Hey everyone,
From swept last year to studs this year, the Bruins have officially made their point. And in a way, USC may have made theirs. Tonight's game was not the final word on the rivalry for the year. That honor goes to next Friday's early morning quarterfinal clash. Make no mistake though, this one hurts USC regardless of the outcome of that sixth game. Here's how UCLA lifted the Cup Thursday night. This may have been the highest scoring goaltender duel I've seen.
Period 1
The game did not start off particularly epic. The jitters were evident on both sides early. For half of a period, the teams felt each other out. Then USC got rolling with a goal from a usual goal scorer in a very unusual way. With his teammates changing behind him, blueliner Jason Bush skated the puck deep into Bruin territory. Bush skated around the UCLA net and sent a centering feed that missed everything. Fresh from the bench, Alex Lofthus charged and held the zone before ripping a slap shot cleanly past Bruin goaltender Al Ricciardelli. That started a surge of Trojan momentum. Just minutes later, Adam Zacuto and Noah Comisar used that edge to create some scoring magic. Breaking in 2-on-2, Zacuto played a little give-and-go with Comisar. The return pass was dead on and Zacuto had a step and the puck on the doorstep. Instead of picking a corner, Zacuto worked his way to the near post side almost all the way to the goal line. He had inches to work with and somehow found the perfect line between the near post and Ricciardelli to double the lead. What followed was the first big swing of the pendulum. The Trojans peppered Ricciardelli with shots, and very nearly scored on multiple occasions. A Zacuto low-corner wrist shot went into the net, but the goal was waved off because Alex Lofthus was ruled to have interfered with Ricciardelli (a fair call). The Bruin netminder kept the dam from breaking open time and time again. UCLA received respite from the barrage with a game-changing goal. Omar Sandhu nearly tallied a goal on a rush that caught the Trojan defense sleeping. USC goalie Phil Adams kicked it out. Daniel Vaynter followed with a rebound try. Denied again. But the second rebound popped out juicily for the Bruins' Linehan. He wristed a perfect shot to the top corner to cut the deficit in half with just over 15 seconds left before intermission. The Bruins nearly tied it up immediately afterward, but time ran out in the period.
Period 2
But just because time ran out in the first doesn't mean the Bruins momentum did. UCLA continued the rally with Nick Panzica's game-tying rebound goal. Mitchell Landsinger's completely unnecessary roughing call gave the Bruins a long 5-on-3. USC nearly escaped it, but with 1 second left to kill, Zack Tenney put home another tight rebound flurry to give UCLA their first lead of the night. It held for about 5 minutes before the Trojans used a powerplay of their own to respond. Zacuto beat a defender off of the left wing half-wall and worked his way to the faceoff circle. The Sniper of Troy then did what he does best, pick the gloveside high corner with a precise wrist shot. That left the score tied 3-3 with 20 minutes left for either team to go home with the Crosstown Cup.
Period 3
Nervousness bogged down both teams' play for the early stages of the period. Seven minutes in, however, USC used a high-powered line of Adam Zacuto, Nick Helmer, and Alex Lofthus to get the edge. It did not come easy. Zacuto was denied his hat trick by Ricciardelli on the first shot. The rebound came to Lofthus, who floated a knuckling backhand that inched its way to the goalline but not in. A Bruin defenseman swept it away, but right to Nick Helmer. The clutch Trojan was denied his first shot, but beat Ricciardelli on the fourth effort total. Immediately afterward, USC came inches from securing the game on a quick rush and a followup chance. Ricciardelli held once again at a key moment and the Bruins counter-attacked right away. It worked. Working off of a pass from linemate Alex Horowitz, Jonathan Lee was forced wide away from the far post by the defense. Lee sent in a prayer from a tough angle that found a hole somewhere in Adams for a soft, game-tying goal. In a span of less than a minute, the pendulum erased any Trojan edge caused by Helmer's goal. With 7 minutes to go, the rush yielded another Bruin tally. Entering 3-on-3, Daniel Vaynter set up playing partner Zack Tenney with a puck to his stick. Tenney was forced to his backhand by a defender draped all over him. Tenney flipped the backhand in and it squirted between Adams' armpit and side and into the goal. Once again, the Bruins could smell the Crosstown Cup. Helmer, UCLA's kryptonite in Game 4, nearly killed them again. Lofthus set up Helmer beautifully in front. If Helmer had one split second more, the game is tied late. Ricciardelli took that split second away with a desperation poke check. As the clock hit 1:25, Adams left for an extra skater. It didn't help. Following two easy saves by Ricciardelli, the Bruins got free of their zone with the puck. Tenney was around the USC defense, alone and at the far faceoff circle in Trojan territory staring down an empty net. He launched a slap shot that by some incredible miracle rang the post and came out with just over 70 seconds to play. Tenney's choke should have given the Trojans' life. After a draw deep in the Bruins' zone, UCLA came clear again and this time Daniel Vaynter made no mistakes, sending in a wide-angle shot from the bottom of the faceoff circle home. The Bruins erupted because they knew in that moment that the Crosstown Cup was their's.
