Fight On & Goodbye for Now

This post has been a long time coming. I've avoided writing it and procrastinated until I knew it would be written as something official and more set in stone. I didn't want to say goodbye only to turn around and have it be less final and more awkward.

For those of you who don't know, I was recently hired and have started working as an on-air reporter with WILX-TV in Lansing, MI. The last couple of weeks have been crazy in that I've essentially moved my entire life from Southern California out here in the span of a few days. The reality is still sinking in, but it's a thrill to actually be getting paid to work as a journalist.

But if there's one thing I'm going to miss about USC and my college experience more than anything, it's my time covering and being a part of this team.

When I first came to USC from Santa Fe, I wasn't sure what to expect from the organization. I fired off an email to the general team address to the effect of: I'd like to do play-by-play, public address or whatever you need.

It didn't take long for that email to turn into a 4-year labor of love (hopefully mutual) between myself and the team. I've enjoyed calling the games, even when they started at 11:45 at night or required a multi-state bus trip to get to. Every rush-hour trip to Anaheim Ice was worth it, no exceptions. I witnessed the slow collapse of the program followed by the amazing speed in which the team successfully rebuilt itself into champions. USC Football could learn a lot from this team... especially about fighting on through adversity that's out of your hands.

The primary reason for this post isn't just to say goodbye but also to say thanks, and there's plenty of people deserving of gratitude.

There's no better group to start with than the parents. Without you, there would be no point to broadcasting the games because nobody would care to listen. You are the true superfans of this team and meeting and speaking with you either through the forums or in person was one of the great perks of my job. To the Ernsts, thank you for all of the great pictures! They added so much to the blog over the last season. To Tom Gawlik, thank you for being the most active message board contributor. It always helped to see physical evidence that someone was listening. To the one and only Dante Sr., thank you for your dedication. It was always a pleasure to see you either at home games or on the road. To the Lewis's, thank you for providing pictures for my words. Jeff, it was always a pleasure looking at replays of controversial plays. To the McClanathans, thank you for being my pseudo-parents and making home games that much better with your enthusiasm. Special thanks to Elaine for trying to set me up on a date. I'm sure I'm forgetting someone, but hopefully this gives everyone a sense of how wonderful this group was.

Of course there are the players to thank. There's no better place to start than everyone on last year's roster, if only because they sent me and the other seniors out on the highest note there is. I still can't believe you guys hung a banner this year. Simply unbelievable. To Butters (aka Max Szentveri), thanks for always providing material for epic stories (in Seattle, Colorado, China... you don't need specifics I'm sure). To Dante Caravaggio, thanks for always caring and bringing passion to the ice every night. You are one of the fiercest competitors out there and that's exactly how it should be. To Clark McClanathan, thank you for being the heart and soul of the team. Your love of the game was evident in how you played and there's a reason I was always a little biased. To Jonathan Stallsmith, thanks for being one of the hardest workers I've ever known. Riding to Anaheim with you and Foley arguing about, well, everything, made every trip a breeze. To the team as a whole, thanks for treating me as part of the squad even though I never wore a jersey on my back. It truly meant a lot.

The other staff members were also a joy to work with. To Mike Locke, thanks for giving the stadium your booming voice. It wouldn't sound right in Anaheim Ice without you behind the mic. To Nicole Vierzba, thanks for making sure every event was worth attending. To Johnny Nguyen, thanks for going above and beyond to take this team to the next level. The effort looks like it's paying off and I'm just sad I won't be around to see all of the great changes you're bringing to the program. To Cindy Bailey, thanks for being both a lifesaver. I don't think I could've made it through the whole eye situation without you. To Coach Jeff Langille, thanks for everything and I can't wait to see how you'll take the team to new heights. To Mark Wilbur, thanks for being a great interviewee and a better friend. I can't tell you how much your support of myself and the broadcast meant over the years. I appreciate that you were always honest and up front about the team and never hid behind the typical clichéd quotes coaches always use to avoid being interesting. It was a pleasure getting to know you and your wonderful family. I'm going to miss the swagger you brought to the bench and the winning attitude you instilled in the team night after night. You are a big part of what makes USC Ice Hockey so special and I hope you never leave the program behind.

Finally, I have to thank the two broadcasters I worked with predominantly during my time at USC. To Andrew Samel, thanks for shouldering the driving load, even if it meant getting us lost sometimes. To Dave Foley, thanks for being a great mentor and friend to me. I would've loved nothing more than to hear your call of the championship winning goal. It was a true pleasure doing games with you and I enjoyed our on-air chemistry. I can't wait to hear clips of you calling hockey in Atlanta. That city won't know what hit it. You're the man and I'm looking forward to the day when you get called up to the NHL.

If I left anyone out, I'm sorry.

I have loved my time during these last four seasons broadcasting and writing about this team. It's been a true joy. My only regret is that I didn't leave with a successor in place. My fondest hope is that someone steps in and continues calling the games. I wish I could address the future of this blog and the broadcast, but I'm honestly in the dark at this point. I'm a little ashamed to leave things in that state. Hopefully someone grabs the torch. They'll have the time of their lives. I know that because I did.

Thanks again to this program. I can't repeat enough how great it was being a part of this organization and I will be following along as the team defends their title.

For the last time in this position, but only for now....

Have a great night and Fight On!

Sincerely,
Alex

End of an Era: Mark Wilbur Resigns After 17 Years as Head Coach

UPDATE: Check out my full ATVN interview with Wilbur.

UPDATE II: The official press release is here.

Eight championships. Twelve Crosstown Cups. That is the measurable impact of the Mark Wilbur era.

Swagger. A winning culture. International exposure. That is the immeasurable, but undeniable, impact Mark Wilbur has had on this program.

Wilbur made the announcement Wednesday that he was resigning as head coach before an assembled group of players at the team's house. He cited mostly family reasons for the move. Wilbur has two daughters, one of whom is entering high school. Also leaving his position is assistant coach Manny Ramirez. He and Coach Wilbur are, according to Ramirez, a package deal.

Although Wilbur is stepping down, he is not stepping out. Wilbur is moving from behind the bench as coach to the stands as the team's new general manager. That means things like travel arrangements, arena deals, equipment deals and recruiting are not in jeopardy going forward. Wilbur said he was excited about the opportunity to advance the organization in areas he didn't have time for previously.

Wilbur's likely replacement is Assistant Coach Jeff Langille. In addition to having three years experience on Wilbur's staff, Langille was the top goaltender for two championship teams (2002 and 2003). Not surprisingly given his background, Langille coached the defense. He was also the acting head coach for a good chunk of the regular season contests this past season, including the ASU road trip that sparked a turnaround last semester.

BREAKING NEWS: Champion's Cup Finally Returned to USC

The Cup was mailed to Coach Mark Wilbur. It came with no note and no apology. Still no comment from or communication with Oregon themselves. At least the trophy is with its rightful holders now.

USC Press Release on Oregon Running Off With the Championship Cup

University of Oregon Out of Class; Ducks Nesting on USC's PAC 8 Hockey Championship Trophy

Breach of tradition and sportsmanship mar underdog victory of USC Trojan Hockey victory of 2010 PAC 8 Hockey Tournament

LOS ANGELES (February 26, 2010) -In a breach of conduct, tradition, and sportsmanship, the University of Oregon has failed to give the perpetual PAC 8 Hockey "Championship Cup" to the current title holders, the University of Southern California (USC).

Fifth-ranked USC came from an underdog position in the tournament to defeat #4 UCLA (preliminary game), then #1 University of Oregon (semi-final), and #2 University of Washington (championship game) and capture the PAC 8 Championship February 20.

The University of Oregon had dominated the PAC 8 this season winning 14 of its 16 league games and had won the PAC 8 tournament the previous two years. USC Head Coach Mark Wilbur commented on the lack of a cup at last week's awards presentation, " The absence of sportsmanship in a sport that cherishes its traditions leaves me speechless. It hurts the students, players, the fans, UO, and the league."

The University of Oregon has not issued any communication to USC or the PAC 8 league to inform them of when they should expect the trophy delivered to the winners, nor an apology for failing to bring the perpetual cup to last week's tournament. Wilbur noted the lack of accountability and leadership from the University of Oregon Duck team, "It's pathetic...grow up and face the classless act and apologize publicly to the league and the team. Forget our seven previous championships - for this year's team, it's their first! I never thought I would witness such a class-less act at this level."

