The Utah State Hockey Club overcame a 3-goal deficit to win in front of a sellout crowd for the team's Military Appreciation Night on Friday.
It takes 90% heart and 10% mentality to be a team, said Marine veteran and USU Hockey fan Robert Roberts. He was asked to give the team a pep talk ahead of their Military Appreciation night and motivate them against their rivals, the Weber State Wildcats.
“I had to find something to help me through my dark times, one was hockey,” Roberts said. “I don't play hockey, I don't know how to ice skate, but I love this game. I like the intensity players have and I want to see that every single game here where y'all are out just skating your hearts out.”
The Aggies wore blue camouflage sweaters with the names of family members who have served the country. And while Head Coach Jeff Volkman didn't have his own sweater, he remembers his grandfather.
“My grandfather, Norman Volkman. He served, actually, 1941 to 1945 right during World War Two in the Navy, so I've always admired him for that," Volkman said.
Weber got off to a quick start as Rob Simmons and Kevin Norwood gave the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage early in the game. The Aggies couldn’t respond to Weber on either side of the puck. At the end of the period, a flurry of boos showered the ice, a sentiment the Wildcats reveled in and Volkman absorbed.
“I just kind of laid into them, I'm not gonna lie,” Volkman said. “We weren't playing to our identity and I called, you know, the team out. I said it's up to you guys to respond and they came out and they pounded them.”
In the second period, Weber’s Caden Hunter scored their third goal to make it 3-0. Hunter celebrated by swimming on the floor as his teammates mimicked the Scotsman around him.
Down by three, in front of a sellout crowd, and 10 minutes left in the second, the Aggies harnessed their frustration into their game. Jackson Ferry found Zach Pires just outside the goal and drilled a wrist shot to get the Aggies on the board.
The momentum fully shifted as USU’s Dillon Hale earned his 100th career point assisting on Ferry’s goal to make it 2-3. The Aggies threw a relentless barrage of shots at the Wildcats for the remaining two minutes, and with only nine seconds remaining in the period, Hale leveled the scoreline 3-3.
USU closed out the game in the third period after Luke Anderson — with his great-grandfather's name on his back — scored a one-timer from Griffin Perault that rocketed into the net. The crowd erupted, and the Cats were cooked.
“I mean, it feels pretty amazing,” Hale said about his 101 points. “I've put a lot of time and effort playing hockey here and it's cool to hit a milestone like that. But, I mean, nothing comes close to beating Weber at home.”
The Aggies are back at home this weekend for the Beehive Showcase.
