UCLA boasts quite an arsenal of talented Division I athletic
teams. Some sort of national championship is a yearly
occurrence. Lost somewhere in the glorification and lauding of
these scholarship athletes is the little guy ““ the epitome of
the student-athlete ““ the individual who is here primarily
for the academic opportunities that this institution affords.
Case in point ““ the UCLA hockey team. A member of the
American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and Pacific 8
Conference, the hockey players go relatively unnoticed around
campus.
The team tallied its first win of the season last Saturday in
the second game of a split series with Stanford, improving its
record to 1-3.
The Bruins, led by first-year coach Vic Venasky, a former player
for the Los Angeles Kings and All American in 1971 at the
University of Denver, had to face an unusually hostile home
environment Friday, as they were forced to endure the ridiculous
““ and often hilarious ““ antics of the Leland Stanford
Jr. Marching Band.
Stanford rallied behind the band as they battled from a 3-1
deficit to secure a 7-4 victory. UCLA got two goals from Ryan
Samec, and a goal apiece from Lenin Paca and Allen Serban.
Saturday was a new day for the Bruins and the irksome
band’s departure may have been just what the team needed.
Regulation ended with a deadlocked score and a shootout determined
the winner. In the shootout, Bruin goaltender Matt Miller came up
huge ““ letting only one puck slide by.
Miller’s goal proved to be quite a cushion for UCLA, as
the team got shootout goals from Samec, Serban and Rob Morel
““ who scored twice in regulation. The final score showed 5-4,
Bruins.
The team will look to carry this momentum into this
Friday’s game as the rival Trojans (1-3) skate into town.
USC, Pac-8 Champions the last three years, aren’t the
dominant team that they once were. They come hobbling into this
week’s game after being swept by Arizona State at home last
week.
Coach Venasky saw the Trojans play and he’s optimistic
about his team’s chances. “I watched “˜SC play
earlier, and I’m really not that impressed. I think we can
battle with them,” he said.
Venasky has already seen vast improvement over the last four
games. “We’re making steps to becoming a better
team,” he said.
The Bruins will try to continue making these steps this weekend
as UCLA hosts USC and UCSD on Friday and Saturday night,
respectively. UCLA makes its home at the Healthsouth Arena, located
at 555 Nash Street in El Segundo. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.