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.
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)
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