Puck Drop

For the first time in as long as Brigham Young University has been playing the Utah State hockey team, the Cougars have enough depth to run four full lines against their opponents, wearing them down for the Cougars to strike. But the Aggies have similar systems. USU’s head coach CJ Westlake said matching lines will be a huge factor in the outcome of the game on Friday, but he’s unfazed. “BYU’s an incredibly aggressive team,” Westlake said. “They’ve got set systems, but with aggressive play like that, you can fall out of the systems if you’re not careful.” Morgan McJimsey, an assistant coach for USU who Westlake complimented for the success in matching the Utes’ lines in the game on Saturday, said he’s not worried “in the slightest.” “When we played BYU earlier this season we were still trying to figure out our identity,” McJimsey said, ”and I feel we have found it after this past game against Utah. We had to run through all our lines due to injuries and equipment malfun...

By the end of the second period on Saturday's game against the Utah Skatin' Utes, the Utah State Aggies had set a pace that the Utes couldn’t match. Because of this, the Utah State Aggies beat the Utes while at the Salt Lake County Sports Complex f or the first time in more than five years . “We’re a fast and physical team this year,” said Keegan O’Brien, who scored the third power play goal of the night for the Aggies. “When we’re able to control the puck at our top speed, it’s hard for teams to battle with us.” Though the Utes snatched the first two goals of the game at the end of the first period, their lack of discipline led to a five-on-three advantage for the Aggies. Those two minutes were crucial for USU’s first and second quick-succession goals by Drew Decker and Dalton L’Allier, according to Brett Fernandez. “We pressured them so they had to move the puck quick,” Fernandez said, “and they couldn’t keep up with that.” Speed was also a factor for Chris ...