USC Trojans vs. UW Huskies: Pac-8 Championship Rematch-2nd Period Analysis

USC came out in this period looking to capitalize on a double minor by UW at the end of the first period, but it was their own penalties that did them in this period, allowing the Huskies to score two unanswered goals. Any momentum they got was quickly erased by unfortunate penalties, putting them down 3-1 after 2.

USC came out into the period on the power play, thanks to a 4 minute double minor from Husky Jordan Chernesky, but almost immediately USC was in the box themselves, taking 2 minutes out of their power play and not allowing them to get into a rhythm. The Huskies struck very soon after Chernesky came out of the box, when a Daniel Carson shot got through a lot of traffic and past Freshman goalie Alex Caravaggio. USC held on even though they faced multiple penalty kill situations, including two separate 5-3's. The Huskies struck again with 35 seconds remaining in the period after Caravaggio lost sight of a Washington shot, sending the Trojans to the locker room down 3-1.

USC again is having a lot of trouble with penalties and cannot get into a rhythm. One major consequence of that is their inability to break the puck out of their own zone, giving UW more chances to put the puck on Caravaggio. Look for the defense, especially Junior Assistant Captain Dante Caravaggio, Senior Assistant Captain Jason Bush, Senior Captain Mike Gawlik, and Freshman Tom Duffy to take the puck out themselves if the Trojan forwards cannot get it out.

I'll be back after the game with my postgame analysis.

James

USC Trojans vs. UW Huskies: PAC 8 Championship Rematch-1st Period Analysis

Well Ladies and Gentlemen it was a back and forth period here at Anaheim Ice with both teams coming out sluggish. USC managed to keep it close with some key saves from Freshman goalie Alex Caravaggio, and both teams have headed into the locker room tied up at 1-1

USC struck first after 15 minutes of back and forth play from both teams. Incoming Freshman Thomas Waschenfelder made a great run into the Husky end, before making a tape-to-tape to Sophomore Dave Morris in front of the net, who buried it past UW goalie Danny Dougan. Unfortunately for USC, they couldn't hang on to the lead, as 10 seconds later, Caravaggio misplayed a puck, allowing it to squirt out in front of the net with him way out of position. Husky Captain Byron Ma buried it into the wide open net, tying up the score at 1-1.

USC needs to come out this period a lot stronger than they did last period, and capitalize on the double minor that Husky leading scorer Jordan Chernesky took with 1 second remaining in the period. The first line of Senior Charlie Mach, Freshman James Huebner, and Sophomore Beau Selisker need to develop an offensive rhythm and continue putting pucks on net. The second line of Waschenfelder, Morris, and Senior Mitchell Landsinger must continue to produce in the Husky zone if USC wants to win this game.

I'll be back with my 2nd period analysis.

James

USC Trojans vs. UW Huskies: Pac-8 Championship Rematch Pregame

Welcome back Ladies and Gentlemen! After a very strong weekend against ucla, your Trojans are hoping to keep the momentum rolling against the team they beat last year for the Pac-8 title: The University of Washington Huskies. UW is coming off of a big win last night against CSUF, 4-1, and are now ranked 15th in the west. The Huskies are a very young team, with 12 underclassmen and only 5 seniors. They are led by Junior forward Jordan Chernesky and Senior forward Stefan Sobiek, who was the Pac-8 leading scorer two years ago.

The Trojans counter with Freshman goaltender Alex Caravaggio, who is coming off three straight spectacular starts, including two incredible victories over ucla. Tonight's lineup is a lot different than previous games, with newcomer Freshman Thomas Waschenfelder centering the second line. The lineup tonight looks like:

1: Selisker - Mach - Huebner
2: Morris - Waschenfelder - Landsinger
3: Comisar - Szentveri - Peters
4: Bieber - Silverman - Ernst
D: Gawlik - Duffy
D: Bush - Manning
D: D. Caravaggio - Mowrey
G: A. Caravaggio

In order for USC to be competitive in this game, they need to do 3 important things. First, the Caravaggio brothers need to continue their dominating play in the defensive zone, with Dante playing as USC's top defenseman, and Alex playing spectacularly in net. Second, the Trojan first line of Senior Charlie Mach, Freshman James Huebner, and Sophomore Beau Selisker need to capitlize on their offensive chances and lead USC's offensive attack. Finally, in their game Saturday against ucla, the Trojans had a lot of trouble staying out of the penalty box, preventing them from generating any sort of rhythm in the offensive zone.

