A wild night again for USC Ice Hockey, but in a more positive way tonight/today. Let's get to it: Bruins win the Crosstown Cup with a Game 3 victory over USC. Trojans stave off elimination if they come out on top. With fans packing the Valley Ice Center for the midnight showdown, it was on in a big way.
Period 1
The puck had barely been dropped and USC was already down. Fifteen seconds in, the Bruins struck and made a statement early in the contest. After the Trojans gained some traction things leveled out a bit. Despite numerous chances, Al Ricciardelli stood his ground and on his head to keep the Trojans off the scoreboard. He frustrated Alex Lofthus on several quality efforts from the Jumpin' Junior. Then USC broke through with around 5 minutes to go in the first. Following a play where he unsuccessfully tried to generate a chance 1 vs. 4 (on a powerplay), Ryder Fyrwald atoned the next rush. He entered the zone 1-on-2, but then dropped a pass back to Adam Zacuto who was trailing on the play. Zacuto was denied the top corner by Ricciardelli, but Fyrwald wasn't denied the rebound. Fyrwald's goal tied things at 1 and that's how the first ended.
Period 2
Fyrwald was just getting started. A little more than halfway through, Fyrwald beat Ricciardelli on a shot sent between two Bruin defenseman. That gave USC its first lead of the game. It was the only Ricciardelli mistake of the period. The Bruins would respond in a big way. Zac Tenney took advantage of a misplayed Phil Adams rebound and backhanded the puck around Adams to tie the game. Then, with the period winding down, blueliner Ashton Christian took advantage of a half-screen in front of Adams to give UCLA a 3-2 lead entering the second intermission.
Period 3
5 minutes in, Michael Carder got fancy. One dangle through the neutral zone, another one past a defenseman, and the capper got the puck between Adams legs into the net. A sensational goal, and one that had the Bruins believing that the Crosstown Cup was in their grasp. Not so fast. On a powerplay again, Alex Lofthus put home a third rebound to narrow the deficit. Then Nick Helmer re-earned his nickname on another man advantage with under 9 to go in the period. Justin O'Neill sent a beautiful head-man pass that Helmer corralled and brought in along the far boards with speed. He burned around the backchecking Bruin defense and came across the face of Ricciardelli. Helmer kept going, his stick and puck stayed behind. Ricciardelli didn't have a chance. 4-4. With under 4 minutes left, the Trojan avalanche rolled on. A Helmer rebound was punched in by a goal-hungry Fyrwald for his hat trick. Then it got tense. With 3:19 left, the Trojans took a penalty. But the man advantage for UCLA could not convert. Following a timeout shortly before the powerplay expired, the Trojans rushed up ice. Daniel Vaynter lagged behind. A Trojan turnover turned into a last minute opportunity for the Bruins. A breakout pass hit Vaynter on the tape as he entered the Trojan zone in behind the defense. Alex Schauffhausen did all he could to slow Vaynter down, including hauling him down and causing a massive pileup that slid hard into Adams. When the dust settled, UCLA had a penalty shot to tie the game with 54.6 seconds remaining. Vaynter thought he had Adams beat, but Phil did the splits and kicked the puck away. No goal. The ensuing faceoff was won by USC and taken ahead. Lofthus burned off as much time in the Bruin zone as he could, keeping Ricciardelli from leaving the ice. A sloppy Bruin turnover gave Helmer and Fyrwald a 2-on-0 on the doorstep. Big mistake. With 20 seconds left, Helmer dished it back to Fyrwald for the capper. 6-4, the Trojans the escape Valley Ice Center with their Crosstown Cup hopes intact.
Some news/notes from the exciting game:
- This was similar to Thursday's thriller, except the Trojans actually finished off their opponents this time around.
- The Bruins looked simply dejected as they left the ice. They had the Cup won, and just let it slip away. USC has a chance to break their will tomorrow.
- Now you see what the Trojans were missing? All 6 USC goals were scored by players who were not on the Utah/Las Vegas trip. 5 of the goals were scored by players who weren't on the team until this semester.
- Ryder Fyrwald plays like Nick Helmer, but at least as far as what we've seen of late, the similarities end in how the two score their goals. Helmer's tend to be pretty, showmanship-type tallies. Fyrwald's tend to be grind-them-out, nobody's moving me from the front of this net type of goals.
- Adam Zacuto with three assists on the night, but lost a little of his team goal-scoring lead to Helmer.
- This new Trojan offense has whole 'nother gear. They can score when they need to and have a tiny sense of desperation, as we saw in the last two games.
- The team also has a new physicality. Both sides banged bodies, but USC absolutely laid into the Bruins throughout the game. Coach Wilbur said during the first intermission that he's been looking for that physical spark all year long.
- Deuces wild in the second!!! In the second period, the score was 2-2 during a stoppage with 2:22 left on the clock. Aren't those great?
- I apologize for the sound quality. At Valley Ice Center, they use a digital phone system, which my broadcast box can't handle directly. So in order to get a line out, I had to borrow a rink phone, run my phone line into the phone, and then unclip the handset and plug it into my box. It's an arrangement that worked well in Vegas and has been fine in the past. For whatever reason, the handset cord or phone greatly distorted the audio signal. Things will be clearer (and simpler) tomorrow back at Anaheim Ice.
- Also, Valley Ice Center doesn't have WiFi available, making it hard to keep up with the forums. Sorry for the technical issues McClanathans. I wish I'd have known or I could have sent out scoring updates.
-Adding on top of all of that, the game didn't start until well after 11 pm, making a late start even later. I couldn't even get my gear hooked up until the prior game (CSUN vs. LBSU) wrapped up and their fans dispersed. Really just a rough night, but apologies to those who tuned in early.
That's enough out of me. Be sure to tune in for Game 4 of the Crosstown Cup tomorrow night!
OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING
1st Period
Fyrwald - 1 (Zacuto) PP
2nd Period
Fyrwald - 2 (Zacuto, Caravaggio) PP
3rd Period
Lofthus - 2 PP
Helmer - 16 (O'Neill, Zacuto) PP
Fyrwald - 3 (Helmer)
Lofthus - 3 (Helmer)
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