First Half Recap

Hey everyone,

It was a rough first semester for USC, no doubt about it. The Trojans faced a number of challenges with injuries, attendance, and occasionally bizarre circumstances and ended up 6-11.

Here are some high notes, low notes, players, and goals to remember from the first semester.

Best Game of the Semester

This was a difficult decision to make. USC had two imperfect, but truly exhilarating back-to-back road victories. One was a 5-4 slump buster against ASU and a come-from-behind 5-4 shootout win against LMU.

Thinking back on the two games, the Sundevils win gets the edge for a few reasons. One, it was a critical Pac-8 win. Two, it snapped a five-game losing streak. Three, ASU is, with all due respect, a significantly better team than LMU. Four,

Worst Game of the Semester

This was an easier decision. Although the back-to-back losses against UCLA were disappointing to watch as a Trojan, and USC never really seemed present in either SJSU game, none of those 4 losses had as big of an effect on the first half as the clear winner..... the dreaded I-5 Game.

Let me be clear, the result of this game wasn't the Trojans' fault in any shape or form. For those of you who forgot, a jacknifed semi truck blocked the interstate, allowing only the broadcasters and 6 players to make it to the game on time. Cal scored 10 goals in the first period, on the road to an unimaginable, unavoidable upset.

USC got their revenge a few weeks later at home with a 6-1 performance, but the loss threw the Trojans for a loop the rest of the way. They lost 7 of the next 8 games that followed and seemed out of rhythm. The game was jarring and frustrating more than anything else.

Best Goal of the Semester

There were a few candidates for this award.

Nick Helmer's off-the-endboards rebound goal against Stanford was great. Any of Adam Zacuto's penalty shot/shootout goals could count. Alex Hite's goal from outside the blue line in a losing effort was ridiculous.

But none of them were as spectacular as the only USC goal that didn't make it onto the broadcast. Against LBSU, Noah Comisar fed Adam Zacuto as he broke in down the right wing inside the faceoff circle. Zacuto was hauled down from behind, but it didn't affect his shot. From his knees, the "Sniper of Troy" picked his favorite corner - top shelf inside the near post (also known as glove-side high in this case). A spectacular goal.

Offensive MVP

"Handy" Nick Helmer. The freshman leads the Trojans in points and goals (14 scores, I'm too lazy to tally the points but just trust me). He's fantastic with the puck on his stick, but his nose for the back of the net is what really sets him apart. USC is simply better when he's on the ice.

He can't do it alone though. I'm hopeful to see how he fits into the offense when all of the top 6 Trojan forwards are back in action.

Honorable mention goes to Adam Zacuto.

Defensive MVP

Phil "Crazy Legs" Adams. The wily senior is not your typical butterfly-style goalie. He does whatever he has to in order to keep the puck out of the net. Arms, legs, helmet, stick, skate. Sometimes it looks like he's flailing a little bit, just throwing himself in front of whatever he can. Although it might look unconventional, the results don't lie. Adams often faced a barrage of shots from the doorstep, and came through big. He kept USC in games that the Trojans should have been blown out of.

The starting goaltender job is still up for grabs, but Adams made a strong case during the first semester.

Honorable mention goes to Dante Caravaggio.

Check the blog soon for a new poll and the second half preview!

Tumbling Into the Break: Trojans End Semester With 4-2 Loss to LBSU

Hey everyone,

The Trojans had a rough semester. In 16 games to that point, the team had gone 6-10. But there were signs of hope following a 4-game win streak towards the end. Could this USC team turn things around? A good measuring stick is always the intra-city rivalry against Long Beach State. After splitting the first two, the 49ers and Trojans duked it out Friday to break the tie. USC missed leading scorer Nick Helmer and energy forward Clark McClanathan. So how did things shake out?

Period 1

Simply put, this was a bad period of hockey. Not for any one particular team (although the Trojans didn't look great) but just as a whole. The two teams combined for a modest 15 shots during the period. The 49ers failed to convert on 3 powerplay opportunities, but did make starting netminder Phil Adams work a little bit. Adams was solid and occasionally spectacular in shutting down the 49ers attack. For its part, USC's offense struggled to find any sort of rhythm.

Period 2

But then things heated up in a flash. Both teams left the locker room and skated hard. The 49ers struck first. Following a shorthanded USC rush that fizzled, LBSU broke back the other way. Defenseman James Robelotto set up his fellow blueliner Tanner Woodbury with a pass to the doorstep outside the far post. Woodbury made no mistake and beat Adams to make it 1-0. The Trojans struck back in relatively ugly fashion. LBSU keeper Alex Miklovic made a tight save off of USC center Mitchell Landsinger . The rebound sat in a scrum in the low slot underneath a bunch of bodies including Trojan Zane Claes. First-year Trojan Max Ernst dug the loose puck out and barely got it across the line to tie the game. It was his first career goal and point. Although USC kept the pressure on and outplayed LBSU, the 49ers would have the last laugh in the period. Robelotto sent a big slapshot from the near point that went cleanly through traffic and into the net. Adams never saw it as 49er forward Joe Nalley was standing completely in front of him. 2-1 LBSU after 2.

Period 3

Early in the third, the 49ers tried to douse USC's hopes of a comeback. Blueliner Nick Kemp blasted a shot past Adams to double their lead. The Trojan offense hearkened back to its performance in the first period and looked stuck in the mud. Adams continued to play remarkably and finished the day with 37 saves. With under 3 minutes to go in the game, though, Adam Zacuto and Cory Adler lifted Trojan aspirations with a well-timed goal. Zacuto worked his way out of the far corner boards and nearly stuffed home a low shot. The rebound settled on Adler's stick in the slot and he roofed it into the net. The newfound momentum soon collapsed though. USC pulled Adams with 1:42 remaining, lost the ensuing faceoff, and gave away the clear that followed. That allowed Joe Nalley to finish off the game with an empty netter into the middle of the goal. Game over, 4-2 49ers.

Here's some news/notes from the game:

- Shots tell the story of this contest. USC was outshot in the first period, held the edge in shots in the second period, and was demolished in the third period. 40-28 was the final count in favor of LBSU.

- Adams had another solid performance in the losing effort. I was surprised to see him starting over Zack Keith as they'd consistently taken turns all season. However, Coach Wilbur cleared up any depth chart concerns during his first intermission interview. Keith sat because his new, legal, pads were not quite broken in yet. Wilbur is pleased with both keepers and I have to agree.

- The consistent problem for USC wasn't necessarily what it did to get into the offensive zone, but what it was trying to do to get out of their own defensive zone. A sloppy breakout muddled things all night for the Trojans. The forwards and defensemen were consistently not on the same page when it came to getting the puck out. LBSU's edge in physical play didn't help either.

- Dante Caravaggio played one of his best games of the season in a losing effort. He was solid positionally, and sparked the team with his hustle. The assistant captain provided at least a quarter of USC's shot total for the game, and used his speed and hard shot to get draws deep in 49er territory, even when he entered the zone 1-on-3. His worst play of the game came following Adler's goal. When asked by the referee who assisted on the tally, Caravaggio forgot Zacuto's number (18) and told him Max Ernst's (16) instead. I guess that shows you how tenuous of a thing stats are in the Pac-8.

- A fond farewell goes out to Matt Lewis. This was the Trojan defenseman's last game in a USC uniform. In addition to being solid defensively, Lewis was also never afraid to show some offensive skill and versatility this season. As a converted forward for one of the games this year, he tallied a pair of assists. He's a classy individual and a champion player. I'm sorry he couldn't go out on a win.

- Scott Mason received a promotion onto the Gold line with Zacuto and Adler. He responded by, well, doing what he always seems to do... taking a penalty. This one came in the first period on a hit from behind in front of the Trojan bench. Coach Wilbur expressed his frustration with Mason's propensity for heading to the box during the first intermission. If he can keep out of the box, he is one of a handful of physical USC forwards that can make an impact on the game.

- 49er captain Joe Nalley is a pesky, pesky player. He's a big-time talker, who loves to stir things up after the play is over. His skill, though, is undeniable. Nalley scored the empty netter and got an assist on the first goal of the game. He practically earned a second for his work in front of the net on Robelotto's goal.

- I appreciate all of the kind words and congratulations from everyone on receiving the Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship.

- Andrew Magne made his play-by-play hockey debut during the second period with former Trojan broadcaster Dave Foley looking on. Past, present, future, perhaps? Andrew did well despite some initial butterflies.

That's all for this game recap. Look for a semester summary to be posted at some point during the winter break. USC starts back up again in the middle of January on a road trip back to Utah for the first time since the Mickey Meyer incident.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

NONE

2nd Period

Ernst - 1 (Landsinger, Gawlik)

3rd Period

Adler - 3 (Ernst, Caravaggio) NOTE: Ernst wasn't on the ice, it was Zacuto's assist.

Snapped: USC's Win Streak Ends in 3-1 Loss to LBSU

Hey everyone,

Trojans were on a solid 4-game winning streak and looking to make it 5 against an LBSU team that they'd just edged out the night before. But they'd have to do it shorthanded. USC missed Jason Bush, Coach Wilbur, and Josh Frazier. Cory Adler was fighting through a foot injury that hindered him throughout the game. Facing all of that and a raucous LBSU crowd, the Trojans had a tough task for the night.