I'll be back after the first period with a full analysis

James

USC Ice Hockey completes season sweep of UCLA

The Trojans defeat the Bruins 4-3 (OT), 3-2 (SO) in a pair of wild finishes

By Johnny Nguyen
January 23, 2011

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The USC men’s ice hockey team completed their domination over UCLA this season by winning a pair of matches over the weekend, going into overtime in both games, with one going to a shootout.

Previously, USC won both of the previous meetings earlier this season, 5-4 and 4-3.

On Friday, the Trojans drove to the Bruins’ home rink in the Valley for an early evening game. The Bruins took advantage of Trojan miscues to score two power play goals and go into the first intermission up 2-1, even though they were outshot by USC 16-11. Mark Yost (Jon Lee) and Michael Carder (Charlie Linehan) scored for UCLA; Noah Comisar (Mitchell Landsinger) notched one for USC.

The Trojans rebounded from their quiet first period performance and kept the puck in the Bruins’ zone for the majority of the second period, outshooting UCLA 13-8 and capitalizing with 2:05 left in the period when Landsinger received a quick pass from Comisar and sniped it past Bruin goalie Al Ricciardelli, tying the game at 2-2.

The third period was a defensive battle as each side continued to repel each other’s attacks. However at the 7:14 mark, USC captain Mike Gawlik (Jason Bush) fired a slow shot from the blue line through a screen of players, which trickled in under Ricciardelli and put the Trojans up 3-2.

At one point, the Trojans successfully killed off a 5-3 Bruin power play that lasted 1:52, but quickly found themselves on another penalty kill and paid the price, with Carder (Lee, Yost) equalizing the score with a one-timer past USC goalie Alex Caravaggio at the 6:22 mark.

USC had an opportunity to close out the game when Carder picked up a tripping penalty with 0:28 remaining, but only managed two shots on goal as the period expired.

In the extra overtime period, it remained a four-on-three man advantage for USC as Carder served the remaining time for his penalty. American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) rules state that the teams play four-on-four in five minutes of sudden-death overtime.

The Trojans overpowered the Bruins in overtime, keeping the puck in the offensive zone and after several shots turned away by Ricciardelli, USC’s Dante Caravaggio (unassisted) rocketed a blue-line shot past the UCLA netminder at 1:03, winning the game for the Trojans and clinching the 2011 Crosstown Cup three games to none.

USC maintains a 13-3 domination over UCLA in the Cup’s sixteen-year history, though the Bruins won the Crosstown rivalry last season, three games to two.

On Saturday, the Game Four of the series shifted to the Trojans’ home rink, The Rinks – Anaheim ICE. While USC captured the Crosstown Cup, the game remained relevant as both teams looked to secure their invitation to the PAC 8 Conference Tournament, held this season in Seattle, WA.

USC currently holds third place in the conference; UCLA sits just out of the playoff picture in fifth place.

In the first period, USC’s Caravaggio and UCLA’s Ricciardelli lead the way to a 0-0 deadlock, with the teams picking up two penalties each along the way, including a four-minute double-minor for highsticking by USC’s Max Ernst on Bruin Ashton Christian’s neck. Christian recovered quickly, immediately taking the next faceoff.

The second period saw more aggressive play out of both teams. Three players on each side picked up penalties, including five-minute major penalty and game misconduct against USC rookie James Huebner for a violent hit 0:30 into the frame, resulting in his ejection from the game.

However, USC turned the tables on the previous night and capitalized on their power play situations. Dave Morris (Landsinger, Peter Rugo) broke the impasse 8:41 into the period, scoring on a severe off-angle to take a 1-0 lead, but at even strength UCLA quickly answered back 0:13 later, with Brandon Wu (Christian, Carder) putting in the tying goal off an error by A. Caravaggio behind his net.

Still in the second period, the Trojans exploited an interference call against UCLA’s Carder, as Landsinger (Morris, Ryan Manning) punched in a shot with 2:25 remaining, and sending the Trojans into the locker room with a 3-2 lead after two.