USC's last tournament win was in 2007. For many of their players, this was their first championship victory.

When asked what the team would do when the trophy arrives, coach Wilbur said, "What else, throw another victory party! Maybe we should thank them for giving cause to celebrate again. But, that doesn't replace that moment stolen from my players and our fans."

The King Has Returned: USC Comes Back to Win 8th Pac-8 Title 5-4 Over Washington

Hey everyone,

To tell the story of USC Ice Hockey this season, some numbers matter and some numbers simply do not. Numbers that don't matter: 9-19 (regular season record), 5-8 (Pac-8 record), 6-4 (score of Crosstown Cup Game #5), #5 (USC's seed in the Pac-8 tournament), and 4 (the losing streak the Trojans entered the tournament on). Numbers that do matter: 3-0 (Pac-8 tournament record), 12.6 (seconds remaining when the championship was won), 21 (Ryder Fyrwald's number), 5-4 (the final score), and 8 (Pac-8 championships in 15 years it's been awarded). Before the game, Coach Wilbur told his team: "Those banners on the wall aren't yours. If you want a damn banner, go out and get one." Here's how they did just that:

Period 1

The one flaw of this weekend has been the first period for the Trojans. UCLA and Oregon both drew first blood around 3 and a half minutes into the game. This one was no different. The Huskies David Schulman sent a low slap shot from the blue line on net. It deflected off of Schauffhausen and slid between goaltender Phil Adams legs and just across the line. Not a great goal to allow. But the Trojans answered back with a familiar face doing the damage. Alex Lofthus grabbed the puck from a corner scrum and circled into a scoring position at the inside edge of the left faceoff circle. His first try was blocked, but the second one was on goal. Washington goaltender Danny Dougan kept it out, but parked on the doorstep was Ryder Fyrwald. The goal was Fyrwald's 6th goal of the tournament (officially 4th), and tied the game. The Huskies were unfazed despite a bit of lackluster play overall by their squad. Daniel Carson held the puck at the near point and fired at goal. Jordan Chernesky was sitting just off of the paint by the near post and sent a perfect redirection past Adams. A dagger of a goal came in the late stages of the 1st. Dan Herda muscled his way down the right wing boards and into the corner with Justin O'Neill draped all over him. Herda won the battle and passed it to All-Pac-8 forward Corey James. A one-timed slapshot later, and the Huskies doubled their lead to 3-1 with just 3.7 seconds remaining in the period.

Period 2

But USC had outplayed the Huskies in the first, they had only a two-goal deficit to show for it. Washington stepped up their game a bit in the second, but the Trojans didn't let their foot off of the accelerator. As the period wound down, Nick Helmer and Noah Comisar almost used that momentum and crowd to their advantage. They broke in 2-on-1. Helmer passed it backdoor for Comisar. The Texas product had an empty net to shoot at, but his one-time try clanged the crossbar, came straight down and bounced out. USC was undeterred. After an aggressive try to jar the puck loose following another Dougan save, Clark McClanathan and Bryce Johnson received matching minors. McClanathan demanded noise from the crowd with emphatic hand motions and it came from the packed pro-USC crowd. A "U-S-C, U-S-C" chant filled the building and the energy lifted the Trojan bench. USC's bench stood as a unit for the remainder of the game, the Huskies bench was quiet and reserved. You'd have never known that Washington had a 2-goal advantage. They had a look on their face like something bad was about to happen. Following a monumental penalty, something bad did happen to the Huskies on the 4-on-3. USC sent out 3 forwards and a defenseman with a late change. It paid immediate dividends. The draw was won back and passed to Fyrwald. The forward found Helmer with a cross-ice pass to the high slot. Helmer wristed the puck into the top of the net to slash the Huskies lead. 3-2 after two periods.

2nd Intermission

I never write about intermission speeches except in summary, but this one will go down in USC Ice Hockey history as perhaps its great coaching moment. Players told me later that it was the best speech that they'd ever heard in their playing careers. In the locker room, Coach Mark Wilbur got the team down on one knee and told them to close their eyes. What follows below is a rough transcription of what he said next (if I can get the exact quote from Wilbur I will):

Boys, here's what's going to happen. You're going to leave this locker room and tie the game up. But that won't be enough. They will score another goal. You're going to need to score another one to tie it again. And then you know what's going to happen next? You're going to go out there and TEAR THEIR (expletive)-ING HEARTS OUT!



Period 3

And wouldn't you know it, that's exactly how it happened. Five minutes into the period Adams left a puck for captain Mike Gawlik who sent an outlet pass up-ice for Fyrwald. He entered the zone left wing and swung across the offensive zone to the top of the far faceoff circle. His wrist shot fluttered following a deflection by Daniel Carson and found its way into the top half of the net. Tie hockey game. Fyrwald nearly gave USC the lead on a rush with Adam Zacuto, but he clanged the crossbar again. That miss gave the Huskies a small amount of momentum back. Alex Lofthus took a penalty midway through the period and, to Wilbur's script, Washington cashed in on the powerplay. After a scramble save, Adams fell down and out. James circled from behind the net like a hawk and got a good look at goal. He snapped a puck at Adams, who tried to pop up and stop it, but it was no use. 4-3 Washington and the Huskies had just a half of a period left to taste their first Pac-8 title. However that night was going to be a Hollywood ending, not a Seattle one. Senior Cory Adler won a draw deep in Washington's zone over to Nick Helmer. The freshman from Minnetonka did the rest. He undressed the lone Huskie defenseman and glided to the near side post with the puck on his backhand. Helmer capped the move by roofing the backhand just below the crossbar to tie the game once more with just shy of 6 minutes left. Dougan snapped his stick on the goal post in frustration. Next goal was going to win the championship. With 24 seconds remaining, Dante Caravaggio missed Lofthus on a long breakout pass for a potentially costly icing call. The draw came to Adams' right and the Huskies won it over to Corey James. For an instant it looked like the deadly Washington forward would wrist the puck home. Jason Bush had other ideas. He came across the ice to poke the puck away with a desperation effort. It came loose to Lofthus. The speedy junior grabbed the rubber and skated hard down the left wing boards. Huskie blueliner Bryce Johnson skated towards the boards to try and cut Lofthus off and got a piece of the Trojan forward. He didn't get nearly enough. Lofthus shrugged off Johnson, kept his feet moving and pulled away off of the boards in towards the left faceoff circle. He threw the puck in front to Ryder Fyrwald who was crashing the net. Fyrwald reached out his stick and pushed it triumphantly into the back of the cage. 12.6 seconds left on the clock. Anaheim Ice exploded into what was the loudest sounding cheer I've ever heard. The whole team jumped up and down and Wilbur turned beet red, he pumped his fist and pointed to the crowd. Bryce Johnson collapsed with his head and his heart in his hands. Fyrwald and Lofthus had just ripped the life out of the Huskies. The game's remaining 12.6 seconds were inconsequential but sweet nonetheless. UW never came close to getting a shot off. When the clock hit all 0's, USC was the champions for the 8th time and the party was on.

Postgame

The dogpile hit Adams moments later and sticks and gloves littered the rink surface. Fans streamed onto the ice before management kicked them off. After things settled down and the handshakes were over, captain Michael Gawlik lifted the championship trophy high. Fyrwald received the MVP plaque for his 8 goal (officially 6) performance. As the team got ready to head to the locker room to continue celebrating, the referees initially directed USC to the rink door at the other end of the ice, away from a loving mob of fans ready to welcome them off the ice. Pac-8 executive director Chris Soriano intervened and USC made the happiest walk back to the locker room of their playing careers, through the excited throng of Trojan fans. One particularly sour note was the missing Champion's Cup, the Pac-8's version of the Stanley Cup. In an utterly classless move by the Oregon Ducks and sheer incompetence by league staff, the trophy was nowhere to be found. It was either on the bus with Oregon as the dethroned defending champions limped home to Eugene with their tail between their legs or was never at the tournament at all in a show of immense arrogance by the top-seeded Ducks. Either way, an unthinkable mistake by the league and a horrendous show of sportsmanship. But even that couldn't dampen Trojan spirits and the exuberant celebration echoed on and on.



