Friday, November 15th, 2002

Sean O'Brien scores 2 goals against Weber State U.
Photographs by Leanne Burkle

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE – The University of Washington Husky team
suffered its worse defeat this season to the Weber State University
Wildcats (WSU). The 18-member Husky team was unable to combat the
ferocity of the Wildcats on the ice. Weber State obliged to hand the
Huskies a 15-3 loss.

The UW team was able to start the evening on a positive note when
Sean O’Brien scored on a power play two minutes into the game. From
there on out the Wildcats allowed no mercy as the Husky goaltending
squad tried to tighten up their game.

Weber State answered with quick retaliation to tie the game. In the 10
minutes that followed, the Wildcats scored three more times, one of
them an unassisted, shorthanded goal.

The Huskies changed goalies with three minutes left in the period in an
attempt to halt any future attacks on the net by the Weber team. The
change did not faze them.

Twelve seconds after the change, the Wildcats scored once more. The
Wildcat’s multiple penalties were not an issue to the deeply seated
bench. The Weber team further displayed its dominance by sending in
one more unassisted, shorthanded goal with 35 seconds left in the
period. The Huskies left the ice, down by five goals. In the first period the
Huskies had four minutes in penalties to WSU’s 17 minutes. The Wildcats
out shot the Huskies 16-5.

Period two began with Husky Adam Senta scoring a power play goal two
minutes in. Again, the Weber team was not intimidated. The three-
dimensional play, quickness, and calculated goal set-ups advanced the
Wildcats to a 9-2 lead before the Huskies made another goaltender
change. Still, it was no match for Weber State.

The Wildcats put goal number 10 past the new freshman goalie on a
power play with 10 minutes left in the second. They further increased the
lead in the remaining time. Period two ended with the UW team down 12-
2 as they out shot the Huskies again 24-16. Husky Freshman Matt Harrow
stopped 13 of the 16 shots he faced.

Despite a 10-point lead and multiple penalties, the Wildcats continued to
move ahead and show no mercy to the UW team despite the Huskies
stepping up their shots on net. The score was 15-2 with 14 minutes left in
the third period. However, no one expected the ugly events that occurred
in the remainder of the game.

As the penalty count continued to climb for Weber State to over 25
minutes to the Huskies 13, they obviously wanted more than just the win.
Behavior that can only be described as beyond classlessness only
continued to get worse. After a relatively normal second period compared
to the first, Weber State seemed to be on a mission in the third. It was
obvious the Wildcats were willing to trade players for disqualification (DQ)
penalties. With plenty of fresh legs in the stands to replace them, the
Weber State’s coach was certainly playing a game that no one wanted to
see, applauding his team down the thin line between playing a game and
encouraging violence on the ice.

A UW member was speared in the crotch and retaliated with multiple
blows on his tiptoes, so as to remove the embedded stick. The encounter
resulted in both teams receiving their first DQ of the many that would
surface. Moments later, the Huskies took a roughing call and as he was
being sent to the penalty box, he received a spear to the groin.
Subsequently, the Weber State player was DQ-ed. As Weber State
continued to dominate the play, they were not shy in pulling penalties.
They knew they could still control the game being shorthanded. The
Huskies worked through the junk on the ice and picked up the shots on
net.

With five minutes remaining, the University of Washington players were
rewarded for their hard work and determination as Sean O’Brien scored
his second goal of the night assisted by Shayne Sasseen. The Huskies
moved up one more, but soon the game would all be over, the UW team
still trailing by 12 points.

Weber State took its playing tactics to an entirely new low level. They
began to eliminate the Husky bench. Husky members were attacked from
every angle, being kicked, hit from behind and being slugged in the head.
Meanwhile in the stands, a group of Weber State “DQ Relievers” started
walking briskly, one with a hockey stick in their hand, toward a group of
Husky fans. The arena security shooed then back to their seats. On the
ice the Washington team did not have the players to spare, but team
members fought to protect themselves and their teammates. Then, finally,
they had enough. Only two minutes remained in the game, but they
would never be played as a major confrontation took place on the ice.

A Husky was butt-ended in the face and then kicked. In turn, the Husky
took his player down. Each player on the ice moved to tie up his opponent
but it turned to a slugfest. During the scuffle a Weber State went beyond
breaking the NCAA collegiate rules of fighting. He went beyond the
unwritten rules of the game of ice hockey. The player used a helmet to hit
another player while he was tied up. Then, to go even further with his
violent act, he tackled a Husky and bashed his unprotected head
repeatedly into the ice, which resulted in a multitude of stitches and a
concussion. In total, three members from each team, including a double
DQ for the violent act of the Wildcat, were DQ-ed due to the game-ending
melee. Final game ending results were four DQs in total for Washington
and five DQs for Weber State.

The game was called. The Washington team left the ice with a 15-3 defeat
and the loss of several players. Weber State out shot the Huskies 40-30,
and out penalized the Washington team 43 minutes and five DQs to 29
minutes and four DQs. The Wildcats scored three power play, eight even
strength, and three shorthanded goals, as the Huskies scored only three
power play goals.