Trojans Win The Century Cup

USC made winning the Century Cup look easy this past weekend as the Trojans swept Loyola Marymount with back-to-back wins Thursday and Friday nights.

The Century Cup is the trophy annually awarded to the winner of the best-of-three series between USC and LMU. The Lions will present the Cup to the Trojans at their next game on January 12 since it is in their possession after winning the 2010-2011 series.

Both games saw an abundance of scoring action with final scores of 5-2 and 6-5 respectively.Both USC goalies from this weekend, rookie junior Eric Chiccone on Friday and sophomore Alex Caravaggio on Saturday, did a phenomenal job at keeping LMU at bay.

Senior Adam Zacuto was named the HockeyGiant First Star of both match-ups. Zacuto had yet another stellar weekend as he posted a total of six goals and two assists. Thursday night’s Second and Third Stars were Chiccone and rookie junior Chris Roman; Friday’s Second and Third Stars were sophomore James Huebner and senior captain Noah Comisar.

In addition to Zacuto’s six goals, four other Trojans scored and eight others contributed assists.

“It was definitely a team win,” Zacuto stated after Saturday’s game.

Both games oozed emotion. Thursday saw USC’s Alex Hite and LMU’s Stephen Vollkommer receive game misconducts in addition to their minor roughing penalties with just 34 seconds left in the third period. The teams knew that they were to face one another again the next night causing tempers to flare with the scoreboard in USC’s favor. The following evening, with just 43 seconds left in the third period, Zacuto scored the Trojan’s sixth goal of the evening. With the Century Cup lost, LMU players retaliated and Zacuto ended up in the penalty box along with LMU’s Robert Yannotta and Michael Indigaro, each with a minor roughing penalty. LMU’s Bobby Arnold joined his teammates in the box with a two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Trojans fought for the puck and finished their checks – two huge improvements from the beginning of the season. The team also has found their chemistry with one another, which make the games not only successful, but that much more entertaining to watch.

The Trojans travel to Northern California this weekend to take on Cal. Their next two games will be played at Oakland Ice Center in Oakland, California. Fight On!