Some news and notes from the game:

- In the 6 games Ryder Fyrwald played this season, USC was 5-1. Fyrwald scored 11 goals in those contests. He had an unofficial hat trick in the semifinals and an official one in the championship. Can you imagine how different the season would've been with the talented junior playing full time? Another fun fact. Fyrwald's performance in the title game was on the day before his birthday.

- USC outplayed the Washington nearly the whole contest. They fed off of the energy in the building. Some unfortunate bounces added to the drama and set up the comeback effort (something the Trojans had to do in all 3 tournament games), but the Trojans would not be denied. They went through the #4, #1, and #2 seeds to win the title.

- It's the second year that Washington has had their hearts ripped out by a rival. They lost 4-3 to arch-rival Oregon last year. They avenged those losses by winning the I-5 Cup (which Oregon also conveniently forgot the night it was won). However, the great season ends in dissapointment again. They're still without a title. Don't worry Huskies fans, they'll be back.

- The Trojans had revenge on their mind. UW came from down 3 goals to upset the Trojans in the semifinals last season. It was a gut check to a Trojan team that had made the Pac-8 finals for 3 years running. Maybe USC gave Oregon a similar gut check this season?

- The ghost of the Mickey Meyer incident in 2007 is gone and the shadow from that unfortunate occurence in Utah has been lifted.

- Although this was not the Miracle on Ice, there are some parallels. Oregon was the league's Russia for the last two seasons. Dominant and unrelenting. USC took them down in the semifinals in comeback fashion. Washington was the Finland that the Trojans needed to topple for the hardware, and they did so with another come-from-behind effort.

- Two turning points happened to make this title possible. One was the scrimmage on Monday. It lifted the team's spirits and made them forget the 4-game losing streak. Two was the Clark McClanathan bringing the crowd into the game full force during the second period. They truly were the 7th man, and they were roused by the unmatched enthusiasm of #7.

- Credit goaltender Phil Adams for maintaining his composure. His first period was frustrating and he could have easily lost his head. He didn't and only allowed one goal the remaining 40 minutes. The sweetest back-to-back wins of his playing career.

- Previously, no team seeded lower than 2 had ever won the league championship.

- There were times during the frustrating regular season Coach Wilbur appeared to be close to quitting. But he stuck things out, and I'm not sure USC wins if he's not behind the bench. Three specific coaching moves he, and Coaches Ramirez and Langille made stick out in my mind. The second intermission speech, the late substitution of Alex Schaffhausen for Nick Helmer before the second period goal, and moving O'Neill to forward after his defensive pairing was -3 in the first. This kind of a win has rekindled his love for Trojan hockey I'm sure.

- The core offensive players on this team are all eligible to return except for Cory Adler. The defense will take a big hit however as several goaltenders and blueliners are all a semester away from graduating. However one thing sure to return is the swagger that comes with hanging a banner.

- This game was my final one after 4 years behind the microphone for USC Ice Hockey. The team couldn't have sent me out on a better note. It's been an honor, a pleasure, and a joy to watch this team over my USC career. I'm glad it all ended on such a high moment. I'll remember this game and this team forever.

Fight on!

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Fyrwald - 7 (Lofthus)

2nd Period

Helmer - 21 (Fyrwald)

3rd Period

Fyrwald - 8 (Gawlik, Adams)
Helmer - 22 (Adler)
Fyrwald - 9 (Lofthus, Caravaggio)

Dante Caravaggio, Adam Zacuto Named Second Team All Pac-8

In this morning's Pac-8 banquet/brunch in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Anaheim, the three All Pac-8 Teams were named.

The Trojans leading scorer, Adam Zacuto, was named to the 2nd team of forwards. Dante Caravaggio, assistant captain and most dynamic blueliner, was named to the 2nd team of defensemen.

Overall, the number of players from each team broke down as follows:

Oregon: 5 -(Sam Cehula - 3rd, Ian Law - 3rd, Wren Arbuthnott - 1st, Justin Lacasse - 1st, Tom Stocklin - 1st)

Washington: 4 - (Phil Harezlak - 2nd, Daniel Carson - 2nd, Danny Dougan - 2nd, Corey James - 1st)

Arizona State: 4 - (Vince Masciantonio - 3rd, Christian Ayres - 3rd, Tyler Chomiski - 3rd, Scott Czarnik - 3rd)

USC: 2 - (Dante Caravaggio - 2nd, Adam Zacuto - 2nd)

Cal: 2 - (Daniel Sulitzer - 3rd, JP McNicholas - 2nd)

UCLA: 1 - (Daniel Vaynter - 1st)

Washington State: 1 - (Kyle Kinda - 1st)

Notable snub from USC was Nick Helmer.

Dynasty Destroyers: Trojans Shake the Pac-8 With 4-3 Semifinal Win Over Ducks

Hey everyone,

Since USC's 2007 Pac-8 Championship, Oregon has set the league on fire and broken Trojan hearts year after year. Following that game, the Ducks won 7 straight in the series and two Pac-8 titles of their own. The streak would have to fall someday, but was this 5-8 David good enough to topple 14-2 Goliath? Well 60 minutes on a Friday night would tell the tale. Winner goes to the title game, loser bows their heads and endures a consolation match. Here's what happened:

Period 1

Just like the morning game, the Trojans started off on the wrong foot. 3 minutes in, Cam Forni used a great attacking effort to burn by both defenseman and crash hard into netminder Phil Adams with the puck. Adams, the puck, and the net went flying backwards. The linesman was right along the goal line and told the official to signal a good goal. He did amidst Trojan protests and it was 1-0 Dcks. Then USC got a big break. The offense was stalled and Adam Zacuto was able to get a rink-wide pass for Ryder Fyrwald. From the far edge of the far faceoff circle, Fyrwald swung in a low prayer along the ice. It slipped under goaltender Wren Arbuthnott's pads somehow and slid across the line to tie the game. Forni answered back for the Ducks. He used a long low shot that squeaked by Adams to make it 2-1. Things proceeded to get chippy. Out of a scrum in front of the Trojan net, Dante Caravaggio was dragged out and given a 2 minute minor for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct for words to the referee after the call. Arbuthnott cleared a dump on net to the near boards, and Fyrwald very simply ran him and sent the netminder tumbling to the ice. A clear penalty unnoticed. But the referees missed an even bigger one in Oregon's favor. As the last seconds of the period were ticking away, Zacuto came free and alone, initially 2 on 0. Duck forward Ian Law backchecked and in desperation, hooked Zacuto to deny the chance. Arguably a penalty shot, but a minor penalty at the least. Referees denied both. Zacuto told me that the referees claimed that Law lifted the stick instead of hooking the body. Not by a long shot. 2-1 Oregon after 1.

Period 2

USC used that anger from the questionable calls to their advantage, just like they used Zack Keith getting plowed into to motivate them that morning against UCLA. They came out of the locker room on an absolute tear. Arbuthnott held his ground until USC got its second power play. Mitchell Landsinger fed Cory Adler just behind the net. Adler wrapped the puck around the far post and Arbuthnott's right pad and jammed it through daylight between the five-hole. Tie hockey game. 4 minutes after that another powerplay effort came through. This time Fyrwald picked his way onto the doorstop around Bruin penalty killers and stuffed a low puck between Arbuthnott's pads for the big lead. The Trojans nearly doubled that lead, but a Zacuto goal was disallowed because Lofthus was in the crease. On the other end, Adams was brilliant. His two biggest saves of the night came from an Ian Law breakaway and a Derek Wolfson buzzer-beating shot towards goal. Law had Adams beaten dead to rights, using a fake to catch Adams at the near post before dragging back and taking aim at the open side of the net. Adams somehow, someway slid over in time and got just enough on the puck to keep it out. Wolfson nearly finished off a Ducks flurry from the paint at the far post. He chopped a quick snap shot at a completely empty net. Adams reached backward and to his left with his glove hand and caught the puck at the line right as the clock ran out. Ridiculous save and one that saved USC's lead, at least for the moment.

