Though the San Diego State hockey team lacked consistent energy, the team made up for it with its offense.
SDSU kicked off its season with a win Friday against the College of the Canyons by a score of 7-5.
The Aztecs looked to have the game locked up early in the second period when they scored three goals in the first three minutes to take a 5-1 lead.
But as the period progressed momentum started to shift toward COC. A goalie change by the Cougars midway through the second period preceded a power play goal and a shorthanded goal by the Cougars within two minutes.
SDSU had a golden opportunity to take a three-goal lead going into the third period with a five-on-three power play, but instead, COC’s Tyler Gilmore scored his second shorthanded goal of the game to cut the lead to one point.
“He’s a great hockey player,” Aztecs head coach Benjamin Jack said of Gilmore. “He’s fast and made plays when it mattered.”
“I was able to capitalize on a few mistakes,” Gilmore said. “I do whatever it takes for the team.”
Although the SDSU coaches weren’t particularly pleased with their work on the power play, the Aztecs capitalized five times with a one-man advantage.
“We need to work on our special teams,” assistant coach David Hough said. “You wouldn’t believe we’ve been running the same power play breakout for four years.”
Despite the lapse in play, SDSU came out strong once again in the third period, scoring two goals in the first eight minutes before hanging on in the second half of the period to win.
The Aztecs’ clutch offense in the third came from an unexpected source, senior forward Kevin Wu. Wu spent the first two periods on the bench before getting a chance to spark the team in the third. Taking full advantage of his first shift, Wu scored and gave SDSU the game’s winning goal and a reassuring two-goal lead.
“It feels great,” Wu said. “The crowds were great, it just feels good to get out there.”
Although the game got testy at times, both teams were good sports at the end of the game, and COC’s head coach John Taferner was content even in defeat.
“This was a great test for the guys to give them a taste of what it is like to play with the big boys,” Taferner said. “We have a lot of young players and they played hard tonight.”
Although the Aztecs gave up five goals, Hough still raved about goaltender Carlos Melendez. “He stepped up big,” Hough said. “That’s something that’s been missing the last few years.”
Melendez stopped three clean Cougar breakaways including a penalty shot with one second left in the first period. It was Gilmore who was denied in the penalty shot, which followed another failed breakaway attempt earlier in the period.
“A win is a win,” Jack said after the game. “But there are a lot of things we need to work on for next week. UNLV is coached well and they just keep coming at you. They never let up.”
SDSU improves to 1-0 with the win while the Cougars drop to 0-1. The Aztecs will face UNLV in their next game on Friday at the Kroc Center.
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