Period 1

At first, USC seemed up to it. Phil Adams started off what would turn out to be a remarkable performance with a shutout first period. Offense was hard to come by in general for the Trojans, but a powerplay midway through the period was just what the doctor ordered. Dante Caravaggio sent a pass over left wing for Noah Comisar. He broke into the zone, and then sent a cross-ice pass onto the stick blade of a marked Adam Zacuto. As he was hauled down, Zacuto still had the presence of mind to snipe the glove-side high corner from his knees. Simply ridiculous. 1-0 Trojans after 1.

Period 2

The lack of personnel was bound to catch up to USC at some point though. The Trojans ran out of gas in the second period and the 49ers made them pay. On a 5-on-3, James Robelotto finished a cross-crease pass to tie the game up 1-1. The score stayed knotted at 1 for a good chunk of the period, but only by virtue of the skill of Adams and the luck of early referee whistles. On at least two occasions, loose pucks were sent into the net moments after the official blew the play dead. The luck, however, would even out. On another man advantage, the 49ers caught a bit of a break. A shot from the point came wide of a screened Phil Adams. Unfortunately for USC, Adams never saw the original shot and simply went into a butterfly position and waited for a shot to come. The loose puck settled behind the net. LBSU's Sean Hoang noticed the frozen Adams and wrapped the puck around the far post and into the goal. The Trojan offense meanwhile was stuck in the mud the whole period, unable to break cleanly into 49er territory. 2-1 LBSU after 2.

Period 3

Adams continued his monster play in net, but unfortunately for USC, the best defense did not amount to any offense. Shots were still hard to come by for the Trojans. Running a shortened bench, the team looked flat tired. The game remained close down the wire, but eventually USC's time ran out. With Adams on the bench for the extra attacker, Sean Hoang gathered a dump in off of the end boards and stuffed it home from the crease. That sealed the game with 17 seconds left, and the Trojans win streak ended in a 3-1 loss.

Some news/notes from the game:

- Nobody can blame Phil Adams for the loss. He kept this game from turning into a rout by using every inch of his body and pads to keep pucks from going behind him.

- Frustration with the refereeing from Friday's contest bled over into Saturday's game. During the third, USC was put shorthanded 5-on-3 when Coach Langille argued a little too colorfully for the referee's taste and gave the Trojans a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.

- The forwards struggled in general, but kudos to both Cory Adler and Mitchell Landsinger. Adler, as I mentioned, played through pain the entire night. Landsinger was his usual aggressive, hard-skating self. They both played well in defeat.

- Scott Mason sat for two once again. Without the scoresheet handy in front of me, I believe it was a holding call in the first period. Mason has got to play more disciplined hockey if he wants the ice time to show off his underrated goal-scoring ability.

- Right after Adams got run during the third period, Matt Lewis protected his goaltender very literally. He threw a 49er down to the ice. Lewis definitely got his money's worth on that minor penalty.

- This loss struck me as very different from the 9 others this season. The Trojans have a great locker room camaraderie going. It just look like they got beaten by a hungry LBSU team and their own exhaustion. They'll have two weeks to rest up before their final game of the semester against this same LBSU team.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Zacuto - 13 (Comisar, Caravaggio) PP

2nd Period

NONE

3rd Period

NONE

Messy But Satisfying: USC Edges LBSU 3-2

Hey everyone,

Trojans entered this game on a 3-game tear. They faced a tough task against a bipolar 49ers team. One that lost to Cal State Fullerton but split with San Jose State. The Trojans swept this team in two games last year, but a lot changes from season to season. As a now determined team, here's how they handled the test:

Period 1

USC made a statement early, scoring just a few minutes into the game. Breaking into the zone with linemate Nick Helmer, Cory Adler found a loose puck off of Helmer's stick. Adler sent a sliding wrister through traffic from the high slot. It found daylight just inside the near-side post to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead. The rest of the period was all Long Beach State in every important area but the scoreboard. 49er Sean Hoang cherrypicked for a good chunk of the period. It nearly paid off twice as he had two clean breakaways in on USC netminder Zack Keith. The Trojan goalie stoned Hoang on one, and Keith's best friend, the crossbar, rejected the second. Keith played a fantastic first, but the 49ers eventually broke through with under two minutes to play. A shot from the point by blueliner Nick Kemp deflected in front onto the stick of Bradley Roberts. The LBSU forward made no mistake, firing a quick wrister just under the crossbar to knot the game at one goal apiece. USC could have easily been trailing by two if not for Keith.

Period 2

USC looked much better this period, evening the scoring chances and breaking up offensive movement from the 49ers in the neutral zone. The Trojans were rewarded midway through the second, this time on a powerplay. Adam Zacuto cycled the puck to Jason Bush at the center of the point. He fired a slapshot through heavy traffic in front of goaltender Ricky St. Louis. It appeared to deflect downward and squeezed through St. Louis' five-hole into the net. Mitchell Landsinger claims to have tipped it, but Bush was credited with the goal. The biggest moment for USC, however, came later in the period. Adler rode a retreating 49er defenseman hard into the boards behind his own net. The referee (much more on the referee coming) ruled it a 5-minute major for Checking from Behind. With a lot of time to kill, the Trojans then gave everyone in the building a clinic on how to penalty kill. USC held the 49ers to only 1 shot on the entire 5-minute advantage and LBSU barely entered the Trojan zone the whole time. Penalty killers broke up passes in the neutral zone and sent them down ice time and time again. Pucks that did enter USC territory were quickly turned away. It was playing shorthanded at its very finest. Trojans headed to the locker room with a 1 goal edge.

Period 3

This was an insane, complicated, and downright bizarre period of hockey. The whistle never seemed to stop blowing for one reason or another. In total, 15 penalties and a penalty shot were called in that 20-minute span. The most insane sequence came midway through the period. During a stoppage of play after a Trojan was sent to the penalty box, 49er captain Joe Nalley asked the referee to measure Zack Keith's pads. He claimed they were too wide for regulation size. They were. Keith was removed the game and USC was assessed a minor penalty for illegal equipment. Phil Adams came in off the bench absolutely cold to replace Keith. To make matters worse, Coach Wilbur asked assistant captain Dante Caravaggio to ask the referee to measure St. Louis' pads. Because his were regulation size, the Trojans were given another minor penalty, this time for delay of game. That gave LBSU a full two-minute 5-on-3 advantage with another full powerplay to follow if they couldn't score on that. Trojan penalty killing was good in the game.... but not that good. Less than a minute in, the 49ers cashed in with Nalley finishing a feed across the crease to the doorstep. The one-timer tied the game up. A penalty on LBSU helped USC kill the rest of the time.

Then the referee evened things up. With the Trojans already on a man advantage, a shot came into the crease. It was saved by St. Louis and the rebound was covered. Unfortunately for Long Beach, it was covered by defenseman Nick Kemp in the crease. Automatic penalty shot. Kemp hated the call and argued his way straight into the penalty box for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Although Zacuto was surprisingly stuffed on the penalty shot (more on that later), but the Trojans had an extended 5-on-3 anyway. With less than ten seconds left in that 5-on-3, "Handy" Nick Helmer lived up to his nickname. He found open space to drive to the net from the near boards. St. Louis positioned himself to block out the near side of the goal. Helmer cruised around him and sent a backhand home to give the Trojans a 3-2 lead. After scoring, he went flying in the air horizontally a la Bobby Orr. A great moment. On the other end, Adams finished the great performance Keith started. He made his usual complement of sprawling saves to preserve the USC lead. Making some truly miraculous point blank saves. With 17 seconds left in the contest, Helmer had a chance to cap the game with an empty net to shoot at and the puck on his backhand inside the 49er blueline. He elected not to shoot, but to instead draw the penalty. He got the penalty, but didn't seal the game. Off of the draw in their zone, LBSU came streaming in with a chance to tie it. A shot from near the bottom of the far faceoff circle appeared to go in for a split second, but just hit the outside of the net. A draw with one second left in the game was won by USC and sent down ice to preserve the 3-2 win. A great way to get your fourth straight.

Some news/notes from the contest:

- Both Trojan goaltenders deserve praise for a great combined effort. That first period could have been a bloodbath of goals, but Keith stood his ground. Adams came in cold and extinguished 49er dreams of a road win. Impressive performance from both men.

- Cory Adler was an asset and a liability in the game. He took 9 penalty minutes, but scored a key first period goal. That type of physical, aggressive play, though, is Adler's signature. Hard to ask him to change when he's having success offensively and clicking with Helmer.

- I may have jinxed Adam Zacuto. Before he took his penalty shot, I mentioned how he was perfect in his career on penalty shots up until that point. He pulled his usual slow approach, backhand-to-forehand gloveside high corner move, but didn't get as much lift as he usually does. St. Louis, to his credit, read the play perfectly and shut Zacuto down. I would have bet a big chunk of money that he would have come through in that situation. Luckily for the team his scoring rival and former linemate Helmer came through shortly after. In any case, Zacuto didn't have a bad night, notching two assists.

- I mentioned the sharp number of penalties in the third period. Adding to that delay, both teams spent their timeouts. That third period never seemed to end.

- Speaking of penalties, 28 penalties and 1 penalty shot were called during the course of the game. The scoresheet only has room for 30 spots to be recorded.

- Watch out for LBSU captain Joe Nalley in Saturday's game. He seemed to be involved in shoving matches after just about every whistle in the third period. There is a lot of bad blood between Nalley and the Trojans. With a raucous home crowd egging him on, I wouldn't be surprised to see tempers flare.

- In his second to last home game ever, Matt Lewis is playing fantastic hockey. He was incredibly active in the game,

- Josh Frazier is sick again. Poor guy has been under the weather forever!