Period 3

Adams weathered the storm, with some help from costly Ducks penalties in the final frame. But a 5-on-3 that could've sealed the game turned into new life for Oregon. After a brief 5-on-3 became a 5-on-4, Forni used great neutral zone presence to intercept a pass and break Derek Wolfson into the attacking zone 1-on-1. Wolfson went wide and skated to just below the faceoff dot before winding and firing a slap shot over Adams' shoulder and perfectly into the top corner. The shorthanded goal with 8:50 left seemed to turn the tide briefly in Oregon's favor, but USC maintained their composure. Clark McClanathan nearly got the go-ahead goal with a late breakaway that he or his linemates couldn't finish off for the life of them on several rebound tries. The Trojans kept coming and with 1:18 showing on the clock it paid off. The puck was thrown into a scrum in front of Arbuthnott. Zacuto had it on his backhand with defensemen all over him and jammed the puck low and just fast enough to trickle by Arbuthnott and across the line. (CORRECTION: The initial try from Zacuto did not go in, but apparently Fyrwald was the last to touch it for an unofficial hat trick) The pro-USC crowd went nuts as did Zacuto. Tense moments followed. Both teams called timeouts, and the Ducks got one close chance with under 30 seconds remaining. But clutch faceoff wins by Fyrwald in the Trojan defensive end were enough for USC to bleed out the clock and storm the ice. They had done it. Championship ticket... punched.

Some news/notes from the game:

- This was a history-making game for USC. There has never been a team in league history that's made it to the league finals with a losing record.

- What makes this win even more incredible is that USC was playing their second game of the day against a fresh Oregon squad. The Trojans showed no ill effects from the morning win and looked just as dynamic as they did against UCLA.

- A huge what if for Trojan fans has to be, "What if Ryder Fyrwald played in Crosstown Cup Game #5?" He has been fantastic in the 5 games he's played for the team this season. In the two games today, Fyrwald had 4 goals (officially 3), and 2 assists. A playmaker without a doubt.

- Adam Zacuto cemented his place as the Trojans' leading goal scorer and point scorer, at least officially. He was credited with two goals he didn't score (Fyrwald's), and not credited with the goal he did score (the game winner). He could've had two more, if he'd been given the penalty shot and if his other tally wasn't disallowed.

- Dante Caravaggio performed well in spite of the twelve penalty minutes. On Friday, he had 4 assists total. Caravaggio also seemed to make it his personal mission to shut down the explosive Cam Forni. On multiple occasions, Caravaggio stepped up at the blue line to knock away an outlet pass intended to spring Forni into Trojan territory.

- Clark McClanathan was almost not eligible to play in this game, but some last second maneuvering by James Anderson and Coach Wilbur got him in and USC is glad he did. McClanathan was a disruptive force along with Scott Mason and Mitchell Landsinger. They were big parts of an aggressive forecheck. McClanathan was a little bummed about not getting the game winner on his breakaway chance.

- After his performance, I think there is little question that Phil Adams is starting the title game against the Washington Huskies. Shots on goal on the night were 46-20 in favor of Oregon.

- Top-seeded Oregon doesn't just have to deal with this loss and the lost chance at a three-peat. They have a consolation game to play against a disheartened Arizona State squad. Following that, they enjoy a 16-hour bus ride back to Eugene. That could be the longest bus ride these players will ever take.

- I mentioned #3 ASU's hard loss. They played in an instant classic against the #2 Huskies. The Sun Devils took a two-goal second period lead with two banks from behind the goal line off of Danny Dougan's legs and in. The Huskies rallied for three unanswered, including the go-ahead goal with just over 5 minutes to go. 18 seconds later, ASU's Joe Moore tied the game at 3. It stayed that way through regulation before going to a shootout. In that shootout, the Huskies were put in a score-or-it's-over situation three times and scored all three. In the 7th round, UW's Dan Herda finally secured his team's spot in the title game with a game-ender.

- Incredible finish and you know that Washington will come ready to play against USC when the puck drops 7:30 PM Saturday. Especially considering that they've never won a Pac-8 title.

- On the other hand, USC has won a few titles. 7 in fact. They'll go for banner #8 on their home ice. Couldn't be more excited about the final matchup.

That's all for me. I've got to catch my breath before what's shaping up to be a simply epic final match.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Zacuto - 25 (Caravaggio) NOTE: Goal was clearly scored by Fyrwald

2nd Period

Adler - 6 (Landsinger, Comisar) PP

Zacuto - 26 (Hite) PP NOTE: Goal was clearly scored by Fyrwald

3rd Period

Fyrwald - 6 (Helmer, Schaffhausen)

Something Sweeter: USC Sharp Late in 7-4 Quarterfinal Win Over UCLA

Hey everyone,

The Pac-8 Tournament opened this morning with a sixth meeting between USC and UCLA. It set up to be a classic. The Trojans were looking to avenge losing the Crosstown Cup to the Bruins 8 days earlier. Winner goes to the Semifinals. Loser goes to the 5th Place Game.

Period 1

Early in the game, it was difficult to tell that USC was a squad seeking revenge. The Bruins jumped out of the gates and took it to a sleepy Trojan squad. Just a minute and a half into the contest, Daniel Vaynter parked himself in front of goal and punched a loose puck in the crease home despite a pile of bodies in front. USC took a too many men on the ice minor penalty a minute later. 30 seconds after that, Charlie Linehan bulged the twine with a seeing-eye wrister to the top corner. Just more than 3 minutes in, UCLA had a 2-0 lead. The Trojans would recover, and the process started with the dominant (and reconfigured) first line of Adam Zacuto, Alex Lofthus, and Ryder Fyrwald. On a man advantage, Zacuto split the Bruin defense but was denied a breakaway goal by Al Ricciardelli. The rebound kicked out to Lofthus, who simply buried it. The momentum went firmly in USC's direction. Ricciardelli stood strong until one dagger of an equalizer came with 48 ticks left on the clock. Dante Caravaggio broke Lofthus loose. Ricciardelli stoned him on the breakaway, but Fyrwald followed with a tying goal on the rebound. 2-2 hockey game after 1, and the Bruins were disheartened thinking they'd missed their window of opportunity.

Period 2

The momentum appeared to roll into the second period. UCLA took a delay of game penalty leaving the locker room too late, and then followed that up with captain Neal Parsons hooking a Trojan to draw another minor. The 5-on-3 took 15 seconds to pay off, and it was the first line that cashed the check. Fyrwald fed Zacuto in the low slot, and Zacuto picked gloveside low as his target. He chose right. The lead didn't last long. Shorthanded, Vaynter one-touched a cross-ice pass that found linemate Zack Tenney at the top of the far faceoff circle. Tenney found daylight in the top of the net with a wrist shot. The game stayed deadlocked for almost the rest of the period. UCLA had several chances to seize the game on several silly Trojan penalties. With under two minutes left though, Zacuto broke through again. This time Lofthus set him up in prime scoring territory. USC's leading scorer made it 4-3.

Period 3

And then the Trojans decided that they didn't like losing games to the Bruins, so they decided to put it away. More than 7 minutes in, Lofthus came on a wide-angle breakaway. Ricciardelli flinched towards the far post and Lofthus thought he caught him, but the Bruin goaltender jerked back and held the post. The puck popped out, to a net-crashing Fyrwald, who jammed it in short-side to double the lead. Another Parsons penalty led to a Trojan goal. Zacuto worked his way to the faceoff circle from the near half-wall. A slight screen in front opened up all the space Zacuto needed. A twisted wrister zinged above Ricciardelli's blocker and into the goal to make it 6-3. Another sniper shot from the Sniper of Troy. Vaynter put a small amount of fear into USC by sliding a short rebound past Zack Keith with 1:01 remaining. But then Max Szentveri got a chance to do something he'd been waiting to all semester. Finish. He took advantage of Bruin desperation and broke down ice alone. Szentveri iced the game with a goodnight goal just under the crossbar. Game over. Trojans championship hopes stays alive for at least one more game.

Some news and notes from the quarterfinal clash.

- This was the largest margin of victory in any of the Crosstown Cup games as well as the most dominant performance by either team.

- Ryder Fyrwald and Alex Schaffhausen were late additions, practicing Wednesday and doing just enough for Coach Wilbur to give them the stamp of approval. Fyrwald made a big mark on the game, scoring 2 goals and assisting on 2 others. Both scores came in typical Fyrwald fashion, on the rebound and not pretty. But they all look the same on the scoreboard.

- USC was without Nick Helmer and Alex Hite. Both had early classes and will be fresh for the big semifinal at 7:30 PM tonight. Expect Helmer to be a man on a mission. No word yet on those line pairings.

