By Jeffrey Blackmun
An exciting three-period thriller against Utah State left the Provo IceCats brimming with confidence Friday night, despite their 6-4 loss.
“It was a moral victory after losing 11-2 last week,” said IceCats’ assistant coach Scott Pasch. “We led 1-0 for 15 minutes.”
To begin the pivotal third period, Provo was down 4-3 and quickly fell behind 5-3.
But the IceCats clawed their way back into the game when senior center Ryan Baughman scored with 17 minutes left to play, to bring the ‘Cats within one.
The tight score raised both teams’ level of intensity. Hit after hit and shot after shot, the IceCats kept pace with the Aggies.
“The crowd was incredible. Our fans are very supportive,” said senior defender Ben Edgson.
The Aggies mounted an amazing third-period offensive attack that was thwarted by IceCats senior goalie Matt Denning.
Denning saved 49-of-55 shots for the game to keep the IceCats close. He attributed his success to his teammates and concentration.
“That was a heck of a run out there,” Denning said. “You get in a zone and focus. It is mentally fatiguing.”
Utah State managed to score one more goal in the final period to add some cushion to its score.
“Our power play was good and the goals they scored, they earned,” Pasch said.
The IceCats were led in scoring by Baughman’s two goals. His first score came five minutes into the first period. The goal put the IceCats ahead for the first time this season.
Senior wings Mark Martinez and Karson Franks each added a goal for Provo.
After two blowout losses to begin the season, the IceCats now look like they have found their groove.
“Our ability to contain them was the difference. We were able to keep them in the corners because our defense played well,” Edgson said.
The IceCats have had to combat opponents that have played twice as many games, which has led to the lopsided losses, Edgson said.
“If anyone thinks we are a cake walk, they’ve got another thing coming. We have a young team and we are just starting to gel,” Pasch said.
With the loss, the IceCats fell to 0-3-0.
