Friday, October 26th, 2002

Brett Lawrence scores 2 goals.
Photograph by Leanne Burkle

A very determined, fast paced CAL-Berkeley team came to meet the
Huskies at the Olympicview Arena Friday night. The Golden Bears
challenged both the offense and defense of the UW team, but the
strength of the Huskies third period proved unbeatable once more as they
defeated the Berkeley team 6-4.

“It was difficult to adjust to such a fast-paced playing style, but we
managed to play our positions and to trust our teammates,” said Husky
defenseman Brian Smith.

After the CAL-Berkeley team scored first 1:23 into the first period on a
two-on-one play, the Huskies were able to settle down and start playing
their style of hockey. The Washington team showed their brilliance as
they scored three times in five minutes.

At 5:17 in the first period, Brett Lawrence picks up a rebound off Shaun
Lawrence's original shot and put the puck in the upper right hand corner
of the net to tie the game. A few moments later, Brett Lawrence takes the
puck again, this time on a power play, weaving in between his opponents’
defenders to move the Huskies to 2-1.

“Brett went through practically their entire team and scored,” Smith said.
“That was an amazing display of stick handling and speed.”

The Huskies definitely stepped up the speed and control of the game. Not
even one-minute later, Sean O'Brien beat a defender along the blue line
and then beat the goalie down low to increase the UW lead by two.

The Berkeley team scored once more in the first period off of a power play
earned from a high-sticking call. Golden Bear Chase Krieger closed the
gap by scoring from a slap shot off the point to close the period.

“We got much better about not over-pursuing the puck this weekend,
which is a huge step,” said Husky head coach Cindy Dayley. “We also
played better positional hockey this weekend than in the last three
games.”

The Cal-Berkeley team was not ready to go quietly however. They opened
up the second period with yet another quick goal 23 seconds in to tie the
game at 3-3. Then, Golden Bear Sean Haq put the puck into the UW net
with 13:57 left in the period, giving his team the lead over the Huskies for
the second time that evening.

The UW team then gained an advantage on an elbow penalty by the Cal-
Berkeley team. Husky Adam Senta was able to pick a rebound off of TJ
Anderson’s rush to the net to tie the game at 4-4. Although the UW team
out-shot the Berkeley team by 3, they were only able to turn the one
goal. Golden Bear goalie Kevin Gordon was not going to allow the Huskies
an easy time. In the last 11 minutes of the game, neither Gordon nor
Husky goalie Craig Lawrence let another puck by.

“Their goalkeeper was the reason Cal was in the game,” Dayley said. “He
had a great weekend.”

“We hadn't played Cal for a few years,” added UW captain Brett
Lawrence. “We didn't know much about them, so we just had to play our
game. When we do that, we're hard to beat.”

The Huskies came out in the third period to prove just how hard they are
to beat. Defenseman Eli Troyke opened up the doors for his team by
picking the puck from a face off in the Cal zone to score with a twisting
slap shot. The UW team moved into the lead 5-4.

Hockey fans also witnessed many great saves on behalf of Husky goalie
Craig Lawrence.

“This was his first game for us,” Dayley said. “He made several huge
saves during his part of the game. I remember him coming up huge more
than once.”

Craig Lawrence was able to keep the Golden Bears from scoring for the
rest of the period, but that was not the only dominating factor of period
three.

“We're definitely a third period hockey team,” Smith said, “but we need to
have the same intensity all game long.”

At the 10-minute mark, the UW team went on a power play and scored
when Randy Shigetani's slap shot finds the back of the net from the
blueline. The Huskies increased their lead by two points and despite being
down two men for the last five minutes of the game, the Golden Bears
were unable to answer the battlecry of the UW team. The Huskies moved
their overall record to 4-0 with their 6-4 win over the Cal-Berkeley team.

“We played well, but we have to work on playing more consistently, too
many let downs led to a close game,” said Brett Lawrence. “I'd like to see
us on top of our game for a full 60 minutes.”

Smith agreed with Lawrence’s comment.

“We need to have the same intensity all game long,” he said. “We have
to stop playing to the other team’s level and dominate with our hitting
and speed all game long.”

The Huskies wrapped up the evening on a good note and went home to
rest up for game two against the Cal-Berkeley Golden Bears on Saturday.

Shots on the Net
First Period: UW 11, Cal 8
Second Period: UW 12, Cal 9
Third Period: UW 9, Cal 8
Totals: UW 32, Cal 25

Penalties
First Period: UW 2 min., Cal 2 min.
Second Period: UW 6 min., Cal 2 min.
Third Period: UW 8 min. (plus a 10-minute misconduct), Cal 4 min.
Total Penalties: UW 16 min. (plus a 10-minute misconduct, Cal 12 min.