NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Senior defenseman and captain
Eric Grahling winds up for a slapshot against Cal
during Saturday’s game.
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
For the UCLA ice hockey team, the season is filled with many
“ifs” ““ some out of its control, others for
which it is at fault.
The Bruins (2-18, 1-13 Pac-18) received no aid in their attempt
to clarify some of those “ifs” after they lost a pair
of winnable games to Cal (6-8, 6-3) this weekend.
Things could be different if the puck bounced this way instead
of that, or maybe if the referee actually blew the whistle once in
a while. What if the team wasn’t plagued by injuries?
But maybe there wouldn’t be second guessing if the Bruins
made crisper passes, or if they followed through on their checks.
What if one missed defensive assignment didn’t help the
floodgates open?
Friday’s game was a tough 2-1 loss, one in which UCLA was
unable to capitalize on sustained pressure and fell victim to a
pair of Cal flurries.
“We were dumping and chasing and beating them to almost
every puck,” UCLA goaltender Matt Hsu said. “Our
problem was that we just couldn’t finish and they got a
couple of good plays.
“We were that close and we were doing everything
right.”
Saturday’s game came directly out of the Bruins’
season recipe jar, as a 1-0 first-period deficit snowballed into a
5-1 margin in favor of the Golden Bears at the second
intermission.
“Eventually the bounces will come our way, but right now
we’re not creating enough chances so that the bounces can go
our way,” Bruin winger Justin Williams said.
The second period had a bit of everything, including fluke
goals, poor checking, missed assignments and of course, another
injury ““ this one to winger Rob Morel.
With a 15-game losing streak staring them in the face, what are
the Bruins to do when they travel to Palo Alto this weekend for two
games against Stanford?
“Keep playing our hearts out and try to win,” Hsu
said. “It’s hockey ““ you don’t give
up.”