- Clark McClanathan was very nearly ineligible for the game. There was a last second scramble to clear him to play in the contest, and that scramble paid off. McClanathan nearly scored on several occasions and played some very solid hockey on the Gold line with Noah Comisar and Cory Adler.

- USC and UCLA both relied heavily on goals from their first line. All 4 Bruin goals came from the top three forwards. 6 of the 7 Trojan goals came from their talented trio.

- The big key to victory was USC getting tenacious. They were relentless on the forecheck and more physical than usual. It wore a short-staffed Bruin team down, and they slowly fell further and further behind.

- Not helping that was the Bruins' lack of depth. Their third line didn't sniff the ice until after Szentveri's putaway marker.

- That goal has got to feel good for Szentveri. He has had more than his share of chances and simply couldn't put anything home all semester. In fact, Szentveri hadn't scored since the first game of the season! Finally he finishes off a huge rivalry game. There is no more monkey on his back.

- To quote a phrase I've used a lot this year. Keith was solid, but not spectacular. No bad goals, but not a lot of breathtaking saves either. He is undeniably tough though. Vaynter barreled into him on a 2-on-1 rush at full speed. Trojans wanted an intent-to-injure misconduct call, but didn't receive even a minor penalty. Keith took a while to find his bearings, but stayed in the game and finished off the win.

- Ricciardelli was still impressive despite the high amount of goals allowed. Vaynter's 3-point effort fighting a losing cause also sells short his play in this game and this season.

- Funny stat. Only players with the #18 scored in the second period. That's Zack Tenney and Adam Zacuto.

- USC has not beaten Oregon since winning its last Pac-8 Championship in the epic 2007 title game. That one took a last minute equalizer and a similarly last-minute game-ender in OT.

That's all for now. Big game at 7:30 PM PST tonight. Tune in on the official Pac-8 broadcast.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Lofthus - 9 (Zacuto) PP

Fyrwald - 4 (Lofthus, Caravaggio)

2nd Period

Zacuto - 22 (Fyrwald) PP

Zacuto - 23 (Lofthus, Fyrwald)

3rd Period

Fyrwald - 5 (Lofthus)

Zacuto - 24 (Caravaggio) PP

Szentveri - 2 (Caravaggio)

Laughter is the Best Medicine: Semi-Serious Scrimmage Recap

Hey everyone,

USC met familiar foe Long Beach State at their normal practice time, at their normal practice rink in front of a packed house of 5 fans. This wasn't a game, but for USC it was almost certainly something they needed. It was a chance to forget and it was certainly the best USC practice the team could have expected. The scrimmage had two referees, two 30 minute halves, and no penalties called. It was friendly, but full contact and full speed. The style reminded me a bit of an All-Star game. Lots of offense, not nearly enough defense. Here's some observations from the USC bench.

- The Trojans solidified lines for Pac-8's. It looks like barring any late absences, it will be

Cardinal: Helmer, Adler, Lofthus

Gold: Zacuto, Comisar, Landsinger

Teal: McClanathan, Mason, Szentveri

Green: Ernst, Anderson, Dawson

- Those combinations worked fairly well during the scrimmage, and USC had something it has been missing all season long. Scoring balance. Cardinal line scored 2 goals. Gold line scored 3 goals. Teal line scored 2 goals. Offensive chemistry was there far more than it has been in months. A positive sign for this weekend, perhaps.

- Three forwards in particular stood out to me during the scrimmage. Adam Zacuto, Cory Adler, and Scott Mason.

- For Zacuto's part, the Sniper of Troy struck fear into the heart of well, his own goaltender. Phil Adams swapped into net for Long Beach State for the second half of the scrimmage. Zacuto got his first on Phil by flipping the puck up in the air a little toward the near post side and then wristing a trademark top-corner shot past Adams' glove-side. Zacuto used a little backhand to get his second on Adams, and finished off the hat trick from a low set-up feed from Mitchell Landsinger.

- Cory Adler looked like a man on a mission the entire scrimmage. He skated harder and with more intent than he has all year. Adler got the Trojans' first tally of the scrimmage with a hard-charging goal off of a rush. Look out, Adler is one to watch this Friday as he enters his last Pac-8 Tournament.

- Scott Mason showed off that scoring potential that gets hidden when he sits in the penalty box or fills more of a physical role. His first goal was a neat backhand following Hite pinching and keeping the puck inside the blue line. His second goal was a top shelf beauty that had Coach Wilbur asking: "Where did that come from?". However, he also had his stick up too high on a couple of occasions and will need to watch his discipline this upcoming weekend.

- Goaltender Phil Adams got nothing but grief from his bench. After Adam Kwon let in a weird angle shot late in the "first half", Wilbur ribbed the goaltender. "That one was from almost as wide as the one you let in on Thursday." Adams laughed, shook his head and replied, "Too soon, coach. Too soon." Following Zacuto's first goal, the bench chided Adams for not covering Zacuto's favorite corner on the shot. It was all in good fun.

- The defense adopted a habit of doing ten pushups after every goal allowed. Long Beach responded by doing crunches after their first goal allowed, and later, by doing pushups that were a little closer to a whole different kind of workout (family blog, use your imagination). Even the 49er goaltender did pushups after allowing a goal.

- This was a controlled scrimmage, and Coach Wilbur relished his opportunity to control. At the start of a lengthy powerplay practice, Wilbur realized that the Teal line was out there and not the desired Cardinal line. Coach proceeded to pull out his whistle and halt play from the bench. Players and referees were confused for a minute, before one of the officials skated to the bench to get clarification. "It's a coach's dream come true," said Wilbur.

- Adams made his first appearance of the scrimmage by making a live line change behind the play with the 49er keeper.

- On one bad giveaway by Justin O'Neill, Coach yelled his lungs out in a funny, almost mocking kind of way. As the blueliner skated back to the bench, he smiled at Wilbur and said, "I'm just trying to make it exciting Wilbur!"

- USC's coaches weren't the only ones giving the players advice. As the 49ers broke through the neutral zone, they egged James Anderson to backcheck harder.

- Defensively USC gave up a boatload of odd-man rushes. That could be a by-product of the night being a scrimmage rather than a game, but it's something that needs to be tightened up in a big, big way before the tournament. One of the specific problems was that a defenseman would pinch in and get the puck in behind the net with possession, but none of the forwards would drop back to cover for him. UCLA got most of their goals off of turnovers and odd-man rushes.

- Following the 7-7 tie, both benches emptied for an (almost) all squad shootout. Highlights included: Zacuto's two shootout goals with the exact same move he always uses. The second one was met with boo's from his team because he'd jumped the line and gone twice.

Clark McClanathan's miss followed by a hara-kiri "I am dishonored" performance in the spotlight of the faceoff circle. What a ham...

Long Beach State's broadcaster missing on the backhand followed by James Anderson attempting a similar move and missing in the same way immediately afterward.

Adam Kwon scoring on his shootout attempt.

Me sliding a puck behind Zack Keith on my attempt (in all fairness, he sort of let me have it).

- Coach Wilbur saw this as a perfect opportunity to get the team having fun again following the loss to the Bruins. It certainly appeared to give the guys a boost. During my time at USC, the team has always played better when it's been having fun and bringing enthusiasm to the bench. Of course, winning helps that more than anything...

- The Trojans will practice Wednesday in Anaheim for one final tune-up before Pac-8's.

Possible positive signs here, but it's hard to know for sure until Friday morning less than five days away.

Thrilling Demise: Bruins Hoist Crosstown Cup With 6-4 Rollercoaster Win at USC's Expense

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)

Pac-8 Tourney Set

Following this weekend's games, the Pac-8 regular season is done (Game 5 of the Crosstown Cup doesn't count in the standings by rule). That means the seedings are set for the 6 teams playing down at Anaheim Ice in this year's championship tournament. Here are the tournament matchups:

Quarterfinals

#4 UCLA (7-10 Pac-8) vs. #5 USC (5-8 Pac-8) - February 19th, 9:00 AM (6th meeting, UCLA leads season series 3-2*)

#3 ASU (8-4 Pac-8) vs. #6 Cal (6-9 Pac-8) - February 19th, 9:00 AM (3rd meeting, season series tied 1-1)

Losers of Quarterfinal games play February 19th, 4:30 pm for 5th place.