- Scott Mason took his requisite one penalty for the game in the second period.

- Mitchell Landsinger is playing with passion, especially shorthanded. I fully expect him to get a shorthanded goal before this season is done (he had one last season against San Diego State).

- The message boards were incredibly active for this game (41 posts, holy cow!!!). One of the big points of contention was my "bias" against Zack Keith. Let me address this. First off, I think the world of Keith as a person. He is a great guy with an awesome sense of humor (deadpan style). I've carpooled with the guy several times. Entering the season I had him tabbed as the clear starter.

But let me be clear, I am no homer. I am a journalist. If I call something happening on the ice, you'd better believe it's as close to the reality of what is happening on the ice as I can possibly get it. If a Trojan makes a bad play, I'll let you know about it just as surely as I'd bring you a good play. I think that's the only true way I can genuinely bring a listener to the game. From what I (and others who travel with the team) had seen prior to last night's game, Phil Adams has been, simply put, the better goaltender for USC. Although both had struggled with rebound control, Adams had kept more pucks out of the net on a consistent basis, and in most cases, in situations in which he had no business making any kind of a save. Keith had been solid but not spectactular, including giving up a goal from the red line.

The stats backed me up... Prior to the LBSU game, here are the season stats on the two netminders:

Phil Adams - 4.66 GAA, 86% save percentage

Zack Keith - 5.55 GAA, 79% save percentage

That's not huge, but it is an edge in both categories. I'll say it again, I am a journalist. I'm calling it like I see it out there, not one direction or the other. That all being said, Keith had a heckuva game last night and I'm excited to see if he can build on it.

- A funny piece of broadcasting at the end of the game. Andrew mistakenly called Phil Adams... John Adams. I joked that he was thinking of the beer and got confused. To my knowledge, there is no beer called John Adams. There, however, was a president called John Adams. I meant Sam Adams. Whoops! I'm sure my parents are proud.

- These two teams play out the rest of the semester. Another one Saturday (tonight) and another two weeks from yesterday.

Should be an exciting game, but what a great win for USC!

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Adler - 2 (Helmer)

2nd Period

Bush - 2 (Zacuto, Helmer) PP NOTE: Landsinger says he deflected this one, but since he got credit for one he didn't deflect earlier in the year, this is almost justice.

3rd Period

Helmer - 14 (Lewis, Zacuto) PP

Foot on the Throat: USC Rolls Stanford 8-2

Hey everyone,

The Trojans won their last two in dramatic fashion. Basement-dwelling Stanford was in town. This USC team needed a blowout win to show that they can finish off teams.

***FULL GAME AUDIO HIGHLIGHTS***

Period 1

USC looked good, but not great, to open the game. After a sluggish five minutes to start the game, Adam Zacuto woke the Trojans up with a perfectly placed top corner goal from the slot. Then, USC simply got opportunistic. Stanford goalie Sam Bowers was unable to control a shot from Matt Lewis at the point. Scott Mason jumped on the juicy rebound and made it 2-0 Trojans. The USC defense felt confident with Phil Adams in net and didn't allow a whole lot of chances.

Period 2

USC came out sluggish in the second and nearly paid the price. Adams was incredibly sharp in making reflex pad saves and last-second shoulder saves. He got a bit lucky when a sure Stanford goal was disallowed because it came after the whistle. The Trojans again showed a nose for golden opportunities midway through the second. On the powerplay, Dante Caravaggio blasted a shot from the blue line. Bowers made the save and appeared to have control, but Nick Helmer poked an apparently slightly loose puck into the net to make it 3-0 USC. Adams stood strong, but the shutout was not to be. A one-time Stanford shot from Pitch Lindsay appeared to be saved by Adams, but he was too far back in his net and the puck trickled over the line to cut into USC's lead. Coach Wilbur was frustrated with the Trojans' lackadaisical play and implored them to finish off the Cardinal.

Period 3

And that's exactly what USC did. Zacuto got it started with a fantastic defense-splitting move that got him in alone on Bowers. Zacuto finished off the breakaway as he always seems to, making it 4-1. Stanford responded with a controversial goal. On the man advantage, Adams made an initial save, but the puck kicked out to a Stanford forward. He fired at the empty net, and the puck looked and sounded like it hit the crossbar cleanly and pop out. According to the referee it was in the goal, trimming USC's lead to two goals again. It wouldn't stay that small for long. On the Trojans' next ensuing powerplay, Zacuto threw a puck into the crease. It squeaked loose from Bowers and Landsinger, who was right on top of the goalie, scored the goal. The next powerplay, Nick Helmer wasted no time. On the faceoff to start the man advantage, Helmer worked through the Cardinal defense and fired a puck wide of goal. It hit the endboards sharply and came back just barely in front. Helmer followed his own rebound and punched in the weird angle shot to make it 6-2 USC. Charlie Mach came in on a 2-on-1 with Max Szentveri and elected to shoot, beating Bowers cleanly. Looking for the hat trick, Zacuto broke in with Frazier 2-on-1. Although Zacuto had a very good chance at scoring himself, he made the unselfish play by hitting Frazier back door with a perfect pass. Frazier hit the empty net to make it 8-2 Trojans. They beat the living daylights out of the Cardinal in that third period.

Some news/notes for the Trojans:

- Zacuto and Helmer each had two goals tonight and are jockeying back and forth for the team lead in goals. Helmer currently holds a 13-12 edge and earned his 13th (see the third period recap). You can tell there is a very healthy rivalry between the two talented forwards.

- The two forward lines have been shuffled around again despite increasing chemistry. Coach Wilbur is looking for more scoring balance. Here's how he's going to do it... Cardinal line - Helmer, Adler, Frazier. Gold line - Zacuto, Comisar, Mach. This should further foster the rivalry between Helmer and Zacuto as they look to lead their respective lines to scoring proficiency.

- Phil Adams had another solid start. Both goals scored against were very close to being non-goals (one arguably should have been), but he continues to use his reflexes to make incredible saves. His play kept Stanford from keeping the game too close.

- Stanford made my job incredibly hard tonight. They lost their jerseys in transit and played with some players having numbers taped onto their back and others with blank practice jerseys.

Nearly any mention of a Stanford player save for the goalie could have been completely inaccurate.

- Elliot Dawson was rewarded for his diligence in practice and long games on the bench with some ice time with the first line. Dawson parked himself in front and nearly scored twice in the first period. In the third he had a funny moment where he fell out of the Trojan bench trying to come on for some powerplay time.

- James Anderson got absolutely robbed playing a similar role to Dawson's for USC. Helmer fed him a perfect pass in front of the net. Anderson appeared to make it 8-2 with a shot into the empty net. But hold on! The net was slightly off it's moorings and the goal was waved off.

- It was Andrew Magne's first game as a color commentator. The kid from Edina, MN knows his hockey. Great to have him on board.

Big games against Long Beach State next weekend. Should be exciting.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Zacuto - 11 (Frazier)

Mason - 4 (Lewis)

2nd Period

Helmer - 12 (Caravaggio) PP

3rd Period

Zacuto - 12 (Frazier)

Landsinger - 3 (Zacuto, Lewis) PP

Helmer - 13 PP

Mach - 2 (Bush)

Frazier - 4 (Zacuto)

Comeback Kids: Trojans Win 5-4 Shootout Thriller

Hey everyone,

USC was back in Southern California after a split in the desert. I'd speculated that last week's 5-4 win was a turning point in the season. With Coach Wilbur back behind the bench, the Trojans looked to keep it going against the rising Loyola Marymount Lions. Here's what happened:

Period 1

The Trojans night got off to a simply crazy start. Although 4 lines of forwards and every skating player but Mike Gawlik was present and accounted for, USC was missing a major piece... Goaltenders. Just like during "The I-5 Game", Adam Kwon was the only goaltender to make it to the arena to start the game. Phil Adams was out sick. Zach Keith's car broke down, delaying him 2 hours. Kwon started the game, his second EVER as an ice hockey goaltender. USC rallied in his defense this time. Just under 4 minutes into the game, Nick Helmer intercepted an errant pass and beat Lions goalie Collin O'Malley for a 1-0 Trojan lead. 18 seconds later, Charlie Mach hit Joshua Frazier on a backdoor play in front of O'Malley to make it 2-0. The Lions came roaring back. On a scrum in front, David Morris shoved a puck behind Kwon. Then, blueliner Bobby Arnold shot a puck from the far boards that snuck by Kwon to tie the game. The third string netminder rallied, however, making an unbelievable skate save on a shot from the slot. He let in 2 goals on 10 shots. Score tied 2-2 after 1.

Period 2

Keith arrived a little ways into the second period and dressed as fast as he could. The Trojans held for 11 and a half minutes and were about to make the switch during the next stoppage of play as Keith had just gotten ready. But he was just a little too late... Off of a shot wide of the near post, the puck rebounded in front to Jim McDonald, who made no mistake and sent it behind Kwon. Enough was enough for the Trojans and Kwon left the ice with USC in a 3-2 hole. The Lions would extend that. During the late stages of a USC powerplay, a puck passed to the point was intercepted and taken on a breakaway by Chris Mallaber. He juked around a cold Keith, and doubled the Lions' lead heading into the second period break.

