Hockey: Bruin hockey prevails over CSUN, UC Irvine in weekend sweep

After dropping two games to Washington, the UCLA men’s
hockey team needed a confidence booster heading into its series
with USC this week. And that’s exactly what the team got,
defeating Cal State Northridge 4-3 on Friday and UC Irvine 9-2 on
Sunday.

“For the weekend, winning two games is always nice,”
junior winger Eric Allen said. “It’s a feeling I hope
the team can start getting used to, realizing our current record
isn’t an indication of our heart, talent or progress from
last year’s team.”

One feeling the Bruins can start getting used to is goal
scoring, as the first line has been turning heads ““ well, the
heads of the opponents’ defensemen. The line of freshman
Scott Freschet, junior Ryan Samec and junior transfer Paul Medina
accounted for seven of the nine Bruin goals against Irvine, and all
the Bruin goals in the win over Northridge.

“Our first line was stellar,” sophomore defenseman
Carlos Cazares said. “They just camped out in (CSUN’s)
zone.”

The Bruins (4-9, 2-6 Pac-8), who lost 5-4 to CSUN on Oct. 10,
controlled the play throughout the game Friday, as UCLA spent a
great deal of time in the Matadors’ defensive zone. The only
thing that kept the score so close was Matador goaltender Drew
Borkovitz, who saved 43 of UCLA’s 47 shots.

Most of that offensive pressure was sustained by the first line,
which maintained a persistent forecheck while outskating the CSUN
defenders and creating several scoring chances in front of the
net.

“We kept cycling the puck very well and intercepting
passes,” said Samec, who had a hat trick in the game.

But it wasn’t just the forwards who contributed to the
UCLA victory. After giving up over 100 shots combined in the two
losses against Washington, the UCLA defense allowed only 26 shots
on goal to help give senior goaltender Matt Miller his first
victory of the season.

“We played pretty well tonight defensively,”
sophomore defenseman Nick Hertz said. “We were trying to be
more physical in the corners, trying to tie their guys up. The
offense really helped out on defense, too.”

It was indeed a team effort for the Bruins, who often clogged up
the neutral zone to slow the CSUN attack. Miller had to make a few
timely saves to thwart Matador scoring chances, but for the most
part, the defense showed vast improvement.

“Our transition game against Washington was one thing I
was concerned about,” assistant coach Pat Masson said.
“This game there were several instances where the defense
stepped up.”

The UCLA defense did not allow any breakaways after allowing
several in both games against Washington. The Bruin penalty kill
was also flawless, killing off all CSUN power play attempts.

“We had much better positioning on defense,” Cazares
said. “We were keeping their offense wide and tying up guys
in front.”

Although the Bruins played an improved game in the neutral zone
with tighter gap control and solid backchecking from the forwards,
Masson recognizes that there is room for improvement.

“We’re still having problems recognizing offensive
threats in the defensive zone,” he said.

Discipline was also an issue during the game, as the Matadors
had five powerplays compared to just one for the Bruins. And that
one powerplay at the end of the first period proved to be
successful, with Ryan Samec netting his first goal of the game
after some crisp passing down low in the CSUN zone.

After the Matadors responded with a goal 1:15 into the first
period, the Bruins regained their lead when Samec won a faceoff in
the CSUN zone to Freschet, who fired a wrist shot on net that was
stopped by Borkovitz. But Samec pounced on the rebound for his
second consecutive goal.

Just 19 seconds later, Medina received a pass at the blueline
and sliced through three CSUN defenders, made a move on Borkovitz,
and put the puck in the net. However, the Matadors responded with
two unanswered goals in the next three minutes to tie the game
3-3.

“They capitalized off our bad bounces and mental
errors,” Cazares said.

After 4:51 in the third period, the first line again was called
upon, and they responded as Samec crashed the net and scored on a
rebound for his third goal of the game and what proved to be the
game winner.

“It was the basic things, really.” Samec said.
“I was just driving to the net, trying to be in the right
place at the right time.”

Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;

Though the Bruins lost 14-0 to West L.A. on Saturday, UCLA
coaches and players believe West L.A. used illegal players, and the
next meeting that was originally scheduled for January may be
canceled.