Friday, January 17th, 2003

Sean O'Brien scores two goals against Utah State
Photograph by Leanne Burkle

LOGAN, UT – The University of Washington Hockey team encountered an
impressive 1,500-plus Aggie-loving crowd at the George Eccles Ice Center
as Utah State University powered its way through the Huskies for a 9-4
win.

The still injury hampered and short-benched Huskies kept up with the
Aggies for the first half of the first period, however Utah State acquired its
first goal nine minutes in. The Huskies continued to battle with Utah State,
but the Aggies organization and speed earned them goal number two,
scored with 4:46 remaining in the first. The University of Washington was
unable to put any of its six shots past the Utah State goalie. The Aggies’
15 shots against the Huskies paid off, earning them one more goal in the
first to put them at a 3-0 lead.

Period two found Utah State still undaunted by the Huskies’ waning
efforts. The Aggies slid three more goals past the UW team, moving them
up 6-0 with half of the second period left. However, at 13:15 Husky Sean
O’Brien was awarded a penalty shot that he easily deked past the Utah
State goalie. The goal appeared to dampen the Aggie offense for all of
three minutes, until the crowd helped Utah State find its momentum
again. The Aggies popped in two more goals to end the second period 8-
1.

The Huskies came alive in the third period, but it was too little, too late.
Shaun Lawrence, accompanied by T.J. Anderson and Sean O’Brien,
maneuvered through the Utah State ranks to score goal two for the UW
team, 20 seconds into the final period. The Aggies answered with their
own goal two minutes later, moving them up 9-2. Goalie Matt Harrow
stopped all further attempts made by the Utah State team.

The Huskies out-shot the Aggies by three in the third period, the only
period in which they dominated the shot on net tally. Shayne Sasseen
added his slap shot goal with 5:13 remaining in attempts to close the
scoring gap. Sean O’Brien captured his second goal of the night, assisted
by Brett and Shaun Lawrence, to move the Huskies within five goals.
With only one minute left on the clock, the UW team was unable to
capture a win.

The Huskies fell to 11-7-1 overall in ACHA-West play.

Box Score
Final Score – Utah State 9, UW 4

Period 1: Scoring – 1, Utah State, 11:08; 2, Utah State 4:46; 3, Utah
State 2:05.
Period 2: Scoring – 4, Utah State, 18:14; 5, Utah State, 15:52; 6, Utah
State, 10:19; 7, UW, S. O’Brien, 6:45; 8, Utah State, 3:48; 9, Utah State,
1:00.
Period 3: Scoring – 10, UW, S. Lawrence (Anderson, S. O’Brien), 19:40;
11, Utah State, 17:48; 12, UW, Sasseen (Hutchinson-Flaming), 5:13; 13,
UW, S. O’Brien (B. Lawrence, S. Lawrence), 1:13.

Shots on Net
UW – 6, 7, 17 – 30
Utah State – 15, 19, 14 – 48

Goaltender Saves
UW – Matt Harrow –12, 14, 13 – 39
Utah State – 6, 6, 14 – 26

Penalties
UW – 26 minutes
Utah State – 38 minutes