“Heartbreaking” is a word becoming all too familiar
in the vocabulary of the UCLA men’s hockey team. The Bruins
have suffered through five one-goal losses, some of which have been
in the comeback variety.
And after tying Saturday night’s game against Washington
to send the game into a shootout, UCLA certainly was heartbroken
after losing 7-6 (3-2 shootout). The Bruins lost to Washington 8-5
on Friday night.
The Saturday game was, for the most part, a seesaw battle. UCLA
took an early 3-1 lead, but Washington went ahead 6-4 in the third
period.
During the shootout, both the team benches and the stands were
brimming with anticipation. But in the end, UCLA could not pull off
the victory after a hard-fought 60 minutes of hockey.
Although the Bruins allowed six goals in regulation, senior
goaltender Matt Miller made several spectacular saves to keep his
team in the game, stopping 46 of 52 shots on goal.
Junior forward Eric Allen, who received a five-minute kneeing
major in Friday night’s game, was also disqualified for
Saturday’s game. Despite the loss, Allen, the team vice
president, was pleased with his team’s efforts and especially
the goaltending, calling Miller’s game a spectacular one.
“If we had another chance, I’d still bet on our team
in the shootout,” Allen said. “I think we got the best
goaltenders in the league ““ all of them.”
Although the Bruins are happy with their efforts against the No.
12 team in the American Collegiate Hockey Association West, their
overall record drops to 2-8 (2-6 Pac-8).
But the Bruins have a lot to build on as they continue to
improve. UCLA played a disciplined game, totaling only six penalty
minutes. The offense, especially the first line of freshman Scott
Freschet, junior Ryan Samec and freshman Paul Medina, is clicking
with a combined 11 goals in the past two games against the
Huskies.
Samec, who had two goals and two assists on Saturday, is
satisfied with the new line combination.
“We’ve been playing some in practice, and Scott and
I have been playing well in terms of passing and finding open
spots,” he said.
And finding open spots is exactly what they did, tying the game
1-1 midway through the first period. Freschet received a centering
pass in the slot and took a shot that slipped through a screen as
Samec banged in the rebound.
UCLA took the lead later in the period when junior forward Jay
Herwitz scored his first of two goals, skating into the slot and
one-timing a crisp pass from the right corner.
Heading into the second period, UCLA sustained pressure in the
offensive zone early and drew a holding penalty from Washington at
8:46. After Carlos Cazares dumped in the puck from the blueline,
Samec and Freschet played give-and-go, as Freschet fed Samec in the
slot with a pass that was promptly fired into the back of the net
for the power play goal.
However, Washington responded with three unanswered goals in the
period, capped off by a shorthanded goal when senior Brett Lawrence
skated end-to-end through UCLA’s defense to score on Miller.
Less than a minute later, Horwitz jammed in a rebound on the power
play to tie the game at four.
Washington answered with a goal just 18 seconds later and scored
again early in the third period to give the Huskies a 6-4 lead.
Washington also put in sophomore goaltender Matt Harrow at the
start of the period, and the Bruins offense exploited him. Midway
through the period, Freschet raced through the neutral zone and
dished the puck off to Medina at the top of the left circle, and
Medina’s wrist shot beat Harrow low glove side.
The Bruins tied the game with 8:32 left, as Samec won a faceoff
in the Washington zone to send the puck to senior defenseman Stu
Szuch, who scored on a wrist shot from the blueline that hit
Harrow’s stick and trickled into the net.
In the shootout, Washington scored two goals on their second and
third attempts, while UCLA’s first two skaters, Freschet and
Medina, were stopped. However, Samec responded with a wrist shot to
the upper left corner of the net that beat the Washington
goaltender.
The next Washington skater, junior Jamie O’Brien, made a
deke that forced Miller to sprawl, but he jutted out his glove to
steal a goal away from the Huskies. As UCLA’s fifth and final
skater, Szuch fired a shot past Harrow, sending the game into a
sudden death shootout.
However, after the first skaters from both teams were stopped,
Washington scored their third goal of the shootout, and freshman
defenseman Brad Witworth could not convert UCLA’s final
attempt.
“It’s a frustrating way to lose,” Samec
said.
Sophomore defenseman Carlos Cazares, who took a penalty at the
end of the third period and could not participate in the shootout,
was happy with his team’s efforts.
“We outplayed them, and Matty (Miller) did all he could do
with the breakaways,” Cazares said. “It’s still
early, and little by little we’re getting there.”