By Jeremy Twitchell
Joe Bernardy has always been a crucial part of hockey at BYU.
In 1973, he started the original BYU hockey team. In 1994, he helped resurrect the team from a 10-year absence. And on Friday night, his remaining magic almost saved the BYU hockey alumni from losing to the Provo IceCats, 13-12.
Just before the opening faceoff, Bernardy asked the referee to wait while he removed his helmet. He then skated over to his team”s bench and went down the line while his teammates filled the helmet with fake money.
After that, he went to the scorer”s table, dumped a pile of cash in front of them, and then gave the rest to the referee. The result was a 10-0 lead for the alumni before the game even began.
“We didn”t know what to think, but it was pretty funny,” said freshman wing Jason Griffiths for the IceCats. “They needed those ten goals anyways, and the game turned out pretty close that way.”
With their work cut out for them, the IceCats went to work early with a goal from sophomore wing Jim Burkart just 1:10 into the game. After that, the team continued to chip away at the lead with five more goals through the first and second periods.
The alumni received their first legitimate point midway through the second period, when Torben Sluyter took a pass in front of the goal and fought his way through to score.
“It was awesome,” said Sluyter, who played at BYU in 1979 and came from Tucson, Ariz. for the game.
“I haven”t played hockey in ten years until a couple weeks ago, but I started working out hard and I got a nice pass and shoved it up in the top corner. We may be 20 years older, but age and cunning still have some value.”
After that goal, however, it was almost all IceCats. Led by team captain Greg Ingram, who scored three of his team-leading four goals in the third period, the younger generation went on a 7-1 scoring run in the final period.
Sophomore center Derek Battisti, senior wing Joey Hale, and Burkart all finished with two goals each.
After their seventh goal of the third period, the IceCats held a 13-11 lead with almost six minutes left.
It didn”t look like it would be enough, however, when the alumni put the thrill back in the game on a goal with just over a minute remaining and then pulled their goalie to try to tie the game.
The alumni got the puck into IceCat territory and battled inside for a shot, but IceCat goalie Tamio Stehrenberger caught the puck with six seconds left on the clock.
At that point, the referee called a penalty on the IceCats and rewarded the alumni with a penalty shot. When the scorers asked what the penalty was and who it was on, the referee just shrugged.
“We tried to tie it up at the end there,” IceCats coach Ray Bernier said. “We called the ref over and said, ”Hey, I saw a penalty shot for them.” We wanted to see if we could get an overtime or a shootout going there.”
With the game on the line, alumnus Indy Walton lined up for the game-tying shot. He made his approach and tried to fake out the goalie, but Stehrenberger had no problem blocking the shot.
After time ran out, the alumni were given another penalty shot for undisclosed reasons, but once again Stehrenberger blocked it and sealed the victory for the IceCats.
“It was fun,” senior defenseman Mark Ostebo said. “They were a little tougher than we expected, and it was more real than I thought it was. I thought it was just going to be a joke.”
Ostebo said age played a big part in the outcome.
“I think they just got tired in the third period,” he said. “Plus, we were beating them so badly. You could tell they knew how to play, but they were old.”
For many of the alumni, it was their first hockey game in years. The team didn”t have a chance to practice together or prepare anything, but players said the disorganization contributed to the fun.
“In the locker room we talked about who was going to play with who,” Sluyter said of the team”s planning. “It didn”t work out because we didn”t have the right mix of guys and we just ended up rotating through. It was kind of fun, though, because you got to play with everybody and not just two or three guys.”
“It almost makes you feel like a dinosaur to be back,” Bernardy said after the game. “We aren”t in the same shape we used to be. You lose more than one step – it”s more like several strides.”
Bernardy said that even though the alumni team lost, the players still had fun and he felt that the game achieved its purpose.
“We weren”t out here to judge anything,” Bernardy said. “It was strictly for fun, and it was the first-year alumni game, and it accomplished its purpose with the formation of the BYU Hockey Foundation.”
The foundation”s aim is to establish a funding base for the team and help it develop into an official NCAA team at BYU. One of the goals of the game was to enlist foundation supporters from amongst the alumni.
For his work with the team and the foundation, Bernardy was one of three people recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the foundation between the second and third periods.
“It”s great,” Bernardy said of his award. “You don”t expect stuff like that, and that”s not the reason you do this kind of stuff. But it”s something to put on the wall and be very proud of.”
The IceCats now work to return to a more serious mindset as they prepare for the biggest game of the season. Provo takes on Utah Friday night at the Peaks Ice Arena.
