Riding a two-game winning streak, the UCLA men’s club ice
hockey team hopes to make its Pac-8 record an even .500 by winning
both its games against Washington this weekend.
The coaching staff will once again call upon freshman goaltender
Adam Kubalski to start. Kubalski started and won both games against
Stanford this past weekend.
UCLA (2-6, 2-4 Pac-8) will host Washington (4-4, 2-1 Pac-8)
today at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 8:15 p.m. at HealthSouth Training
Center in El Segundo.
The series this weekend will be a conference battle, as UCLA and
Washington are both tied for fourth place in the Pac-8. The top
four teams will advance to the conference championships in
February.
Junior forward Eric Allen stressed that playing a full 60
minutes of hockey has been the Bruins’ downfall.
“We’ve learned early that in the Pac-8, losing focus
for the last five minutes of a game can lose the game,” Allen
said.
But assistant coach Pat Masson has seen an improvement in
endurance.
“Looking at our games at Stanford leads me to think our
conditioning is much improved,” Masson said. “With such
a strong offensive showing in the third period in these games, I do
not think conditioning will be as great an issue in the Washington
series.”
The Bruins will have a full and healthy squad for the first time
this season, leaving UCLA optimistic about its chances against the
No. 12 ranked team in the American Collegiate Hockey Association
West.
Washington, a team Allen described as well disciplined, lost to
California 6-3 two weeks ago. When UCLA played Cal on Oct. 18, the
Bruins were winning by two goals until the Bears scored three times
late in the third period to win.