence to play a physical style of play with any team.
“There’s no doubt we’re stronger and faster than any other team out there,” said forward Ian Beckstrom, who scored against San Jose State.
Aside from fine-tuning their physical play, the Aggies learned more about the mental aspect of their game during the tournament.
“We came into the game last night a little over-confident, playing an under 18 team,” Gibbons said. “I thought that the way we prepared helped us a lot.”
Utah State also worked on their discipline during the tournament, especially against UNLV.
“They obviously got under our skin,” Gibbons said. “We had a few penalties, but we kept our heads pretty well.”
Eccles was proud of the way his team stayed disciplined, even when being instigated by other teams.
“The ref said we were doing a real good job skating away from the issues,” Eccles said. “He said he could have called a lot more penalties on white. We’re getting to the point where we’re a little more disciplined.”
The showcase was beneficial for the Aggies because more players got ice time, helping increase team depth.
“It was a really good game for a lot of guys to get some ice,” Eccles said.
Spreading out the ice time will help the top players recover physically while allowing the rest of the players to get quality playing time against good opponents.
Earning three wins during the weekend gives the Aggies a confidence boost as they get closer to the second half of the season.
“It’s awesome,” Beckstrom said. “It gives us a ton of confidence going into the next games, especially in Colorado and going down to California in January.”
Utah State will play in two weeks in a tournament in Colorado for the Western Showcase against Colorado, Colorado State, Denver and Northern Texas.
– sean.osullivan@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @seansy89