Friday, February 7, 1997
CLUB:
Playoff spot in sight for Bruins despite disappointing seasonBy
Sam Toussi
Daily Bruin Contributor
Did you know that UCLA has a hockey team? Probably not.
No respect.
Not only does UCLA have a team, but they show a commitment that
would make some NHL coaches drool. Since the Bruins don’t have a
facility on campus and find it tough to reserve ice time at other
rinks, they practice from 10:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. in facilities
clear across town.
No respect.
However, the Bruins can take a giant step toward getting that
respect they so desperately desire by playing the way they know
they can play rather than the way they have played.
This season, the Bruins have disappointed themselves and their
faithful (what faithful they have) with some near-misses, including
a 5-4 loss to USC last week.
"It’s been a disappointing season with all the close loses we’ve
suffered," center Zach Rynew said.
The Bruins are starting to show signs of life, though. In
addition to leading scorer Ben Theule, Dumas Magiule and James
Campbell are proving themselves to be key role players on the team,
and defenseman Jason Karas has improved drastically since the
beginning of the season, scoring his first goal just a week
ago.
The Bruins have played aggressively of late and now have a solid
chemistry that had been missing all season long.
"Our production level was way below our talent level because we
were lacking chemistry," Blake Buyan said.
Last Friday, the chemistry was as good as peanut butter with
jelly as UCLA clobbered Long Beach State, 5-1. The win featured a
stellar performance by goaltender Howson Fong (also known as "Da’
House"). UCLA jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first period, and
Zach Rynew, Ben Caplin, Andrew Lister, Chris Manning and Mike
Seigell all chipped a goal apiece into the game.
UCLA will face a tougher opponent this weekend when they travel
up the coast to take on Stanford in a two-game series. The Cardinal
has only one loss this year and seems to be rolling toward its
second straight Pacific 8 regular season title. The Bruins took on
the Cardinal earlier this season in a game that ended with the
score tied at 1-1.
The two games this weekend are extremely important for the
Bruins to have a chance to solidify a playoff position and the
confidence they will need entering the playoffs.
At the end of the 25-game season, the Pac-8 playoffs will be
held, and the winner will then most likely receive a bid to the
national tournament in St. Louis.
A spot in the national tournament? That just might get these
guys respect.