In the battle for cross-town supremacy, the Bruins and Trojans
fought to a stand-still, winning one game apiece.
Playing two games against USC this past weekend, the UCLA
men’s hockey team came up short on Friday with a 4-2 loss,
but quickly rebounded with a 3-2 win on Saturday. Friday’s
game was played with home-field advantage for the Bruins at the
Toyota Sports Center, and Saturday’s game was an away game at
the Anaheim Ice. UCLA now stands with a 5-1 record overall and a
3-1 record in the Pac-8.
As the Bruins developed a bad case of first-game jitters, they
found themselves in a 2-0 hole early in the first period. But they
were able to rebound and come out strong in the second period,
tying the score at two. Led by junior Joe Cure, the Bruins rallied
back with Cure’s shot from the top of the circle. Following
suit, freshmen Jay Boffa tied the game up with a shot from the
slot.
The third period was played evenly until late in the period,
when ‘SC managed to crack the UCLA defense and come away with
two goals, for a final score of 4-2. With the aid of home-field
advantage, losing was unacceptable to many of the hockey
players.
“We let them win in our house, and it didn’t feel
good at all,” freshmen defender Michael Madatovian said.
With the Friday match behind them, the Bruins looked forward to
a different start against the Trojans. Friday’s learning
experience did not appear to be immediately absorbed, as the team
went down again, 2-0, in the first period.
However, the Bruins made sure that history would not repeat
itself as they proved the same beginning didn’t necessarily
mean the same ending. The Bruins were able to fight back and tie
the game at two in the second period. After the rude awakening in
the first half, the Bruin defense took over and ensured no other
goals would be scored.
“Big defense by Aaron Munoz and Brad Whitworth kept USC
away from our net,” Madatovian remarked. “The biggest
plays were made by Adam Kubalski, though, with his amazing saves to
keep UCLA on top.”
While the defense held off the Trojans, the offense broke them
down, guided by Martin Galstyan and Jeff Sanka. Now that the Bruins
have seen the Trojans in action, they are fully prepared for their
next showdown in December.
“We know how they play and what to expect; we know we can
take control of the games against USC and dominate for three
periods,” Madatovian said. “We can definitely take this
team.”