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
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