The San Diego State Hockey Club took two hard losses last weekend as it played consecutive games on the road against Arizona State University. The Aztecs fought hard, but in the end were overpowered by ASU’s Division I team, taking a 12-1 loss on Friday’s game and an 11-1 loss on Saturday.
With just 53 seconds left in the first period of Friday’s game, sophomore left winger Travis Sevilla intercepted a poor pass and beat senior goalie Joe D’Elia top-shelf for the one-on-one score.
Down 3-1 after Sevilla’s goal, it looked as if the Aztecs had the strength to keep the game impressively close. However, the Sun Devils showed why they ranked No. 2 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division I preseason poll, taking only 30 seconds to answer with a goal of their own.
High-caliber defense shut SDSU out for the remainder of the game and ASU went on to score five goals in the second, and three goals in the third period. It was junior goalie Filip Curkovic’s first start of the season.
The two squads played a nearly identical game on Saturday, as the Sun Devils, with their seniors resting, inflated the box score with a 3-5-3 scoring line.
The Aztec’s lone goal came in the first period as senior forward Eric Stelnick beat ASU freshman goalie Robert Levin on a breakaway. As a senior and a leader of the club, Stelnick made it clear that the Aztecs were not going to hang their heads in disappointment about the tough weekend.
[quote]”They compete in a division above ours and play at a high level that we weren’t able to match,” Stelnick said. “But we can take away things that will help us win a Division II title. We’ll be a better team because of this weekend.”[/quote]
Head coach Chris Migliore, whose outlook remained positive, echoed Stelnick’s point.
[quote]”We were able to clearly identify our weaknesses and which things we do a good job at. That’s invaluable for a coaching staff,” Migliore said. “We’ll address those things in practice and keep it moving.”[/quote]
The Aztecs have had a week to prepare for the California State University, Long Beach home-opener game tomorrow night at Lakewood Ice. SDSU crushed LOng Beach 8-2 in its first game of the season at the Kroc Center.
At 9 p.m. on Oct. 4, the Aztecs will take on Loyola Marymount University at the Kroc Center.
Photo by Wesley Beights, Staff Photographer
