Undefeated team shoots for a win against ‘SC

Friday, November 21, 1997

Undefeated team shoots for a win against ‘SC

Bruins to face No. 2 Trojans in front of 2,000 at Crosstown
Cup

By Rocky Salmon

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Tonight the heat will rise off of the ice at PickWick Ice Arena
in Burbank. The Crosstown Cup hangs in the balance as the UCLA ice
hockey team takes on USC at 8:45 p.m.

The Bruins are undefeated in the conference and will face the
second-ranked Trojans for a second time this year. The Bruins won
the first game 3-1, at USC, after losing last year 3-2, with a one
point loss in a shootout in the last game.

"We are going to have to play a better game," center Zak Rynew
said. "The first game they didn’t expect us to play so good, and we
surprised them because they had played a few games and it was our
third game."

Tonight will be a different story. With an expected crowd of
over 2,000 and the first place spot in the line, both teams will be
nervous.

"With the big crowds, both teams will be shaky in the
beginning," Rynew said. "It should be a tight game, and the first
quarter should be an offensive quarter but it will tighten down as
the game goes on."

One other problem the Bruins face is that both of their games
last weekend were cancelled. The Bruins may be rusty for ‘SC.

"We might come out a little slow but we have a strong team and
should have no problem adjusting," UCLA head coach Mike Siegel
said. "This is the best two teams in the conference, and one of us
will probably come in first."

If the Bruins hope to win, the first line, consisting of Dumas
Maugile, Reinhart Kramreither and Ben Theule, will have to put up
some points on the scoreboard early on, and hope that the goalie,
Mike Michelena, can prevent the Trojans from scoring.

Tonight UCLA and ‘SC will skate in front of one of the biggest
audiences the teams have ever faced. With such a huge fanfare, the
Bruins hope to put on a dynamic show and take a 2-0 lead in the
crosstown series.