USU hockey team honoring veterans, past and present

The players of the Utah State hockey team want to honor and recognize the sacrifices of past and present servicemembers at today’s Military Appreciation game at the Eccles Ice Center.

Rather than wearing jerseys sporting their own names, the team has chosen to bring awareness to friends, family member, and even strangers who have or are serving in the military. In honor of the 100 year anniversary of the Armistice that ended WWI, three members of the team will be wearing jerseys dedicated to some of the local soldiers who died in the Great War.

Maj. Klint Kuhlman, head of USU’s Army ROTC and has served in the military for 21 years, will be dropping the puck to start the game and giving the players a pre-game speech. Kuhlman commended the Aggies for their jerseys, which gives the team an “opportunity to honor those service member and take pride in wearing someone else's name who sacrificed for this country.”

“It’s a very visual representation,” Kuhlman said. “It personalizes it, as much as it can, for someone who doesn’t know them personally. It brings more significance to it.”

Keegan O’Brien, a key defenseman for the Aggies, will be wearing Army Pvt. Alma Jensen’s name and rank on his jersey.

“I think it’s important to recognize what people will sacrifice for strangers,” Aggie defenseman Keegan O’Brien said. “Selflessness is part of the reason the human race thrives.”

Goaltender Colter Pritchard said it’s an honor to wear a jersey with the name of a fallen soldier from WWI — Army Cpl. Lavon R. Hickman, from Logan — instead of his own.

“This man fought and died for our country,” Pritchard said, “and this is how I am able to show him respect for what he gave.”

USU forward Chris Cutshall — who has dedicated his jersey to a cousin who is a National Guard veteran — feels it’s important to honor and bring awareness to both fallen soldier, and to the men and women who come home.

“We’d really like to make a presence of what the military means,” Cutshall said. “If we can get at least one person to turn their head and recognize the positives of the military, that’s important.”

Rookie Kyle Speckman — whose jersey is dedicated to Army Pvt. Wilford W. Anderson, also from Logan — said the least the team can do to show our support for those in the military.

“I hope tonight brings people a greater appreciation for the military and what they do for us,” Speckman said. “And also for them to see us take it Utah in our rink.”

Kuhlman said win or lose, life is all about the relationships people make.  

“Shared hardship forges shared bonds, close ties,” Kuhlman said, Winning is great. We all enjoy that. But the team that fights together, or has played together — figurative fighting — has bonds that last forever.”