Some news and notes from the game:
- It's the Bruins' first Crosstown Cup since the 2004-05 season. This scrappy Bruin club doesn't stack up to USC talent-wise, but they blew the Trojans away desire-wise. In every game between the two clubs, UCLA's desire to bring home the Cup was echoed in every minute they played. As Coach Wilbur said following the game, "They simply wanted it more."
- Another remarkable part of this Bruin team is how their conditioning makes up for a blatant lack of depth. I can't remember seeing more than 6 or 7 different forwards over the course of the game. UCLA has some great talent in those top players. Look no further than Daniel Vaynter, Alex Horowitz, or Zack Tenney for that. But I'm not sure I saw a third line touch the ice for the Bruins tonight.
- Bruin Michael Carder separated his AC joint early in the night and will not be available for the tournament. At least according to shoddily kept ACHA statistics, Carder is the Bruins' second-leading goal scorer.
- Fans at any of these five games have gotten more than their money's worth. Each game has been close and a true battle. It's been incredible to watch.
- The Trojans started the following lineup: Michael Gawlik, Jason Bush, Justin O'Neill, Clark McClanathan, Cory Adler, and Phil Adams. Notice a common theme between those 6? If you guessed Senior Night and that this is their last regular season home game, you guessed right.
- Nobody took this loss harder, at least from what I could see, than Phil Adams did. Adams had to be dragged out of the locker room post-game. He sat head down, wordless for a good half-hour before heading out. As I was driving out, I saw Adams sitting on his bag in a similar position in the parking lot. Genuine depression.
- This resonated with me because I remember seeing how former USC quarterback John David Booty reacted following an earth-shattering loss to Stanford my sophomore year. It didn't phase him one bit. He acted as if the loss didn't touch him one bit and reportedly enjoyed a fancy dinner later that night. I never forgave Booty for taking a loss that absolutely killed the campus so lightly. Adams reaction was the exact opposite of Booty's and you can tell how much he truly cared about the game's result.
- This is not out of character for Phil. Following an incredible upset win and brilliant performance against ASU, Adams greeted me in the Trojan locker room with a huge bear hug. Make no mistake, these games do matter to him and they matter a lot. In Phil's defense for tonight, while the last two goals scored on him Thursday were certainly soft, he made some absolute jaw-dropping saves and kept pucks out of the net that he has no business keeping out. That's a characteristic that has followed him this year regardless of whether he's on or off on any given night.
- Adams was simply upstaged by Al Ricciardelli, and what more can you say about the Bruin 'tender. Shots favored the Trojans 37-25. USC could have run away in the first and immediately after the lead-taking goal in the third. Ricciardelli was simply amazing when he needed to be.
- The last five players in the USC locker room were Elliot Dawson, Noah Comisar, Clark McClanathan, Dante Caravaggio, and Phil Adams. Read into that if you'd like.
- Adam Zacuto was an absolute offensive rockstar in this game. Both of his goals were absolute highlight reel tallies. He nows holds a 1-goal lead for the goal-scoring title over Nick Helmer heading down the stretch.
- Two too many men on the ice penalties in the second period helped derail Trojan efforts.
- The crowd at Anaheim Ice was rowdy as expected. Bruin and Trojan fans packed the stands in near equal parts. Fans exchanged incredibly, well, colorful language and on occasion, punches immediately in front of my broadcast position. The USC fans stood just like at a basketball for football game. Even standing on chairs, me and my broadcast partner for the night, Rob McPherson, could not see certain areas of the near-side boards and corners. An adventure of a broadcast.
- Elliot Dawson was wearing street clothes as a healthy scratch. This brings up an interesting debate. On one hand, Dawson has been one of a handful of truly dependable players on the squad and there could be a case made that he's earned a spot in the lineup even if he doesn't see the ice. On the other hand, Dawson was not better talent-wise than any of the players who played in front of him and this game was for the hardware. Tough question.
- USC stepped up it's physical game in a big way in the first period, but settled back into it's usual meek self as the game wore on.
- The Trojans are on a 5-game losing streak, and could enter the Pac-8 tournament on a 6-game slide if the Long Beach State 49ers handle them on Monday night. USC is now 9-19 overall.
That's it for me.
OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING
1st Period
Lofthus - 8 (Gawlik) NOTE: This should have been Bush's assist.
Zacuto - 20 (Comisar, O'Neill)
2nd Period
Zacuto - 21 (Schauffhausen, Helmer)
3rd Period
Helmer - 20 (Lofthus, Zacuto)
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