Period 3

With more security behind them in goal, the Trojans rallied back. On a 5-on-3, Matt Lewis sent a shot on goal. O'Malley made the save, but the puck somehow popped up over his head and landed behind him before squirting over the line. A weird goal, but a crucial one that gave the Trojans more than 7 minutes to find the equalizer. That tying goal came on another interesting play down low. Under two minutes to go and the makeshift Cardinal line on the ice (Adler, McClanathan, and Helmer), with the puck tangled up down low. Adler tried a wraparound on the near post. O'Malley stoned him, but was caught up in the play. The loose puck was pulled away by McClanathan and passed for Helmer. "Handy" Nick Helmer then scored a wraparound goal inside the far post to tie the game up late. McClanathan was so fired up that he acted like he had scored (confusing me after I initially said Helmer scored it). The game went into overtime.

Overtime

Chances for both teams, but both netminders were strong. Read about an interesting refereeing play in the news/notes section. Still deadlocked, the game went into a shootout.

Shootout

The Trojans chose Adam Zacuto, Joshua Frazier, and Nick Helmer as their three shooters (NOT FIVE as I erroneously said on the broadcast). The Lions countered with David Morris, Chris Mallaber, and Jim McDonald. Zacuto proved again why he is USC's best penalty shot taker. Working in slowly, he pulled the puck back towards the goaltender's glove side and sniped the top corner. It's worked every time I've seen it and Zacuto says he is 7-7 lifetime with that move. Morris beat Keith with his move, but lost the puck off of his backhand before he could stuff it home. Next up, Frazier pulled a sweet move on O'Malley. He faked the wrist shot to freeze the goalie, then dragged it towards the near post before sliding the puck 5-hole between O'Malley's pads. Mallaber kept the Lions in the shootout by juking Keith and scoring on a sweet move in from the far boards. Helmer missed his chance to finish the game as the puck rolled off of his stick last second. Mcdonald's final chance hit the side of the net. USC mobbed Keith (even though he didn't have to make an actual shootout save) and the Trojans had sealed their second in a row in dramatic fashion.

Some news/notes from the game:

- "Handy" Nick Helmer added to his great season with bookending goals. Both showed his fantastic hockey instincts and clutch play. His second saved the day for USC. Helmer has regained the team scoring lead from Zacuto. On the scoresheet, he was credited with the winning shootout goal (incorrectly).

- Officially, this may go in the books as a tie. Any of these non-conference games are technically supposed to end in a tie, but both teams agreed to play it out for the fans. Strangely (and against ACHA rules), both teams skated the overtime session with 5 skaters instead of 4. On the official scoresheet, it gives USC a 3rd period goal with 1 second remaining. Bizarre, but I'm sure the Trojans at least feel like it was a win and LMU feels like it was a loss and that may be what counts.

- An interesting play came late in the overtime session. While Trojan forwards were offsides but retreating, Alex Hite blasted a puck from outside the blue line on goal. O'Malley made the save and left the puck for his defenseman who skated ahead. But the whistle blew with the linesman signalling intentional offsides. The draw initially came deep in Trojan territory, before the officials conferred and moved it to center ice (known in some referee circles as "The Circle of Shame" because blown calls faceoff from center). Although Lions fans were absolutely furious, this was absolutely the right call. The NCAA rulebook (the same one used in the ACHA), states in Section 36, A.R. 6 that play should continue without the offsides being called. If Hite had scored, the goal would have been disallowed. Everyone seems to criticize the officials for doing a bad job, but this was great refereeing.

- Coach Wilbur is back and you can see the difference. USC's forechecking was unbelievable in this game. LMU's breakout went nowhere and the Trojans created a lot of chances through pressure. The energy Wilbur brings is a huge X-factor and should inspire the team to keep playing well.

- I'm still loving what I'm seeing from that Gold line, but it may be broken up for a period of time. Late in the first, Noah Comisar took a hit in his own zone and hobbled to the bench. He skated a couple of more shifts during the course of the game, including one as late as the third, but couldn't continue. The Trojans shuffled everything around, moving McClanathan up to the Cardinal line and moving Zacuto down to the second. Not sure on Comisar's status.

- Scott Mason is frustrating the coaches by taking stupid penalties. Tonight's came in the offensive zone off of the play. It looked like Mason got caught retaliating. One of the coaches told me a couple of weeks ago that Mason seems to take a penalty every time he touches the ice. Hard to disagree.

- These two clutch wins back to back make it clear to me that USC is back, has turned the corner, and the rest of the Pac-8 should be scared. Under most circumstances, including the San Jose state and Pac-8 semifinal game last season, the Trojans would have folded and failed if they had to play Kwon for half of a game. Instead they rallied behind him tonight and won the first overtime/shootout game since Dante Caravaggio beat Long Beach State in Anaheim Ice early last year. Watch out, this Trojan team is finding it's stride on the ice and in the locker room.

Tune in tomorrow as USC looks to get it's second straight Pac-8 win against Stanford at home.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Helmer -10

Frazier - 3 (Mach)

2nd Period

NONE

3rd Period

Lewis - 2 (Hite, Mach) PP

Helmer - 11 (McClanathan) NOTE: I'd give Adler the second assist, but the referee didn't

SHOOTOUT

Zacuto - SCORED

Frazier - SCORED

Helmer - MISSED

A Win is a Win: Trojans Snap Losing Streak With 5-4 Win Over ASU

Hey everyone,

If ever USC needed a win it was in this game. They had a nearly intact roster but needed to break up a 5-game losing streak to show themselves and the rest of the league that they hadn't faded off of the Pac-8 contender map. Before the game, the team was confident that they could get a huge road win. Here's what happened:

***FULL GAME AUDIO HIGHLIGHTS***

Period 1

Perhaps the most key decision beyond anything else in the game was giving Phil Adams the start in net. Adams played a simply ridiculous 1st period. One-timer from the crease? No problem. Breakaway chance? No worries. Adams helped weather the Sun Devils early storm. That allowed the offense to take advantage of ASU goaltender Andrew Horine. Midway through the period, Helmer threw a cross-ice pass up to the near point to Alex Hite. The defenseman sent a sliding wrister along the surface of the ice that glided past Horine inside the near post. Later, Jason Bush fired a shot from the point that missed cleanly, but bounced straight back off of the end-boards onto the stick of Helmer. "Handy" Nick Helmer finished it off with a rainbow-style shot that flipped over Horine into the goal. Then, with 13.8 seconds left in the period, Joshua Frazier found a Charlie Mach rebound and launched it top shelf to give the Trojans a 3-0 lead heading into the break. The Devils swapped goaltenders during the intermission, bringing in Scott Czarnik. Was USC the best team in that period? Probably not, but they were better where it counted.... on the scoreboard.

Period 2

Early in the period both teams came out with a head of steam. With Mach and Noah Comisar on an odd-man rush, Mach found his linemate with a pass across the low slot. Comisar finished it off to give USC a 4-goal edge. Adams continued to stand on his head almost literally, looking great even when ASU scored late in the second. He made the first two initial saves, was sprawled out on the ice long enough for the Sun Devils' Moore to finish off a goal in the top half of the net. We would hear from him again later....

Period 3

ASU had chance after chance on the powerplay for the first half of this period, but Adams and the defense held strong on the penalty kill. Eventually though, the powerplay came through for ASU. With around 6 minutes left, Moggel got a puck at the near point, and hit a slap shot towards goal. It pinballed off of several players in front and into the net. 4-2 was the score. However, two Devils penalties with 4:00 left killed off ASU's momentum. Although the Trojans couldn't score on the 5-on-3, they scored right after. Matt Lewis hit a slapshot towards goal with 1:34 left that was tipped in by Frazier for his second goal. The three-goal lead with little time remaining seemed to seal up the game. Not so. With the goaltender pulled, Joe Moore scored two goals 15 seconds apart for his hat trick. The second one left 48 seconds on the clock. Saeger had a chance to be the hero on a low breakaway, but Adams barely kept it from going through his 5-hole. It came down to the last second, but USC held on for an immeasurably huge win. As I said on the broadcast and after the game, an unnecessarily exciting victory.

Here's some news/note from the game:

- This one stat tells the story of how Phil Adams won the game for the Trojans. 56-34. That's the shot count for each team. ASU had the 56. USC had 34. Phil had 52........ 52 saves that is. He was absolutely unreal... He made saves with every part of his body he could, twisting, contorting, diving, doing everything he could to keep pucks out. These were not easy saves for Phil but he came through. Funny enough, he was up until 4:30 AM the night before and slept in until 3:30 PM today. Adams gave me a huge bear hug after the game.

- Speaking of late night antics... for a period of time last night, Adams, Keith, and Adam Kwon (all three Trojan goaltenders) were in the same bed watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

- Joshua Frazier had a clutch performance. His two goals came with less than two minutes left in the first and third periods. He had the game winner and spent the whole game in the right place at the right time. A great performance from him in his second game back on the ice.

- That second line Frazier was on looked very very good. They were responsible for 3 of the 5 Trojan goals and really seemed to be clicking. Comisar and Mach have always seemed to have chemistry (Mach had great hustle this game as well), but Frazier really completes it all as a big scoring threat.

- Michael Gawlik had a bad second period. He took 3 penalties, the last of which ASU scored on. Gawlik made up for it later with solid defensive play and a lot of big hits.

- There was an interesting situation for USC heading to the locker room after 2 periods. I'm not exactly positive if it was a scratched Division 2 or a Division 1 player, but it was definitely a player associated with ASU that confronted the Trojans. The pink blazer-wearing man jawed at the team before grabbing Scott Mason by the jersey and Jason Bush by the face mask. A scuffle ensued. The assailant was booted out of the arena with apologies from ASU's team president.