Semifinals

#2 Washington (12-5 Pac-8) vs. #3 ASU, #4 UCLA, or #5 USC - February 19th, 7:00 PM (Washington 0-2 against ASU, 1-1 against UCLA, 2-0 against USC)

#1 Oregon (14-2 Pac-8) vs. #4 UCLA, #5 USC, or #6 Cal - February 19th, 7:30 PM (Oregon 6-0 against all 3 teams combined)

Losers of Semifinal games play February 20th, 4:45 PM for 3rd place.

Championship

TBD vs. TBD - February 20th, 7:30 PM

The matchups are set. Should be a great event!

Simply Owned: San Jose State Euthanizes USC 11-1

Hey everyone,

USC added talent (Alex Schauffhausen, Adam Zacuto, and Cory Adler) to last night's listless squad, but somehow more ended up being less. This was not a game. This was a surrender. Here's the recap.

Period 1

Starting goaltender Zack Keith had a shining first period, but it didn't start off that way. In the same amount of time it took them to score last night, San Jose State took a 1-0 lead early Saturday. This time it was the dangerous Mickey Rhodes bearing down from the left wing boards. He picked gloveside high corner from an awkward angle to give the Spartans an early lead. Looking for USC's offense? It was non-existent. The rink was tilted towards Keith's end of the rink and the Trojan goaltender valiantly kept the dam from breaking open. The one-goal deficit held through 20 minutes, although USC was incredibly lucky that they weren't down 3 or 4.

Period 2

San Jose State wasted no time in starting to put the contest out of reach. 34 seconds into the period, Rhodes set up Sam Cimino, who picked the same gloveside high corner from a similar angle to double the lead. Cimino returned the favor and set up Rhodes for his second goal of the night just five minutes after that. USC showed a faint glimmer of life a little more than 90 seconds later. Following an icing call, the Trojans overloaded the ice with a talented line made up of Alex Lofthus, Nick Helmer, and Adam Zacuto. Helmer worked from behind the net and found Alex Hite in the high slot. Hite's slapshot was turned aside, but Lofthus gathered the rebound for an awkward backhand at the far post. The slow shot was enough to slide in behind Spartans' goaltender Allesandro Mullane. "That was the only thing that's gone according to plan tonight," Coach Wilbur said during the second intermission. The goal seemed to just anger the Spartans. Mason Console, Jeff Malave, and Steve Stichler all scored in the last 9 minutes of the second to put the game clearly out of reach. None of them were Ketih's fault, but that didn't make them sting any less. 6-1 after 40 minutes.

Period 3

Then the Spartans just rubbed it in. Kyle Dutra sent in a Jeff Sawhill rebound to extend the lead to six on the man advantage. Two minutes after that, Richie Norris sent a perfectly placed saucer pass to Stichler for his second. Another powerplay ten minutes after that resulted in a Lathan Logan goal on another beautiful setup from Richie Vaughan. Logan finished another one off of a USC turnover less than a minute later. Just over a minute after that, Norris put USC in a 10-goal hole with a little over three minutes to go. As I mentioned, this was a game where USC flat-out surrendered, and the third period illustrated that better than any.

Some news/notes from the night:

- In four games between the two teams this year, San Jose State scored 41 goals to USC's 7. They won each game by an average of 8.5 goals. The Spartans got scoring production from each line in Saturday's game. Alex Lofthus was the only Trojan who scored all weekend. But on a positive note... oh wait, never mind.

- The type of loss shown in both games this weekend is hellacious on a team's mentality. It's one thing to be beaten by a good team but give it your all. It's another one altogether to wave the white flag and get steamrolled by that same good team. This weekend could not have come at a worse time for USC. They face a scrappy UCLA team that has given them major trouble all season long in the biggest game of the season on Thursday. They then host the Pac-8 Tournament the following weekend and will need the will to win two games in the same day if they want to advance to the finals. There isn't a whole lot of time to recover and turn things around.

- Zack Keith gave up 23 goals in his two games against the Spartans. Tonight's 11 allowed were not his fault. One of them should have arguably been disallowed as a San Jose State player appeared to be interfering with Keith in his crease. In all honesty, Keith probably had the best game out of any of the USC players.

- Mike Gawlik was gone for this game. The captain had arguably the best excuse for missing a game I've ever heard. He will be at the Super Bowl on Sunday as the Colts and Saints square off, cheering as hard as he can for his hometown Colts. Hard to not excuse that one, especially given the ridiculous reasons other players have missed games of late.

- Adam Zacuto and Alex Schauffhausen sat out the majority of the first period as punishment for missing Friday's game due to a fraternity invite.

- Coach Wilbur made it clear that no decision has been made yet on Thursday's starter for Crosstown Cup Game 5. Neither goaltender would appear to be a lock for the job. The basis for the decision, whichever way it goes, will be the most interesting part I think.

- Despite their 9-18 record on the season, it struck me that USC has done one thing particularly well this year. They are a perfect 2-0 in shootouts (although that's cancelled a bit by an 0-2 record in OT). This isn't surprising given the individual talent on this USC hockey team. In fact, that talent level is what Trojan fans can cling to in spite of the potentially bleak outlook. Unfortunately for USC, the lack of that talent's ability to show up or play effectively together has led them to a significantly subpar overall record.

- If ever there was a weekend that USC needed Clark McClanathan's heart it was this one. The lack of a good dose of Clark translated into the on-ice results.

Exciting game Thursday. Intrigue and storylines abound... the biggest of which is the Crosstown Cup going to the winner. Trojans have come back in the series (from down 0-2 to tie it 2-2) and in the last two games (down two goals in the third period of Game 3, tied the game up with 9.1 seconds remaining in Game 4). Everything on the line and it should be a rowdy crowd at Anaheim Ice when the puck drops.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

NONE

2nd Period

Lofthus - 7 (Hite)

3rd Period

NONE

Sadly In Character: Trojans Ripped Apart 8-2 By Spartans

Hey everyone,

It's been no secret this season that USC has had a poor record when it comes to games this season. 9-17 overall, 5-8 in the Pac-8. But as bad as that is, they have one record that's even worse. Their attendance. Missing in action Friday night for varying reasons with varying degrees of legitimacy: Adam Zacuto, Ryder Fyrwald, Alex Schauffhausen, Cory Adler, Joshua Frazier, and Clark McClanathan. With fifth ranked San Jose State in town, not having all hands on deck made a difficult task nearly impossible.

Period 1

It only took 3 and a half minutes for that to become clear. Following a nice play by Jason Bush, his defensive partner Dante Caravaggio gave the puck away. The Spartans' productive first line hopped on the opportunity and Mickey Rhodes fed Andy Dickerson for a one-time goal. 7 minutes later, San Jose State took advantage of their first powerplay chance of the night. Mason Console sent a shot into a scrum of players in front of USC netminder Phil Adams. Blueliner Jeff Sawhill found it and drained the shot for a 2 zip Spartan lead. Meanwhile, USC registered only 4 shots on goal the entire period to San Jose State's 20. As the clock ticked under a minute, Steve Stichler broke into USC's territory on a breakaway. His first shot rang off of Adams mask and popped back out to Robbie Vaughan. Adding insult to injury, Vaughan made it 3-0 late. In all fairness, it should have been worse as a clearly scored top-shelf Spartan goal popped out as quickly as it went in and wasn't counted. One of the ugliest periods of hockey all season for USC.

Period 2

Things got better quickly in the second. Starting the period on the powerplay, Nick Helmer quickly rushed in and wristed a shot on goal. Spartans' goaltender Caleb Murray kicked it out with the pad, but Alex Lofthus was hungry for the rebound and stuffed it five-hole just 19 seconds into the period. That was as close as USC got. 90 seconds later, Spartan Richie Norris found a puck sitting on his stick right next to the near post following a funny ricochet. Unfortunately for the Trojans, neither Adams nor anyone else on the ice knew about it. Norris fired the rubber past a clearly unaware Adams for the quick answering goal. Shortly thereafter, Stichler broke in on a low breakaway. Adams was too far back in his net, and nowhere close to the near post side that Stichler was coming in from. Stichler's easy top corner goal made it 5-1 SJSU. Later in the period, Lofthus used another powerplay to get another second period goal. This time he creeped along the left goalline and used a small deke to open enough daylight to squeeze another puck into the net. The 2-2 second period still left USC in a 3-goal hole, but things had most definitely improved.

