Weber State pounds hockey club
The Utah State hockey club lost 13-1 in its regular season opener to Weber State’s Division I team Saturday in Ogden.
Dave Lorenzon scored four goals for a Wildcat team that scored 11 straight goals after the Aggies found the back of the net for their only goal.
“We definitely need to have a gut check and some people need to step up,” Aggie Jordan Francom said.
“For the first game of the year, it’s kind of a tough [loss] to take,” Aggie Nick Haase said. “They’re a good team. We know that. But we also know that we’re a good team too and we just had a down day. We’ll come back next Friday and take it to them.”
USU was trying to keep the loss in perspective.
“We weren’t expecting to come out here and just roll over these guys,” Aggie Nate Pierce said. “They’re a good team. But basically the only thing that separates one team from another is hustle. We have plenty of talent to beat that team.”
The Aggies’ only goal came in the first period when Scotty John hit William Winsa with a long pass setting up a wide-open breakaway which Winsa took advantage of.
The Wildcats, who took seventh place at Division I nationals last season, out-shot the Aggies 45-24 despite having 57 penalty minutes. The two teams combined for 99 penalty minutes.
“The penalties definitely hurt quite a bit,” Francom said. “Weber is pretty intimidating because they’re Division I. They are a whole division ahead of us. All we have to do is work twice as hard and come back, I guess.”
“They’re a lot quicker than they were last year,” Haase said. “They passed the puck well. They did everything we weren’t tonight.”
“Basically they were hitting, and we didn’t come out hitting,” Pierce said.
Even though USU is a lower division team than the D-I Weber squad, the Aggies were still upset with their performance.
“I’m a little bit disappointed,” Haase said. “We know we could have done better. We know we’re a better team.”
The two teams will play again next Saturday at the Eccles Ice Arena in North Logan. The Aggies play the D-I Wildcats a total of seven times this year.
“I think it’s a great idea [to play tough teams early in the season],” Pierce said. “I’d rather start the season and run a tough schedule because by the time nationals come around, you’ve been playing tough teams the whole year, and come nationals, you’re a tough team yourself.”
The Aggies are hopeful their fortunes will change against the Cats.
“I think we can pick it up and skate with these guys, easily,” Francom said.
“Next weekend is going to be a whole different story,” Haase said.
Francom said the rivalry has not cooled off at all since the Wildcats made the jump to D-I.
“I’ll still hate these guys as much as I do today, tomorrow,” he said. “It’ll be ugly.”
-bhhinton@cc.usu.edu