By PETER CHRISTENSE
After surrendering a three-goal lead to Utah State Saturday night at the Ogden Ice Sheet, the Provo IceCats came back to end the game in a tie, 7-7. It was the only tie of the season for Provo, and it finished the season with a 10-8-1 record.
Coming off a 7-5 victory against the Aggies a week ago, the IceCats were intent on proving they should be the ones going to the Division II National Championship Tournament in Tampa, Fla., this weekend, not Utah State.
“For us this was an important game, almost a championship game, and we felt like we just didn’t get the job done — a tie isn’t good enough,” IceCats head coach Royle Schmidt said.
The IceCats looked like the better team midway through the game. Eric Caesar’s goal at 16:52 in the second period seemingly put them in control of the game with a 5-2 lead.
Utah State, however, scored four straight goals to take a 6-5 lead into the final period.
“USU really came to life after we jumped ahead 5-2,” Schmidt said. “They began skating and working much harder. We lost our focus for a few minutes and they killed us.”
After trading goals in the third period, Shannon Schmidt forced the puck past Aggie goalie Lance Oscarson with 2:16 remaining to secure the tie.
“It wasn’t the best way to end our season,” Schmidt said. “We had hoped to beat USU before they go to the national tournament next weekend, but we’ll settle for the tie.”
Defenseman Schmidt led the IceCats in scoring with two goals and an assist. Ben Edgson added two more goals and Indy Walton chipped in with four assists.
The IceCats will travel to California next month for a pair of exhibition games with San Jose State
