In a pair of impressive performances, the Bruins won an overtime home game 5-4 on Thursday night, and held off a furious USC attack to win 3-2 on Friday on the Trojans’ home ice.
Now up 2-0 in the race to claim the Crosstown Cup, the men’s club hockey team will next cross paths with the Trojans in late January.
The Bruins attributed the wins to setting and controlling the tone and pace of the games.
“Thursday was back and forth; their goalie played an outstanding game,” third-year mechanical engineering graduate student and team captain Neal Parsons said. “In the third we were able to tie it. Our goalie, Al, was able to stop a penalty shot, and we hung on for dear life at the end.”
The high-scoring home game on Thursday was tied with eight minutes left, and by the four-minute mark a slew of penalties left the Bruins down two men as the game was pushed into overtime.
The defense of the Bruins, anchored by freshman mechanical engineering student and goalkeeper Al Ricciardelli, stood out against USC.
“Defense really stepped up. Amazing play by freshman goaltender Al,” assistant coach Matt Lester said. “Defensemen Jay Boffa and Ashton Christian also stepped in to help. They have the experience in tight situations. The veterans have dealt with (the pressure) before and don’t make silly mistakes. They want it more, not going to let it slip through their fingers.”
Coming off of Thursday’s emotional win, UCLA faced a Trojan team that was more physical by the end of the second period on Friday.
“We were able to keep our heads and stay out of the box and played smart hockey,” Lester said. “We avoided penalties late in the game. We had to buckle down and stay focused because it was easy to get sucked into playing their game, drawn into fights, stay out of the box, control the flow of the game.”
Though the club admits the matches against USC are more emotionally and physically intense than other match-ups, these wins are salient markers in the development of the team.
“We haven’t beat (USC) in a meaningful game in a number of years,” Parsons said. “To get the first win in Crosstown, it definitely set a different tone than what we are used to. We lost eight of the last nine games against them, winning that first game was big we have a chance to take (The Crosstown Cup).”
After the first month of competition, the Bruins appear to have hit their stride on the ice, as rookie players have found their niche on the team. Ricciardelli sought the UCLA Hockey program while he was considering colleges and said the transition to collegiate play was eased by the acceptance from the veterans and the camaraderie with his fellow rookies.
“I realized how intense the games can be. “¦ I feel we can win the Crosstown Cup. I’d like to sweep all five games,” Ricciardelli said.
Coming off the wins, the club’s leaders hope to keep their team healthy with their eyes fixed on postseason competition beyond the Crosstown Cup. “It’s early, we have a lot of goals we want to accomplish,” Parsons said. “We’re excited about what we’ve done and excited about what we can do.”