- What was the biggest difference in this USC team on the ice tonight that got them the win? Was it more physical play? Better offensive chemistry? Better play in net? All of these helped, but the biggest key was that they simply wanted it more tonight. They played with passion and desire and it got the job done. What a game.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

Period 1

Hite - 3 (Helmer, Adler)

Helmer - 9 (Bush, Zacuto)

Frazier - 1 (Mach, Comisar)

Period 2

Comisar - 2 (Mach)

Period 3

Frazier - 2 (Lewis)

Desert Disaster: Trojans Stumble to 7-2 Loss Against ASU

Hey everyone,

USC entered the night on their second four-game losing streak of the season. Trojan fans had reason to be optimistic entering the night though. With the exception of Max Ernst, the full roster of skaters was ready to go with no DQ's. They were still missing Coach Wilbur (celebrating his birthday back in Southern California), but could they take advantage of a full roster on opposing ice?

Period 1

The answer is absolutely not. Four minutes into the game, ASU notched two goals 24 seconds apart to take an early lead. Alex Moggel and Joe Moore notched the goals for the Sun Devils. The first one came off of a bad Dante Caravaggio turnover (he made up for it later). The second one came on a top shelf shot from the faceoff circle. Moore then added a second one with a nifty move in front to make it 3-0. Charlie Mach chipped away at lead on a nice feed in front by Noah Comisar (assist credited to Jason Bush as well as Comisar). But before the period was done, Heinze scored on an ASU odd man rush after a nice pass from Moggel found him alone. The Sun Devils only had 11 shots in period, but slipped 4 by Zach Keith during a major off-night for the Trojan goaltender. USC had only 2 shots themselves. An awful period of Trojan hockey.

Period 2

No goals in this period, just a couple of controversial no-goal calls that went both ways. The first one went against USC. Joshua Frazier and Noah Comisar came in on a two-on-one rush. Frazier blasted a slapshot that was saved. The rebound landed on Comisar's stick who fired at a relatively empty net. The puck was fired toward the near side of the net, but popped out near the far post. The referee signaled goal two seconds later, but then quickly changed his mind to no goal. Looking at Jeff Lewis' tape, it was certainly unclear what the puck exactly hit. On the other end, Moggel was set up by a beautiful pass down low. He came alone in front of Keith, and sent a low shot in. The puck was slowed by Keith and seemed to squeak backwards. Keith fell backwards on top of it, but it was right by the line. After discussion, the play was ruled no goal. It was certainly a better period for USC, but the deficit was still three goals.

Period 3

The line shows that ASU scored three to USC's one goal.... but one goal tells the story. Breaking out of his own zone, Mike Sasse dumped a puck in from the red line. Some combination of the bouncing puck and generally sloppy play allowed the puck to squeak past Keith. That goal essentially killed off USC's chances as it put them behind 4 goals. The one Trojan goal, by the way, came off of a great effort by Nick Helmer. He fought through three Sun Devils and a high stick, got a puck on goal. The rebound kicked out to Adam Zacuto who finished it off.

Some news and notes:

- Without seeing UW play yet, it's clear to me that ASU is the team to beat in the Pac-8. They have a lot of chemistry, solid defensive play, and a deeper team than Oregon. That showed in their performance against USC tonight.

- The first two lines reuniting was considered a major event. In a poll on this blog, you, the readers of this site, voted that the lack of a complete first line was the biggest factor in the UCLA sweep. The result on the ice at least tonight? Not impressive for most of the game. The first line looked very out of sync until the third period. The second line played better, generating opportunity after opportunity, but struggled to finish off chances.

- I've been saying this all season, but Phil Adams may win the starting slot for good with a big game on Saturday. Keith had a major off night. Yes, all of the goals weren't his fault (blame bad turnovers and odd-man rushes), but the ones that were clearly were. We'll see what Phil can do tomorrow

- Matt Lewis took a heavy hit in front of his own blue line, with his head snapping back against the ice. He was fine, but he had one very concerned fan up with me in the press box. Michelle Lewis was wearing the extra headset, and had her hands over her mouth even long after Matt had skated away. Ahhh, the agony of a hockey parent.

- Clark McClanathan had a nice blocked shot in the third. It didn't hit in an easy spot though, catching him just above the knee. He limped over to the bench, and looks like he'll just have the bruise.

- Max Ernst was out with back spasms.

- This team needs the energy of Coach Wilbur in the locker room. They have yet to win a single game this year without him behind the bench.

- Trojans on a major skid. They're 2-9 on the season now and on a 5 game losing stretch. A road win tomorrow would boost spirits... and believe me they need it.

That's all for me... Tune in tomorrow night at 5:00 Pacific.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

Period 1

Mach - 1 (Bush, Comisar)

Period 2

NO SCORING

Period 3

Zacuto - 10 (Helmer)

Sleepless in SoCal: Trojans Wake Up Too Late in 3-2 Loss to UCLA

Hey everyone,

USC came into the game on a three game losing streak and trying to shake the memory of a 5-4 late night loss to UCLA from the previous night. The good news? They were coming home and added star forward Adam Zacuto and effort player Clark McClanathan. Here's what happened:

Period 1

Zach Keith started the game for USC, but didn't last long, leaving with illness less than a minute into the game (I didn't notice it for a long time). That meant it was up to Phil Adams to carry the load for the second straight night. And also for the second straight night, Zack Tenney scored a goal for UCLA. A few seconds into their first powerplay of the game, the Bruins were tied up off of the draw. Tenney swooped in, scooped up the puck and fired a high wrister from between the faceoff circles. A disallowed goal later in the period kept the hole from getting any bigger.

Period 2

But the team didn't wake up during the intermission. USC had, at most, 3 shots on goal during the second period. It was painful to watch. The Bruins doubled their lead when Michael Carder followed a very short rebound from a tight shot off of Phil Adams and tapped it home during a bullrush at the net. The Trojans entered the second intermission still sound asleep.

Period 3

At least initially, whatever locker room speech Coach Langille gave did not work. A comeback looked highly unlikely. But then came the alarm clock. Speedy Bruin forward Daniel Vaynter came in along right wing on a 2-on-1. Vaynter threw a hard pass that deflected off of a sprawling Michael Gawlik and past Adams. The realization of a 3-0 hole got things going in a big way. Midway through a 5-on-3, Matt Lewis fed Adam Zacuto down at the bottom inside corner of the far faceoff circle. Zacuto waited patiently before snapping a puck through Al Ricciardelli to narrow the deficit. Then, with 3 minutes left in the game, USC came even closer. Jason Bush joined the attack and took the puck behind the Bruin net. He threw one in front to Zacuto who finished off the play right as the net was being dislodged. The goal stood and the Trojans were within a goal. Penalties, however, finished off USC. Nick Helmer went to the box first with 2:13 left in the period. Then Mitchell Landsinger took a double minor with just over a minute remaining. The Trojans applied pressure until the final horn sounded, but couldn't get a quality chance on net with as few players as they had. UCLA walked off of Anaheim Ice with a 3-2 win and a 2-0 lead in the Crosstown Cup.

Some news and notes:

- The Trojans skated 4 defensemen the whole game. They did a reasonable job protecting Adams, especially considering the sheer number of rebounds given up.

- Phil Adams played a great game. His reaction saves and pad saves were simply ridiculous. On a breakaway late in the third, he made a save with his right pad that he had absolutely no business making. The only consistent problem he had was a lack of rebound control. There were a shocking number of pucks just sitting in front of the crease after the first shot.

- Daniel Vaynter scored the game winner for the Bruins and was as good as advertised. He will give plenty of other teams nightmares as this season goes on.

- This was USC's third straight one-goal loss.

The Trojans hit the road next weekend in what should be some tough games against ASU.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

Period 1

NONE

Period 2

NONE

Period 3

Zacuto - 8 (Lewis) PP

Zacuto - 9 (Bush, Helmer)

Attack of the Bruins: Trojans Lose Second Straight OT Game 5-4

Hey everyone,

Game 1 of the Crosstown Cup was Thursday night/Friday morning out in Panorama City. USC was coming off of being swept out of their own building by the Ducks. The hope was that the team would turn things around against UCLA. Here's what happened:

Period 1

The Bruins let USC know early on that this was not going to be an easy night. On a powerplay, UCLA captain Neal Parsons launched a shot from the point. It deflected off of some traffic in front of USC netminder Phil Adams and got past him into the net. 1-0 UCLA. The Trojans responded fairly quickly. Faceoff winning machine Mitchell Landsinger stole a puck from Parsons on the penalty kill, broke in alone and tucked it past Bruin goaltender Al Ricciardelli to knot the game up. Then on a powerplay chance for the Trojans, defenseman-turned-forward Matt Lewis took a shot from the doorstep. Ricciardelli partially blocked it, but Scott Mason found the loose rebound and slid it home. 2-1 Trojans entering the period break.

Period 2

The momentum of this period seesawed back and forth. On a Bruins man advantage, Alex Horowitz glid from behind Adams to the front of the net. He then flipped a puck past Adams to tie the game again. Mason answered for USC on a beautiful chemistry play. Max Szentveri dropped the puck back to Lewis who then slid a pass from the near point to the far faceoff circle. Mason gathered it in and scored it. The Bruins tied again on another Horowitz goal and seemed to have all of the momentum behind them. They gained more momentum when Alex Hite hit speedy Bruin forward Nick Panzica face-first into the endboards during a foot race for the puck. Panzica was alright, but Hite received a major penalty and a game disqualification (keeping him out for Friday's game). The Trojan penalty kill stood strong though, handily killing all 5 minutes and heading into the locker room with the tie preserved.

