Rivalry Night

After months of waiting, Rivalry Night at the Honda Center has come and gone. The mighty USC Trojans made a valiant effort as they faced their cross-town rivals, but were ultimately defeated by the UCLA Bruins 5-4 at the Honda Center, home of the Anaheim Ducks.

This was just the first meeting between these two teams, as they compete for the Crosstown Cup this season. The Trojans are currently in possession of the cup, as they swept UCLA last season.

The atmosphere in the arena was electricfying, as the audience of about 1000 were running off the high from the thrilling San Jose Sharks 6-1 win just prior to the USC game. During the first intermission of the Ducks vs. Sharks game, USC and UCLA held a shootout. With Alex Caravaggio in net, the Trojans went out there ready to take the Bruins out. However, UCLA skated away victorious after an exciting few rounds of shootout attempts.

During both the NHL and Rivalry Night portions of the evening, the cardinal and gold of the USC fans in the stands stood out among the sea of Sharks and Ducks jerseys. There was equal representation of both schools in the stands, as both schools made their presence known by chanting their alma mater’s cheers. The Spirit of Troy, USC’s infamous marching band, was in attendance playing all the SC favorites.

The game went by quickly, as the teams played three periods back to back with essentially no intermissions. The battle was well fought as the Trojans showed everyone that they have not only improved since last season, but that they only have their sights set on winning. Although the result of the game was not in favor of USC, the team showed great promise for an amazing season to come.

The HockeyGiant player of the game was USC’s very own Anthony Dragotto. For his outstanding play, he was awarded a Bauer TotalOne LE stick, furnished by HockeyGiant.

Although it was not a win, a huge congratulations is in order to the team who had a successful season opener in every other sense. USC hockey is now in full swing and the fans are ready for the awesome ride through the season. The USC Trojans look to defeat San Diego State this Friday at Kroc Ice Arena at 9:00.

Fight On!