A small and mostly unknown miracle has taken place at UCLA. The
UCLA men’s hockey team is having a winning season.
For those who don’t know the recent history of the Bruins,
it should suffice to say that their 10-53 record over the past
three years has been less than impressive.
But a complete reversal has taken place this year, as the Bruins
(6-1, 5-1 Pac-8) have won five consecutive games and are second in
the conference.
The team’s only defeat to date was a 4-3 loss to reigning
Pac-8 Champion California.
In the latest display of the team’s talent, the Bruins
coasted to victories over Stanford, 10-7 on Friday and 15-4 on
Saturday night.
“After the sweep this weekend, we’re definitely
ready to beat USC,” senior captain Paul Medina said of the
Bruins’ next game against the Trojans this Thursday.
“If we play three solid periods, we shouldn’t lose.
Our own play is our biggest demon because we don’t come out
strong.
We need to learn to dominate games early.”
Starting off games well seems to be the team’s only
weakness, as the Bruins have tended to fall behind early. Against
the Cardinal (1-6, 1-5 Pac-8) on Saturday, the Bruins allowed a
goal just 27 seconds into the game and were soon behind 3-0.
“We always play down to our opponents’ level at the
beginning of games,” team president Eric Allen said.
“However, we never put our heads down when we are losing.
Instead, we regroup and focus on playing our best.”
The Bruins came out in the second period Saturday looking like a
much-improved team, playing solid defense and smart offense.
Sophomore goalie Adam Kubalski made seven of his 32 saves early
in the period against a relentless but unfruitful Cardinal offense,
while junior transfer Martin Galstyan scored two of his
team-leading 18 season goals.
“We’ve had slow starts all season, but we’re
still able to win when we come out strong in the second period and
command the rest of the game,” Allen said.
Though Stanford came back to tie the game at 4-4 midway through
the second period, the Bruins dominated the rest of the game,
scoring four goals in less than three minutes and completely
shutting out the Cardinal offense.
“We were rusty at the start, but improved and made the
game more physical in the second and third periods,” senior
Brian Song said. “Even though we start off slowly, we are
playing so much better this year than in previous years.
“We just have more heart and desire to win and because
everyone on the team is really committed to improving.”
Certainly better than last year, the team this year attributes
its success to improved returning players and talented new players,
as well as a stronger focus on the game.
“Last year the team lacked depth, so a few players were
forced to carry the team,” Medina said. “But this year,
we have three or four lines of players who can step up and really
contribute to the game.
“We still need to work on starting better and not
neglecting our defensive assignments, but the team is getting
better with each game as things fall into place.”