Period 3

USC took the lead for the third time in the game early in the third period. It came on the powerplay once again. Lewis broke in along the far boards, found a loose puck and snapped a top shelf shot past Ricciardelli. The Bruins kept fighting back. Panzica shot another puck through traffic that beat Adams. With the game deadlocked at 4 apiece, both teams had their chances to finish the game in regulation. Adams stood on his head almost literally on a few chances, including some on the breakaway. The Trojans failed to scored on a nearly full 5-on-3. With around 2:30 remaining in the game, Szentveri was cleanly stuffed on a penalty shot. USC also had a powerplay chance for the last 90 seconds of regulation, but couldn't do much. And so, for the second game in a row the Trojans headed to overtime.

OT

The OT period did not last long. With only a minute gone by, Jason Bush took out a Bruin away from the puck and headed to the box on an interference call. Early in the penalty kill, Zack Tenney walked into the Trojan zone along right wing, crept into the slot and beat Adams top shelf. The Bruins poured out onto the ice as they celebrated a hard fought win.

Some news and notes:

- This was UCLA's first win over USC since an essentially meaningless Crosstown Cup Game 5 during the 2007-08 season. The Bruins last Game 1 win in the Crosstown Cup came back during 2005-06. They actually won the first two in that series before USC won the last three.

- USC has a major attendance problem and keeps unintentionally creating excuses for itself. Zacuto, Adler, and Frazier were out for various reasons. That's half of the Trojans' top six forwards right there. McClanathan was out to serve a DQ. Coach Wilbur was in Chinese Taipei on business. It's tough to completely gauge the level of this hockey team right now because it's rarely all together in one game.

- Alex Hite is a huge loss on the blue line. It means that the Trojans have to move Lewis back from forward to defense to even have 4 guys. This is a bit of a shame as Lewis was productive at forward, scoring 3 points in Thursday's game.

- One Bruin who didn't get on the scoresheet but should be a huge factor tonight is Daniel Vaynter. He is speedy, draws penalties and has great instincts. Look for him to give the Trojan defense problems on Friday.

- Make no mistake, the Bruins won the game and certainly were the better team on the ice Thursday. They outshot the Trojans in a major way. If Ricciardelli had been better for UCLA or Adams worse for USC, the Bruins could have easily won by two or more goals.


Should be an exciting game tonight!

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Landsinger - 3 SH
Mason - 2 (Lewis) PP

2nd Period

Mason - 3 (Lewis, Szentveri)

3rd Period

Lewis -1 PP

OT

NONE

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades: Trojans Close But Not Quite in 4-3 OT Loss to the Ducks

Hey everyone,

The Trojans entered this morning's game worn down from a hard game the night before against Oregon with a short bench. Captain Mike Gawlik is out with a Game DQ from the night before, starting center Cory Adler is out with a concussion, 3 other forwards were out with the flu. USC still hit the ice Saturday morning with a chance to end the Ducks' dominance over the last few seasons. Here's what happened:

Period 1

To say the Trojans came out slow in Friday's first period would be an understatement. USC had a much better start Saturday, but still trailed 2-1 after a period. Ducks defenseman Jonah Rice launched a laser through traffic that got by starting goaltender Zach Keith. The Trojans fought back to tie, with blueliner Dante Caravaggio jumping on a turnover and firing a weird angle shot that was tipped by a Ducks defender into the back of the net. Oregon had the last laugh in the period, forcing a rebound try past Keith. The key play in the period, however, happened when top penalty killing forward Clark McClanathan got too aggressive forechecking and sent Oregon starting defenseman Doug Reese face first into the boards. McClanathan was given a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for his hit. USC's third major penalty of the series, but more importantly the Trojans lost another key forward for the game.

Period 2

Despite giving the Ducks a boatload of powerplay opportunities, the Trojan penalty kill was strong and Zach Keith was even stronger. Keith had his best period of the season, shutting down Oregon on several chances from right on top of his crease. Meanwhile, USC took advantage on it's own powerplay with two goals. Adam Zacuto found a loose puck thrown in front by Nick Helmer and slipped it past Oregon goaltender Chris Takla. Minutes later, Zacuto struck again with another perfectly placed top shelf goal. That gave the Trojans the 3-2 lead entering the third.

Period 3

USC didn't play cautiously in the third and try to sit on the lead, but fairly early in the period, it was gone anyway. On the powerplay again, the Ducks' Bryson Crawford sent a pass that went from behind the USC net, through the crease, to Kevin Trihey at the point. Trihey sent a laser that went untouched past Keith to tie the game at 3 apiece. Despite late chances for both teams, the game went to overtime for the 2nd time in the last four meetings between Oregon and USC.

Overtime

But it simply wasn't meant to be. With 1:30 left in the extra session, the Ducks sent a breakout pass to winger Tyler McCarty who headed into Trojan territory in a hurry. USC would have had Bush and Hite back to stop the play, but Hite got caught heading to the bench in the middle of a change and it was Bush's job to handle McCarty. Bush did his best, forcing McCarty to take a backhanded shot from the near faceoff dot. But that was enough to beat Keith. It squeezed underneath the Trojan goaltender's arm clean into the back of the cage. That gave the Ducks a hard fought 4-3 win and extended their streak. USC came close and put up a stellar effort considering the lack of personnel, but as the saying goes.... "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades".

Here are some other notes from the game:

- Zach Keith had a great performance in the game. He certainly rose to the occasion. Unfortunately, the one goal that could be pointed to as a "bad one" was the overtime winner. The goaltending situation is arguably the most intriguing aspect of the team right now.

- Clark McClanathan did a great job as a color commentator. One of his most interesting insights is hearing how this Trojan locker room is much more together than last year's. Expect that closeness to pay dividends in chemistry and effort as the season goes on.

- This is arguably the best USC has played so far this season... but not necessarily the best team USC has played to this point. If one thing was clear from this series, it's that Oregon is certainly beatable this season. But until the Trojans get that monkey off of their back, the Ducks will hold onto their bragging rights until someone knocks them off of their throne.

- James Anderson's move to forward appears permanent. The big reason cited is his lack of complete comfort on his skates. An understandable move. It will be interesting to see how Anderson adjusts to his new role (his third on the team in less than two full seasons).

- After talking with Trojan trainer Cindy Bailey it appears that Adler can start playing again one week after symptoms of his concussion subside. That may not mean he'll be on the ice against UCLA next Thursday and Friday, but expect a possible return on the road against ASU.

The Trojans have two big games next week against UCLA. For the record and the rivalry, these are clear must-wins. Until then.... fight on everyone!

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Landsinger - 2 (Caravaggio) NOTE: Landsinger was screening on the play, but says he didn't touch it

2nd Period

Zacuto - 6 (Helmer) PP

Zacuto - 7 (Bush) PP

3rd Period

NONE

Overtime

NONE

Two Games in One: Bipolar Trojans Fall to Ducks 6-3

Hey everyone,

Oregon has had USC’s number for the last 3 seasons. Since the Trojans’ dramatic 4-3 Pac-8 Championship victory in 2007 over the Ducks, Oregon has not lost once to Troy. This season, unlike last, the games are in Anaheim. Did it make a difference? Short answer, no. Oh… you want the long answer? Read on.

Period 1

The Trojans must have gone to bed early, because they looked like they were sleepwalking in a devastating first period of play. The game stayed scoreless until first line forward Ian Law gave the Ducks a 1-0 edge a little before halfway into the period. Then the dam broke open… two powerplay goals and another rebound tally by Derek Wolfson gave Oregon a crushing 4-0 lead. Starting goaltender Phil Adams was under absolute siege in the first, facing 24 shots in the frame. Meanwhile, USC’s illness-ridden offense (more on that later) tallied only 3 shots in the entire period. Against San Jose State just three weeks earlier, the Trojans seemed to pack it in facing a similar deficit. But….

Period 2

The Trojans woke up. Just like in the second period of “The I-5 Game”, USC stopped the bleeding without healing the four-goal wound. USC had several close calls, but were shut down by Ducks netminder Jack Barry. A misconduct penalty to Adam Zacuto and a 5-minute boarding major to Max Szentveri kept the USC offense from getting on the scoreboard. Shots in the period were still 13-4 in favor of the Ducks, but that doesn’t reflect the changed Trojan team out on the ice. Coach Wilbur, despite still facing a 4-0 deficit, was pleased with the team’s turnaround.

Period 3

And then the Trojans broke through. Early in the third period, Nick Helmer took a long pass from Alex Hite, blew by the Ducks defenseman, and deked around Barry for the goal. That goal triggered inspired Trojan Hockey for the rest of the period. The offense buzzed around Barry, giving the Ducks defense all it could handle. But then one moment unraveled comeback hopes that evening and seriously hurt USC’s chances the following night. Oregon forward Carter Achilles was skating with the puck in an arc inside of Trojan territory. What happened next is up to who you ask. If you ask my broadcast partner Max Ernst, team video man Jeff Lewis, or defenseman Michael Gawlik, Achilles was laid out with a clean (albeit slightly high) hit. If you ask some of the other Trojans watching from the bench or, more importantly, the referees, Gawlik’s elbow came up and hit Achilles in the head. Either way, it sent Gawlik and Achilles off to the locker room. Achilles with a head injury and Gawlik with a 5 minute elbowing major and a game disqualification (kicking him out for Saturday’s game). Initially, the Trojans kept the energy up starting off the long penalty kill with a nifty 2-on-1 shorthanded goal from blueliner Dante Caravaggio. That narrowed the deficit to 4-2, but then the Ducks finished. They took advantage of their extended man advantage with 2 more powerplay goals. The Trojans kept fighting, with Zacuto scoring on a beautifully executed penalty shot, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

Here’s some news, notes and observations from the game:

- This Ducks team does not miss star goalie Wren Arbuthnott as much as you might expect. Jack Barry proved he is a capable successor with some truly unbelievable goals.

