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Game
Report
UW vs
USC - Away
Game Report – Saturday Feb. 16th:
Huskies 5, USC 8
(San Jose, CA) The experienced champions
of the Intercollegiate PAC-8 Hockey Conference, the USC Trojans, handed
the Husky Hockey team their first and only loss of the year in the 2002
PAC-8 Championship game Saturday night with a score of 8-5.
The young and inexperienced 26-0 Huskies came out of the gate wide eyed
and dazed, while the Trojans took the ice with the confidence of two
consecutive titles under their belt. While the Huskies scored first on a
power play when Matt Carlson fed Brett Lawrence the puck for a breakaway
goal, the Trojans came roaring back with three unanswered goals, each
three to four minutes apart. The Huskies could not settle down their game
nor set their systems, thus ending the first period with the Trojans out
shooting the Huskies 17 to 5 and leading on the scoreboard 3-1.
The second period the Huskies looked a bit more like themselves, scoring
at 12:12 when Brett Lawrence capitalized on a misplayed puck by the Trojan
keeper, fed by Shaun Lawrence and Matt Carlson. But the Huskies still
looked nervous and out of step, which resulted in yet another Trojan goal
at 9:31 from a face-off deep in the Husky zone. But less than 30 seconds
later, at 9:05, the Huskies scored to put them within one goal. Brett
Lawrence scored his third goal, again set up by Shaun Lawrence and Matt
Carlson. The second period ended with USC leading 4-3 and out shooting the
Huskies 15 to 11.
The third period USC scored immediately at 18:55 to put the Trojans up by
two goals. But the Huskies did not drop their heads. It paid off at 16:48
when Matt Carlson passed to Brett Lawrence who set up captain Brian Mead
for the tip in. Then at 15:13 Sean O'Brien fed the puck to Matt Carlson,
who passed to Shaun Lawrence, who put the puck in the net to tie the game.
The Huskies rode the momentum but could not handle the swift 4-on-4 play
of the Trojans who scored at 8:01 left in the game. Down to three
defensemen due to injuries the Huskies scramble the last five minutes of
the game and were scored on again at 4:32. The Huskies pulled their goalie
with 1:03 remaining in the game and the Trojans got an empty netter with 2
seconds remaining in the game to ice the victory 8-5. USC took 12 shots in
the third period to the Huskies 6. Over the entire game the Trojans out
shot the Huskies 44 to 22.
For the Huskies, Brett Lawrence led the team in goals with three. Matt
Carlson led the team in points with 5, tallying an assist or second assist
for each goal scored by the Huskies. MVP award was given to USC Trojan,
Raffie Kalajian, who had three goals and two assists.
The USC Trojans are the first team to win the PAC-8 Championship title
three years in a row.
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