UCLA’s hockey team will look to turn its season around
this weekend as it hosts the Oregon Ducks at HealthSouth Training
Center in El Segundo.
Up to this point, things have been less-than-spectacular for the
Bruins (1-5 overall, 1-4 Pac-8). But the relatively inexperienced
Bruins ““ 11 of 20 roster players are in their first season
““ refuse to be disappointed or to dwell on the missed
opportunities of the past. Instead, they look to the future.
The Bruins face the Ducks tonight at 8:15 p.m. and tomorrow
night at 7:45 p.m.
Defenseman Kevin Connolly, a graduate student, is confident in
his team. “We’re getting better everyday. We’re
really coming together.”
Sure, the USC game ““ which the Trojans won 9-1 ““ was
disappointing, but the team is regarding it as a positive
experience.
“That game was a learning experience,” graduate
student and defenseman Marcus Pecora said. “We’ve got a
lot of young guys. They didn’t know what that game was all
about.”
The only thing on the team’s collective mind is the visit
of the Ducks, a team that will come in with some momentum after
10-2 and 10-1 wins over the Stanford Cardinals in Eugene, Oregon.
Those wins were the Ducks’ first of the season, improving
their Pac-8 record to 2-4.
“Oregon has always been a consistently good team,”
said Patrick Masson, president and general manager of UCLA hockey.
“And they manhandled Stanford.”
First-year coach Vic Venasky doesn’t know what to expect;
he hasn’t seen Oregon before.
“This is the first time around for me,” he said.
When one looks at common opponents of Oregon and UCLA, one is
led to believe that the Ducks will take care of the Bruins this
weekend. While Oregon slaughtered Stanford, UCLA lost 7-4 to the
Cardinal and beat them 6-5 in a shootout.
Though the Bruins believe the Ducks to be a tough opponent, they
anticipate this weekend’s games to be very winnable.
“They’re a physical team and sound fundamentally but
definitely a beatable team,” said Pecora. “We need to
come out of this weekend with at least one win.”
The HealthSouth Training Center is located at 555 Nash St. in El
Segundo. Admission is $10, and $6 for UCLA students.