Period 3

But the improvement was limited to the second period. 44 seconds into the third period, San Jose State closed the door. Andy Dickerson ripped a shot past Adams to crush any thoughts of a comeback. The dam didn't completely break, however. USC and San Jose State each held their ground defensively until the final minute. Then came a pair of demoralizing goals. On a late powerplay, Jeff Sawhill absolutely hammered a slapshot between Adams' legs with 48 ticks left on the clock. James Lopez broke into the zone 34 seconds after that. The defense forced him wide to the right wing boards. Lopez sent in a bad-angled prayer of a wristshot. Somehow, Adams let it by. The scoreboard changed from 7-2 to 8-2 and Adams threw the puck to center ice in frustration. A backbreaking way to end a hockey game.

Some news and notes from the contest:

- San Jose State isn't just talented, they're also deep. 7 different goal scorers filled up the scoresheet for the Spartans. Only Dickerson scored twice. Three goals were scored by the third line. Just about every player seems to be fast, and all three lines should have scored at some point.

- Aggregated over three games, the Spartans are beating the Trojans 30-6. In his two games against them, Phil Adams has given up a combined 18 goals. In his last two starts, Adams has allowed a combined 16 goals. He may, in fact, be behind Zack Keith on the depth chart after sloppy back-to-back games. Keith may determine a lot of that with his start on Saturday.

- Max Ernst made his return following a very legitimate off-ice illness. It was great to see him back out there.

- Shawn Ahern made an impression in his third USC game. He plays a similar game to Scott Mason's. Very physical.

- The first line was shuffled multiple times during the game as it has all season. The initial Cardinal line was Max Szentveri, Nick Helmer, and Alex Lofthus. I'm not sure if USC has played with the same starting line in consecutive games since a few games into the season. I'm no hockey player, but I think that might have a little to do with the lack of chemistry on the ice.

- USC's locker room has a dangerously conciliatory mindset right now. This team's championship game could be Thursday in Crosstown Cup Game #5, and not February 20th. The Trojans have three regular season games left to prove that they have higher aspirations.

Trojans get another crack at San Jose State tomorrow. If the trend of losing by 2 less each time to the Spartans holds, USC will lose 6-2 tomorrow (12-2 first game, 10-2 second game, 8-2 third game....). Whether they do or not is entirely up to them.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

NONE

2nd Period

Lofthus - 5 (Helmer, Comisar) PP

Lofthus - 6 (Comisar) PP

3rd Period

NONE

Floodgates Open: USC Defense Struggles in 8-4 Loss to Washington

Hey everyone,

With the same short squad, USC tried to dig deep and do what they could not last night. Upset second-seeded Washington.

Period 1

The upset bid got off to a good start. On their second powerplay attempt of the night, Michael Gawlik fed Nick Helmer in the low slot. Helmer dished to Max Szentveri at the far post, who sent the puck right back to Helmer for one of the easiest goals he's scored this year. The Huskies took 5 minutes to respond, but did. Dangerous defenseman Daniel Carson came in 2-on-1. USC's Phil Adams guessed pass, but guessed wrong. Carson threw the puck through a flailing Adams to tie the game. Justin O'Neill took a penalty with 26 seconds left in the period and that turned out to be a mistake. Straight off of the ensuing faceoff, Carson sent a low and slow shot in from the point. It was headed wide until Phil Harezlak redirected behind Adams and in.

Period 2

The Huskies continued rolling, with some more help by Trojan penalties. Scott Mason received 2 for high sticking and Dante Caravaggio got another one a minute later for unsportsmanlike conduct. Washington didn't waste the 5-on-3. Harezlak punched home a rebound early into the major man advantage. Then Ian Shook bounced a puck off of Adams and in on the 5-on-4. A three-goal deficit entering the second break is a bit tougher mentally than a two-goal one, and Caravaggio agreed. Caravaggio held in a Huskies clear and sent in one of his trademark slapshots. Fellow blueliner Alex Hite was forechecking on the play and was skating through the crease. The rubber hit his skate and pinballed past Washington goaltender Danny Dougan. After some discussion, between the referee and his linesmen, the goal stood (and was credited to Caravaggio for whatever reason). 4-2 Huskies after 2.

Period 3

USC has been down by this margin in 3 of their last 4 games. At least of late, they're used to the comeback. What they aren't used to is being steamrolled in the ensuing third period. A minute in, Washington tallied another powerplay goal. Arne Krogh got credit, but it could have been any of three Huskies battling in a scrum in front of Adams. Less than two minutes later, Scott Mason answered. He sent a backhander from between the faceoff circles past Dougan's pad and in. That was as close as USC got. 18 seconds later, Dougan left a puck behind his net for Carson. The Huskies' defenseman did the rest of the work, flat out embarassing the Trojans with a coast-to-coast goal. Carson had 5 points on the night. The Washington first line followed that up 7 seconds later just off of the draw. Dan Herda one-timed a feed from Corey James home to extend the lead to 7-3 just 3 minutes into the period. Nearly 9 minutes following that, they put the nail in the coffin. On the powerplay, Caravaggio threw a pass straight to Huskie Sean Hale. He took it the other way and finished the goal and the Trojans. If that one didn't seal it, a piece of horrendous officiating seconds later did. Helmer entered Washington territory, burned around the defense and the net, and finished off a wraparound. The only problem was that the referee didn't see it go in. The puck rebounded off of the inside base of the net and sat right on the line inside the near post. USC too busy celebrating and Washington was too busy being frustrated over allowing the goal. Eventually, Szentveri realized it wasn't in, made a stretching effort for the puck. Dougan beat him to it and clamped the glove on top. After another long discussion, the goal was disallowed to Helmer's disbelief. So on the next rush in, Helmer scored what can only be described as a "screw you" goal. He pulled another wraparound across the line and looked relieved when the referee finally signaled goal. But the USC momentum didn't continue and the game ended 8-4 in favor of Washington.

Some news/notes:

-

- Not Phil Adams' best effort. Several goals he should have had, and nobody knows that more than Phil. Adams appeared to have the edge on Zack Keith to grab the starter's spot for the Pac-8 tournament. Now things are far more up in the air. Both goaltenders should have two more starts to make their case. An indicator of who is in the lead could be the chosen starter for Game 5 of the Crosstown Cup. If that's the case, then each player has one and only one chance against San Jose State.

- Dante Caravaggio had one of those nights. In talking to him after the locker room he mentioned that his psychology was thrown for a loop during the course of the game. It showed on the giveaway that led to the eighth goal of the game. The assistant captain will have to pick himself off of the mat in a hurry with SJSU next on the schedule.

- I mentioned Max Szentveri was USC's ultimate "Close But Not Quite" player. He solidified that notion tonight. Although he set up linemate Nick Helmer with two assists, he couldn't get one of his own (but not for lack of opportunities). On Helmer's disallowed wraparound goal, Szentveri had one sitting on the line that he just couldn't push across. After Helmer's allowed wraparound goal, Helmer set up Szentveri perfectly on a 2-on-1 rush. Szentveri had 90% open goal and 10% Dougan's glove to shoot at. He hit the glove and nearly broke his stick in frustration afterward.

- Scott Mason showed two trademark elements of his game tonight while playing in front of his parents. He showed an underrated scoring touch, popping in a backhand and nearly adding another. But he also showed his propensity for taking penalties, sitting for four minutes of the second period.

- James Anderson and the Teal line actually held their own in the game. Anderson and Ahern teamed up for a solid scoring chance in the first. Coaches expressed surprise that Anderson could get a shot on goal, but then again, Anderson is generally the butt of the team's jokes.

- Special teams were king this game. 8 goals were scored on the powerplay or shorthanded.

- After the match, Coach Wilbur treated the entire team to a dinner at Buca di Beppo, conveniently located right outside the hotel.

