By Erin Lloyd
Midway though the season, BYU?s unofficial hockey team is turning losses into wins and discouragement into optimism for the upcoming semester.
The IceCats, now 7-11, have been practicing and suiting up for games since their season began mid-September. Three months later, the team is feeling some very positive momentum flow in their favor.
Just last weekend, the IceCats won the 2005 Las Vegas Collegiate Invitational Tournament at the Fiesta Hotel and Casino in Nevada. The IceCats secured wins against two top-ranked teams in the division, boosting their confidence.
Thursday night, the Cats faced off against Weber State in a game that was close through all three periods of play. At the buzzer, a 4-4 tie sent the teams into overtime where Weber scored for the win.
?It was pretty disheartening,? said IceCats head coach Ed Gantt. ?We played really poorly in the first period and had to crawl our way back into the game. We made one mistake and it cost us a goal.?
Friday night, the IceCats faced rival Utah State in the teams? fourth match-up of the season. IceCat goalie Dustin VanDyke was in net against his former teammates. His exceptional saves brought the Cats a 5-3 win and the chance to rematch against Weber for the championship.
After the Utah State game, Scott Johnson, another IceCat goalie, proposed to his girlfriend, who accepted.
?I was so nervous up to the point that I was doing the asking,? Johnson said. ?So after I did I felt a lot more focused. It was a relief and I felt a lot better.?
Realizing Johnson?s excitement, Gantt decided to put him in net one more time against Weber State in the tournament final.
The IceCats scored three quick goals in the first period, which Weber countered with three goals of their own in the second. The Wildcats scored early in the third but Jeremy Weiss came through for the Cats to tie the game 4-4 at the end of regulation play. The IceCats had several good chances to score during the first few minutes of overtime play but neither team could get the puck into the net.
Tournament rules stipulated that after one OT period, there would be a shootout. So, the teams lined up to alternate players.
?I kind of prefer a shootout to overtime,? Johnson said. ?We do lots of practice with shootout and fast-break scenarios. You are more in control of the outcome and the result is a lot more predictable.?
The IceCats walked away with the trophy after outscoring the Wildcats in the shootout 2-1. Clinching the championship was thrilling for players and coaches.
?[The tournament] was definitely a confidence booster,? said IceCat co-captain Mark Ostebo. ?We needed that win to go on break and to feel confident about next semester. That win needed to happen when it did and it feels great.?
Gantt said he thinks his team has figured out how to keep focused and play on the road. The IceCats have won four of their last five games, which have all been played out-of-state.
?We?ve corrected some things,? Gantt said. ?We are a much better third period team now than we were earlier in the season and we?ve been able to go in, stick with the game plan and have some success.?
Gantt is confident that the IceCat?s tough schedule early in the season has helped the team fine-tune its skills and has put them in a position to move up in the rankings in the New Year.
The team will have two more practices before taking a break for Christmas. Early next semester, several new players will join the roster and the Cats will need to regroup and focus quickly to prepare for the second half of the season.
Looking to 2006, Ostebo said the holiday break will be a good refresher for his teammates and a time to renew energy for their first games of the New Year against top-ranked Eastern Washington University in Spokane.
?A break slows things down because a lot of people go home to spend time with family,? Ostebo said. ?But, it?s fun because the guys go back to their roots and play on the rinks that they grew up on. It?s refreshing and everybody is excited to take the time off to get ready for next semester.?
