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Hockey club ends record season with second-place
finish
Andrew Winner
The Daily
The Husky hockey club finished its most successful season in history with a
second-place finish in the Pac-8 Championship tournament last weekend. After
advancing past UCLA in the first round 5-4, they lost to No.1 seed USC 4-2 in
the finals. "This is the first time the team had ever made it to the
tournament, so we were pretty proud of getting second place," said
defenseman Kyle Bastien.
"I think what hurt us was tournament inexperience. All the guys on our
team had never played in the Pac-8 tournament," added Bastien.
After battling UCLA to a 4-4 tie in regulation, the game advanced to a
shootout, where the Huskies converted their first three penalty shots. Husky
goalkeeper Scott Southard took over from there, stoning all three Bruin shots
for the 3-0 shootout victory.
The finals pitted the Huskies against the top-seeded Trojans, who had won
both previous meetings against Washington. Looking to break the jinx, the
Huskies played USC to a 2-1 deficit after two periods. But the Trojans got two
quick third-period goals, and the Huskies' comeback attempt fell short, giving
USC a 4-2 victory.
Husky forward Brett Lawrence garnered all-tournament honorable mention honors
in the two-day tourney.
The club team, which pays all expenses out of pocket, finished with an
all-time best record of 24-4, including a 13-3 mark in the Pac-8. They went 4-0
against arch-rival Oregon to clinch the inaugural Athletic Awards I-5 Cup.
Bastien believes the team's success this season could bode well for the
future of the club.
"When you have a good season, people hear about you, so it's really good
for recruiting," Bastien said. "We never know who is coming out until
the first practice.
"We do have a lot of good players coming back. I know we are going to be
just as good."
Copyright©2000 The Daily University of Washington
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