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Shootout Heatbreaker for UW hockey

Photo: Bryan Hood / The Daily

Husky goalie Scott Southard makes a save on UCLA's first shot in the shootout. The hockey club went on to lose the shootout 2-0.

Amirav Davy
The Daily

    In the past five years, Husky ice hockey has transformed from a virtually unknown sport on campus to one of the best club teams on the West Coast.

    The UW registered a 13-2 American College Hockey Association record before winter break and is in position to qualify for the Pac-8 championships for the first time ever. The top four teams in the conference are rewarded with a trip to Eugene, Ore. Feb. 16-18 to battle for the Pac-8 crown. Currently, the UW sits in second place behind a dominant USC squad, which has yet to lose in conference play.

    But Saturday night, the Huskies (7-3 Pac-8, 13-3 overall) hit a speed bump against UCLA at OlympicView Arena at Mountlake Terrace, losing in a shootout after regulation ended with a 4-4 score.

    "Our team didn't play their top game," said Husky coach Cindy Dayley. "We didn't skate very well (Saturday) and did not look like ourselves at all. (UCLA) was a team we beat 6-1 on their sheet."

    It was late in the third period with the Huskies up 4-2 that UCLA mounted its comeback. After requesting a timeout with 6:16 left in regulation, the Bruins capitalized on a power play to trim the lead to one with 5:17 left. Slightly more than a minute later, UCLA knocked in the equalizer from a scramble in front of the Husky net.

    In the ensuing shootout, the Bruins grabbed the lead as their second and fourth skaters beat Husky goalie Scott Southard. The Huskies failed to put the puck past Bruin goalie Matt Millen, and dropped the shootout 2-0.

    The Huskies' best chance came on a shot by forward Clay Josephy, who hit the right goalpost after faking out the goalie to the left. When forward Sam Kim lost his footing on the UW's final chance, the game finally ended.

    "The reason I don't like shootouts is because it is a team sport and I think we should win or lose as a team and not as individuals," Dayley said. "I like to see teams go into overtime the way the NHL plays it."

    Washington was put in such a position because of its passive play in the final five minutes of regulation.

    "It was just a mental error and we needed to pick it up a little more," Dayley said. "We started doing that near the very end of the game, but it was a little too late."

    A telling stat was the failure of the UW to capitalize on the power play, including two five-on-three opportunities.

    Sunday night's score was not available at press time.

(c) Husky Hockey, 2001