USC demolishes men’s hockey ““ twice

Against USC, the Bruins had more penalty minutes than a naughty
school child, and when combined with a stifling Trojan defense, the
UCLA men’s hockey team was doomed to two straight losses,
11-4 and 9-3 Thursday and Friday, respectively.

“It’s not figure skating!” one dismayed Bruin
fan shouted in response to the multitude of calls against the
Bruins (4-10, 2-8 Pac-8). 

Sophomore defenseman Nick Hertz received a game misconduct in
Thursday’s game, as the Bruins racked up seven penalties. In
the Friday night game, a lopsided first period led to two USC
power-play goals in five chances.

“They took the lead over our mental mistakes, penalties.
We played 10 minutes shorthanded, that’s half the period, and
they only managed two goals,” junior forward Eric Allen
said.

With all the power-play opportunities, USC (12-1-1, 8-0) was
able to wear down the Bruins, who gave up more goals as the game
progressed. In addition, it cut down on the Bruins’ offensive
chances, as their first line could not generate many scoring
opportunities.

“The team never gave up, and we will use this as
determination to play harder in the future and to learn from our
mistakes,” Allen said.

Junior forward Ryan Samec had a hat trick in the first game
while senior defenseman Stu Szuch added the other goal for the
Bruins. Sophomore defenseman Carlos Cazares and junior forward Paul
Medina each added an assist.

In game two, the Bruins were held scoreless in the first period,
as the Trojans mounted a 2-0 lead.

At the 17:59 mark in the second period, junior forward Eric
Allen added his first goal of the season, assisted by sophomore
forward Brian Song. Medina and freshman forward Scott Freschet
rounded out the Bruin scoring.

At net, game one starter and senior goalkeeper Matt Miller made
17 saves on 21 shots, before yielding to freshman Adam Kubalski
after Miller was struck by a puck to the helmet. USC had an
astounding 54 shots on net in the first game and followed that
performance with 57 shots on goal in the second game against
Kubalski.

The Bruins’ inability to clear the puck out of the zone
resulted in many second-chance opportunities for the Trojans.