- Phil Adams had a chance to take a solid lead in the goaltender battle, but a sloppy first period kept things fairly even with a chance for Zack Keith to make an impression Saturday morning.

- In addition to losing captain Mike Gawlik for tomorrow’s game, first line forward Cory Adler may be absent. Word from the Trojan locker room is that he may have some type of head injury incurred during the first period (possibly a concussion).

- USC is not immune from the flu bug going around campus. Josh Frazier will miss this weekend’s series with a severe flu, while Max Ernst and Scott Mason are both out for similar illnesses. Ernst may play tomorrow, but it remains to be seen.

- As I mentioned during tryouts, Adam Zacuto may have the best penalty shot move I’ve seen. It doesn’t look like much until he brings it onto his forehand at the last second and picks the absolute top corner of the net. Absolutely unstoppable.

- Oregon may have the perfect strategy for handling the I-5. They all came down on one bus straight from Eugene. That way they either all make it or none of them make it. That is one hell of a drive though.

- It’s tough to tell whether Alex Hite or Dante Caravaggio is the best defenseman so far for USC. Hite is arguably more solid defensively, making great plays on the back check and consistently clearing pucks away from dangerous areas. Caravaggio is a gambler to be sure. He plays fast and loose in his own defensive end and loves to hit. Dante also shows no fear in hopping into the attack as evidenced by tonight’s shorthanded goal. Both have devastating slapshots, absolute cannons. Hite sent in some lasers from the red line while Caravaggio is equally dangerous from the point.

Early morning game in Anaheim tomorrow. I’ve got to get some rest or my own version of the flu is only going to get worse.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

NONE

2nd Period

NONE

3rd Period

Helmer - 8 (Hite)

Caravaggio - 2 (McClanathan) SH

Zacuto - 5 PS

Revenge!: USC Avenges Earlier Defeat With 6-1 Win Over Cal

Hey everyone,

USC entered tonight with a 4-game losing streak, an 0-1 Pac-8 record, and a lot of guys not quite on the same page. While the chemistry isn't completely there just yet, the Trojans took a big step forward in tonight's game. Here's the recap:

Period 1

Direct audio link

USC was looking for a measure of revenge after Cal pasted them 10-1 in the first period under difficult circumstances last time. The result of the first period wasn't as dramatic as the Bears' was, but satisfying nonetheless. Killing off a Matt Lewis interference penalty midway through the first, the Trojans drew a delayed penalty in their own zone and took advantage. Defenseman Jason Bush broke down ice and slipped a puck past Cal netminder Peter Tartaglia for a shorthanded goal and a 1-0 USC lead. Later in the period, on a powerplay of their own, Bush struck again. Pinching in from the point, he sent a perfect pass across the crease to Nick Helmer who couldn't help but finish it off. Minutes later, Adam Zacuto found a rebound between the faceoff circles and wristed an absolute beauty that clipped the crossbar on its way into the corner of the net. A sensational goal that sent USC to the locker room with a cozy 3-0 lead.

Period 2

Direct audio link

That 3-0 lead may have been a little too cozy. The Trojans came out of the room and Cal made them pay. Cal's Wesley Borja waltzed to the front of the net and stuck a puck past Zack Keith. All too easy of a goal for the Bears. The rest of the period went back and forth, with the Trojans getting the better of the chances but Tartaglia denying them at every turn. They had to wait until under 2 minutes to go in the period to extend their lead again. Cory Adler forced his way to the near side of the net and sent a low shot on Tartaglia. The goalie made the initial save, but left a shallow rebound. Helmer jammed at it once before it came loose towards the far side post. Helmer backhanded it along the ice underneath a diving Tartaglia to renew a 3 goal lead. Then, right off of the faceoff, Helmer stole a puck off of a Bear forward's stick in the neutral zone, split the two defensemen, and came in on a short breakaway. He slid the puck low once again underneath Tartaglia's pad to give USC a 5-1 lead and Helmer a hat trick.

Period 3

Direct audio link

It's easy to say a 5-1 game in the third period is never in doubt, USC's play made a comeback for Cal impossible. Although the Trojans only goal came from a beautiful Alex Hite top shelf slapshot, they outshot Cal 22 - 5 in the third period and never took their foot off the gas. If Tartaglia had been even remotely off of his game, this would have gotten truly ugly. Either way, USC finished off a satisfying 6-1 win that appears to have gotten things back on track.

Some news/notes from the game:

- Nick Helmer has really been the man at forward for USC so far this season. He held the team lead in goals coming into the night, and increased that lead with his MVP performance. Helmer seems to have a nose for the back of the net. He gets his goals working down low, and he gets down low with his incredible stickhandling ability. Great night for him.

- That whole first line is looking great in general. They scored 4 out of the 6 Trojan goals tonight and are very much in sync with one another. If this line has an off night, then it will be a looooong game for USC...

- The performance of that first line is good to see, but there isn't a solid following act in that second line like in past seasons. The "Gold" line made little impact on the game, and had even less chemistry. Although Josh Frazier had a solid game, and Comisar was certainly robbed on a golden opportunity, Mitchell Landsinger had one of the sloppiest games I've seen from him in quite a while. He did great on faceoffs as always, but simply looked lost offensively. My guess is that this line will get much better with time.

- We finally saw the performance we were looking for from Zack Keith. He certainly wasn't perfect, suffering with his rebound control at times, but he looked more like a starting goaltender than I've seen him look all season. Next it will be Phil Adams' turn to make a similar statement against Oregon.

- Alex Hite has scored only two goals so far this season, but both have come against Cal on slapshots into the top corner of the net. He doesn't have the hardest slapshot on the team (that title belongs to Dante Caravaggio) but he is certainly accurate with it.

- This is the most talented fourth line I've seen on a Trojan team since I've been broadcasting. Scott Mason plays as well as anyone on the third line. Clark McClanathan has developed significant stick handling ability and would be a third liner on previous Trojan teams. James Anderson still needs to develop a little bit as a forward, but plays well with the other two. Coach Wilbur has never had a problem rolling all four lines, and this year should be no exception with this bunch.

- The shots were lopsided in this game. I shortchanged USC on air. They actually had 60 pucks on goal, while the Bears had a paltry 22.

- The next games against Oregon will be big measuring sticks to see where the chemistry and talent level is on this Trojan team at the moment. Tonight's game told us that USC is not bad. A sweep or split against the Ducks next weekend will show us that this team is good.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Bush - 1 (Szentveri) SH

Helmer - 5 (Bush, Caravaggio)

Zacuto - 4 (Adler)

2nd Period

Helmer - 6 (Adler, Zacuto)

Helmer - 7

3rd Period

Hite - 2 PP

BREAKING UPDATE: USC vs. Stanford Cancelled

Hey everyone,

I'd hinted in last game's recap that the games this weekend might be cancelled.

It is official. No games this Friday or Saturday. According to Coach Wilbur, Stanford canceled the games. Not sure what the exact reason was.

But for anyone heading out this weekend to Anaheim Ice, just know that you'll be there to skate, not to see a hockey game!

Alex

Swept Out of Town: SJSU Cuts Down USC 10-2

It has been an undeniably brutal road trip this weekend in Northern California, and tonight was no exception. The Spartans were more than happy to sweep USC out of the door with another statement win, the Trojans' fourth consecutive loss. Here's some news/notes from the game:

- This was the strongest overall performance for the Trojans on this road trip, but that's not really saying much. Despite this, USC trailed 3-0 after 1 and 7-1 after 2.

- After the game, some of the Trojan players asked me what they were specifically doing wrong. They seemed at a loss for answers. My answer (and a lot of their's) was that San Jose State is simply the better team. The Spartans are a deep, fast, high chemistry team. Clark McClanathan speculated that the Trojans need to practice more together to get in sync.

- Granted, SJSU is the stronger team, but that doesn't mean the Trojans didn't make their share of mistakes. All too often USC, and especially USC defensemen, would simply pass the puck away to SJSU. Offensively, the Trojans simply didn't put enough shots on goal, and for the shots they did put on goal there was simply nobody parked in front to slam the puck home. The defense still played somewhat hesitant and not physical enough overall.

- Entering the night, Phil Adams had a shot to lock up the starter's job for good. Did he? Not quite. His performance was slightly more solid than Zack Keith's the previous night, and there were no specific "soft" goals Adams gave up. However, rebound control was a huge issue all night for Adams. On nearly every shot on Adams, he would give up a rebound. Some large, some small, but around 7 of the SJSU goals came off of those rebounds.

- Nick Helmer was the only member of the first line around, and did as much on his own as he could. His goal in the second period after Helmer moved all the way around the net, and back again before dishing it to Alex Hite. Off of Hite's shot, Helmer found the rebound and tucked it home.

- Clark McClanathan promised he would score his first goal of the season sometime this weekend. He made good on that promise in the third period. Breaking into the zone on a 3 on 1, McClanathan bumped into Szentveri and decided to keep the puck himself instead of dishing it. He found the back of the net with a wrist shot that glided along the surface of the ice seemingly underneath Caleb Murray's pads. Hard for Clark to celebrate because it cut the deficit to 7 goals at the time.