- Trojans are locked into the 5 seed in the Pac-8 and their opponent will almost certainly be the UCLA Bruins. That would be the sixth meeting between the two clubs this year. Their likely second round matchup (to really look too far ahead) would be the Oregon Ducks.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Helmer - 18 (Szentveri, Gawlik) PP

2nd Period

Caravaggio - 8 (Hite) PP NOTE: Goal was actually scored off of Hite's skate

3rd Period

Mason - 6 (O'Neill, McClanathan) PP

Helmer - 19 (Szentveri)

Power Outage: Lack of Trojan Firepower Gives Huskies 3-2 Win

Hey everyone,

The Trojans took their last road swing of the semester up to Washington in their first trip back since their 2008 Pac-8 Tournament loss to Oregon. They faced a UW squad that knocked them out of the running for a Pac-8 title last year in Eugene. Worse for USC, the forwards they were missing would likely outscore the forwards they had with them on the trip. Adam Zacuto, Ryder Fyrwald, Alex Lofthus, Joshua Frazier, Mitchell Landsinger, Max Ernst, and Cory Adler all MIA for one reason or another. With the firepower missing and 15 total players in Washington, USC would need to scrape for their offense.

Period 1

The Trojans had a chance to get set early. UW took three penalties in the early going, but the mixed up Cardinal line of Szentveri, Helmer, and Comisar couldn't come through. When the Huskies finally got a chance of their own with a man up, they could. Two way-defenseman Daniel Carson wired a shot from the point. Zack Keith saved the puck once, but left a rebound loose. Jordan Chernesky jammed at it, but Keith stood tall. A second rebound try popped loose to Phil Harezlak who finished it off. That was the only goal of the period. The Trojans had a pair of tries in the slot, but couldn't finish and didn't have a large amount of quality chances. They skated to the locker room down a goal.

Period 2

The goals came in the second period, but not entirely in USC's favor. A hair over 7 minutes into the period, Nick Helmer started into his one-man show. He picked his way around the Huskie defenders, using balance and hands to get through. Taking it from the far post in an arc to the near faceoff circle, Helmer pulled the trigger.... on a pass. It was right on Noah Comisar's tape back door and Comisar one-timed the equalizer home. But then UW took control. 4 minutes later, the Huskies first line worked the puck to the crease. Two unmarked Huskies stood right in front and took advantage of Keith. Dan Herda reached in and grabbed a puck that just sat behind Keith's pads and hooked it across the line. Helmer nearly tied the game up with a wraparound try that had Danny Dougan, the Washington netminder, well out of position. But Huskie forward Corey James crashed back and poke checked the puck away at the last instant. With under 2 minutes remaining, James showed off his offensive ability. Grabbing a loose puck just outside of the Trojan zone, James turned and burned by Dante Caravaggio. He swept across Jason Bush and left him grabbing for air before coming in at a wide angle alone against Keith. Instead of dekeing across the face of the goal and trying to beat Keith that way, James made a move the other direction, towards the goal line. He got around Keith and tucked the puck inside the near post for a 3-1 Huskie edge entering the second intermission.

Period 3

After looking incapable of a comeback, the Trojans broke through on a power play as the clock ticked under 7 minutes to go in the game. Jason Bush creeped in from the left wing point to the top of the faceoff circle, and wired a shot through a heavily screened (and potentially interfered with) Danny Dougan. The goal sparked a little life in the Trojan attack and the potential for another third period rally was apparent. But it all came melting down in a bizarre sequence with just 50 seconds left. Following another close chance for Szentveri, he was taken to the boards by Jordan Chernesky. The Huskie forward and Szentveri locked up before Chernesky threw a couple of swings. They each received matching minors. Away from this action, Scott Mason checked a Huskie who was near the loose puck. According to Mason, he told the player, "Buddy, keep your head up." The referee slapped Mason with an unsportsmanlike conduct call that put the Trojans down a goal and a skater. According to Mason, as the linesman escorted him into the box, the linesman apologized for the call. Assistant captain Dante Caravaggio was refused an explanation at the time. Coach Wilbur then blew up and said a series of colorful words that is absolutely an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (use your imagination). The official threw a game misconduct penalty on top of that for Wilbur, ejecting him from the game. Down 5-on-3, the Huskies ran out the clock playing offense the entire time (without scoring a capping goal) and the game ended in a goal UW win.

Here's some news and notes from the contest:

- The frustrating part of this game if you're a USC fan is that despite Washington's second place ranking in-conference, they don't pass the eyeball test as an elite Pac-8 team. That's not to say that the Trojans have, but if I were ranking teams based on what I've seen on the ice, they would come in 4th in overall talent and 3rd as a cohesive unit. ASU and Oregon are strong candidates to win the title. This Trojan team has the raw talent, but needs to build up team chemistry and a consistent will to show up in a hurry if they want to win the hardware. If the Trojans had even two of the laundry list of missing forwards, I don't think they lose.

- What a great arena atmosphere for college hockey. The turnout from UW fans was great, but what really sold it was the Huskies band. They were rock-concert loud, but made it a fun experience. I especially enjoyed their rendition of Kool & the Gang's "Celebration". They only come out to one UW game a year, and they chose this one.

- Zack Keith had a solid, but not spectacular performance. Keith is at his best when he doesn't have to make the flashy looking saves. His style is to always be in the right place. Besides a small rebound coughed up on the first goal, none of the three were bad goals. The defensive zone coverage was to blame for two of the three on the night. In the waning moments of the game, Arne Krogh blasted a puck hard enough that it stuck in Keith's mask. Wow!

- What UW does have is a productive first line. Corey James, Phil Harezlak, and Dan Herda each had a goal, and carried the entire offensive load from a scoring perspective. Their second line isn't bad either (Tristan Wickliff is one to watch out for), but the Huskies didn't go much deeper than that the entire night.

- Noah Comisar has been the beneficiary of a lot of great feeds from his teammates. Give him credit... other Trojan players have a difficult time finishing off goals from the doorstep.

- Max Szentveri is USC's official "Close But Not Quite" player. In games when he's been on the first two lines, he always seems to find himself in prime scoring opportunities but not on the scoresheet. His play reminds me of Michael Nijjar's two seasons ago when the forward would miss on sure goals on a nightly basis. The good news for Szentveri? Nijjar worked out the kinks and started finishing the very next year.

- Elliot Dawson may get two nicknames from now on. "Two Minute" Dawson, for all of the minor penalties he serves on behalf of his teammates, and "Crash Test Dummy". Dawson has a penchant for getting absolutely hammered into the boards multiple times in a game. In the first period, he took two clean, but vicious hits. One of them knocked him backwards into the cornerboards, the other one came close to crunching his collar bone into the offensive zone glass. Somehow, someway, he always seems to get up. Gotta love Dawson's heart and enthusiasm. He's also one of the most under-the-radar comedians on the team.

- Scott Mason got in trouble at the end of the game, but nearly got into a brawl earlier that same period. On a long dump-in, Dougan swallowed up the puck. Mason hustled in from the blue line, and sprayed the goaltender with a close-in hockey stop. There were some angry Huskies after that one.

- Wilbur's game misconduct does not make him ineligible for Saturday's rematch against UW if the NCAA rulebook is to be believed. If he is somehow ineligible, I'm going to make a strong bid to have him commentate on the broadcast.

- Phil Adams was the expected and scheduled starter for the game. However, he was, well, under the weather and simply exhausted. This led to some hilarious moments at Adams' expense on the flight to Seattle. Adams violated nearly every minor, flight-attendant corrected violation on the Jet Blue flight besides wearing his seatbelt. He had a bag on his lap, he had his cell phone on, he had his tray table down and his seat back during taxi, takeoff, and final approach. This led to a good-humored battle between flight attendant Jody and Phil. She won easily. The best moment came when shortly after takeoff, Jody used the plane's PA to tell everyone that there was "a celebrity sitting in 17B that you should ask for an autograph". A fellow traveler one row back across the aisle immediately reached out with a pen and a barf bag for Adams to sign. Priceless.

- Shawn Ahern made his USC debut and arrived early in the second period (he missed the morning flight and got a later one). He looked rusty but added a much needed body at forward. Given time, he could develop into a solid 4th line contributor this season and possibly more next year.

- The Trojans are staying at their road hotel of choice.... a Courtyard Marriott. The team always loves the free internet and roomy beds.

That's all for tonight, tune into the rematch at 6:00 PST tomorrow.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

NONE

2nd Period

Comisar - 7 (Helmer)

3rd Period

Bush - 4 (Caravaggio) PP