- Dante Caravaggio is lucky to escape the game in one piece. In the third period, Caravaggio sprawled out to break up an SJSU 2-on-1 and slid hard into the boards. He got up favoring one leg, but was back on the ice just a handful of minutes later. With just over two minutes left, the Spartans' captain Mickey Rhodes made a completely unnecessary and truly dirty play. Deep in the USC zone, Rhodes wrapped one arm around Caravaggio's shoulders, and took his leg and kicked one of Dante's legs out from underneath him. This penalty is known as slew-footing, the first time I've ever seen slew-footing called at a hockey game.

- Speaking of Rhodes, he set an "auspicious" SJSU record during the game, breaking the career penalty minutes mark with a double minor in the third period. The crowd went wild, giving Rhodes a standing ovation. Rhodes extended that record with the slew-footing major penalty and an additional game misconduct. That's an additional 15 penalty minutes on top of it. On the positive side, Rhodes also added 2 goals and an assist.

- 34 GOALS given up by USC in the Trojans' 3 games this weekend. I'll repeat that... 34 goals. Each of the three goalies gave up double digit goals this weekend.

- There was some discussion after the game about whether the Trojans are actually playing against Stanford next weekend at home or not. From what I could gather from team president Noah Comisar, there was a scheduling issue and the games may have been cancelled. I'll try and get an official word from Coach Wilbur this weekend.

That's all from the Bay Area. I can't wait to get back home to Los Angeles. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

NO SCORING

2nd Period

Helmer - 4 (Hite)

3rd Period

McClanathan - 1 (Lewis)

No Excuses: Spartans Wreck the Trojans 12-2

After last night's no-fault nightmare, the Trojans have no excuses for their performance tonight. USC took the ice Friday night with a full complement of players, missing key first line forwards Cory Adler and Adam Zacuto, but dressing all 6 of their starting defensemen and 3 goaltenders. Unfortunately, San Jose State came with their full team as well.

Here's a breakdown of the game:

- While the Spartans dominated play throughout the night, the game did not look like it was heading for a 10 goal blow out after the first period. The Trojans trailed 2-0 heading into the intermission. USC did not look explosive per se, but the defense was active and broke up centering feed after centering feed and blocked plenty of shots.

- The Trojans had no answer for the Spartans first line all night. Combined, they scored half of San Jose State's goals. Captain Mickey Rhodes assisted on 6. Andy Dickerson and Sam Cimino each had a hat trick and a pair of assists. They played with incredible chemistry all night. The Spartans speed on that line and on their team overall killed USC.

- Meanwhile, USC showed absolutely no offensive chemistry. The first line was a patchwork combination of new and old Trojans with Landsinger, Helmer, and Frazier. That line looked like they were simply not on the same page all night. The second line of Comisar, Mach, and Ernst seemed to disappear into the background of the game. Only the Trojans' checking line of McClanathan, Szentveri, and Mason had any remote success.

-But the real problem for the Trojans came on the other end of the ice. While the Spartans choked off USC's offense in the neutral zone, the Trojan defense played hesitant, giving SJSU free entry into their territory. There was little physicality and the Spartans skated circles around USC. One of Cimino's goals came when he took the puck from behind USC's net and essentially walked into the low slot area.

- Goaltender Zack Keith had his second straight off game. To be fair, the majority of the goals were absolutely not Keith's fault, but several specific ones clearly were. Keith came out of the net to sweep away a puck from an oncoming Sam Cimino,. He badly misplayed the puck, Cimino scooped it up and fired it into the net. Later, a slapshot from the point made its way through Keith into the top corner without a screen in front. I hate say it because he's a fantastic guy, but the bottom line is that in Keith's two games starting, the Trojans are 0-2 and Keith's GAA (goals against average) is 9.

- Because of this, Phil Adams will have a chance to outright win the starter's role with another flashy performance in Saturday's game.

- The Trojans' two goals came from hard nosed plays in front. Scott Mason found a rebound off of a Matt Lewis shot and forced the puck in with SJSU goaltender Allesandro Mullane breathing down his neck. His first career goal as a Trojan. Pinching in from the point, Michael Gawlik found a rebound from a Max Szentveri attempt on goal.

- Joshua Frazier had a rough first game of his season. Just 20 seconds into the game, Frazier took a hooking penalty. During the second period, Frazier took a series of absolutely ridiculous hits. One of any of them would have been enough to shake up a player. He was hit five or more times with vicious check after vicious check. At least three of them happened on one ridiculous shift. To his credit, Frazier got up and continued skating after each hit, but man did he take some abuse.

- The penalty kill struggled for USC all night, allowing 4 powerplay goals.

- USC is now 1-3 overall and on a 3 game losing streak. Getting swept could be either incredibly demoralizing or a true wakeup call, but winning could be particularly difficult tomorrow.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

No Scoring

2nd Period

Mason - 1 (Lewis)

3rd Period

Gawlik - 1 (Szentveri, Mason)

"The I-5 Game" - Cal Crushes USC 12-1 Under Bizarre Circumstances

Hey everyone,

What a long, strange and outright insane night for USC. In lieu of a period by period recap, I'll provide the best account of the details leading up to tonight's unimaginable loss as I can.

- A semi-truck wrecked in the middle of I-5 near Grapevine (at the base of Tejon Pass) sometime around rush hour. It completely blocked traffic for nearly 3 hours before it could be cleared. Nearly every Trojan carpool leaving Los Angeles after 3 pm was helplessly stopped dead in their tracks.

- This compounded the problem of some USC players already leaving relatively late (4 pm) due to midterm exams.

- Remember how I said "nearly". The one saving grace that prevented a forfeit was that 6 players, both broadcasters, and both substitute coaches (read below) made it through to Oakland in time.

- The team was without Coach Wilbur, Coach Langille, or even Trainer Cindy Bailey. All three are attending Langille's wedding this weekend. They were replaced by Trojan alumni Ryan Seals and Ryan Farias.

- Those six players were defensemen Michael Gawlik, James Anderson, and Alex Hite; forwards Mitchell Landsinger and Max Ernst; and goaltender Adam Kwon.

- In order to give USC the most time possible to get as many players as possible to the game, Cal negotiated 20 minutes of delay with the arena to the already incredibly late 11:45 PM start. Technically, the puck was dropped to start play early Friday, not Thursday.

- Kwon got the start in net for USC by default. Sitting third on the depth chart, Kwon brings lots of energy and dedication to the ice, but unfortunately not a shred of game experience and only a 5'6" frame. To my knowledge, Kwon's start tonight was his first ever as a hockey goaltender.

- USC's locker room did their best to pump themselves up for the Herculean task at hand. There would be no forfeit, they would fight on...

- ...But the circumstances were far too much to overcome. The 6 Trojans played without a single sub for more than three-quarters of the first period. Kwon played valiantly, especially for a goaltender who had never played a game before, but the dam broke open quickly. Within the first 4 minutes it was 4-0. The Trojan defense and players looked to conserve as much energy as possible, but that gave an assassin-like Cal team even more opportunities to score from in front.

- As my broadcast partner, Mark Shore, pointed out, taking penalties in this situation has the big upside of allowing one of the players to rest for a little while. But this "strategy" turned out to not pan out. Cal went 4-5 on the man advantage in the game. When Alex Hite took USC's first penalty, he rested for 4 seconds before Cal scored.

- Hite himself scored his first career goal as a Trojan about halfway through the first. He fired a wicked slapshot from the blue line that found the far top corner of the net. Shore said it was the best slapshot he'd seen all season. I'd have to agree.

- But scoring didn't give him or any of the other 6 Trojans any rest. By the time Max Szentveri and Nate Neroni arrived with 4 minutes left in the first, it was 8-1 Cal. He played limited time after that point. Just at the end of the period, James Anderson took a slap shot off of his ankle and limped off of the ice.

- The Bears kept pushing, scoring two more to make it 10-1 after 1. With seconds left in the period, Dante Caravaggio, Clark McClanathan, and Noah Comisar arrived. Midway through the second period, Matt Lewis, Charlie Mach, Jason Bush, and Scott McDonagh showed up. Zack Keith arrived on the ice after the second intermission and replaced Kwon in net.

- The reinforcements stopped the bleeding, but not before Cal scored another powerplay goal seconds into the second period and added their 12th goal a few minutes later.

- USC regrouped on defense but couldn't find an offensive stroke. The Trojans were still missing their top 4 offensive weapons including the entire first line.

- This was a difficult situation for both teams, but both handled it admirably. For USC's part, the Trojans fought as hard as they could given the situation. The 6 Trojan players showed heart and determination by coming out of the locker room and even playing the game.

- For Cal's part, they played a difficult game with incredible class. It's impossible to expect the Bears wouldn't score in that situation. You can't let your team get into bad habits. But Cal coach Cyril Allen personally pushed back the start time as long as he possibly could. And not a single one of Cal's players showed up USC or celebrated after a goal. They played a hard, clean game, but showed incredible sportsmanship in victory.

- The lingering technicality is whether this lopsided score will be recorded as official. USC played two whole periods with no backup goaltender. The rulebook does state that each team must dress a backup goaltender or forfeit the game. If the score is ruled a forfeit, USC would only have been recorded as losing a 1-0 game.

- If the score is official, it is USC's biggest loss in Pac-8 play in team history.

That's all for now. Tune in tonight as the Trojans will try and regroup against San Jose State.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Hite - 1

2nd Period

NO SCORING

3rd Period

NO SCORING