The third period started quietly, but with the Trojans on a penalty kill, the Bruins scored the equalizer with 5:40 remaining and sending the game into the extra session.

The overtime period saw plenty of action but no goals, as both netminders turned away several shots and locked out the opposing teams, sending the game into a decisive five-man shootout.

During the shootout, the goalies again turned in solid performances in the one-on-one situations, but USC’s Morris found the chink in Ricciardelli’s armor, scoring the only shootout goal for either team, and locking up the victory for USC by the final score of 3-2, as the Bruins could not penetrate A. Caravaggio’s staunch goaltending.

In a rematch of last season’s PAC 8 championship game, USC hosts another PAC 8 foe, Washington, this weekend on Friday and Saturday, January 28-29, in Anaheim. The second-place Huskies are themselves coming off a successful weekend, sweeping conference leader Oregon in Eugene.

Other Notes:

• UCLA assistant coach Josh Hoffman was assessed a match penalty in Friday’s game for throwing a stick onto the ice at the referee after the game was concluded; he was given a one-game suspension by the PAC 8 Conference, which banned him from Saturday night’s matchup.
• USC’s James Huebner, ejected from Saturday’s game, was not assessed a game disqualification, which would have been an automatic one-game suspension.
• Each of the four games in this season’s Crosstown Cup series was decided by a single goal.
• While the Crosstown Cups series is typically best-of-five, this season’s Game Five, slated to be hosted by UCLA, was canceled due to the PAC 8's moving of the playoff tournament one week ahead than was originally scheduled without notification to any California team, affecting games for both the USC-UCLA and Cal-Stanford series. USC additionally had to cancel a game against San Diego State.

USC Trojans vs. ucla Bruins-Crosstown Cup Game 4 Postgame

Sorry everyone for a lack of a 2nd period analysis, but I was having a lovely chat with GM Mark Wilbur, but the real action didn't happen until the end of the game, when USC and ucla took a 2-2 game into overtime for the second straight night. Nothing happened in the overtime period, so USC went to their first shootout of the year. Back and forth both teams went as both goalies, Freshman Alex Caravaggio of USC and Al Ricciardelli of ucla, made save after save trying to bring their team the victory. Unfortunately for ucla, Sophomore Dave Morris was able to slip one through the 5-hole of Ricciardelli, sealing the victory for USC.

The 2nd period was a back and forth affair, starting with a 5 minute major and game misconduct for Freshman James Huebner 30 seconds into the period. USC did a great job killing off the penalty, and ucla was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. USC struck first when Morris took a bad-angle shot through a very small hole and past Ricciardelli and into the net. ucla struck back quickly when Caravaggio, trying to clear the puck out from behind the net, gave the puck to Michael Carder, whose shot was redirected past a sliding Caravaggio and into the net. USC finished off the period with another huge goal from Junior Assistant Captain Noah Comisar, sliding one past Ricciardelli. The 3rd period remained scoreless until 7 minutes left, when ucla, on another extended power play, snuck one by Caravaggio to even the score. Caravaggio saved shots from Michael Carder, Mark Yost, Ashton Christian, Charlie Linehan, and Nick Panzica, while Ricciardelli stopped shots from Senior Charlie Mach, Sophomore Beau Selisker, before allowing the goal from Morris. Another save on Freshman Tom Duffy allowed ucla another chance, but to no avail.

Overtime was exciting as both teams had huge chances to score, but both goalies standing on their heads. Finally, the overtime period ended, and a shootout was needed to decide the postseason fate of both teams.

My first star of the game is of course, Freshman Alex Caravaggio. Time and time again he has proven to the world that he is the best goalie in the Pac-8, and may be one of the best goalies in the west. Save after save he makes just seems to make him stronger, refusing to get tired out as he continues to stand on his head for the Trojans. The future of USC hockey seems to be in great hands.

My final analysis of the game rests solely on the number of bad penalties taken by USC. They spent way too much time in the box, and made it very difficult to keep up any momentum they would get. That allowed ucla to stick around for the whole game, even after USC was outplaying them in all aspects of the game. Great job by all six defensemen, Freshman Tom Duffy, Senior Captain Mike Gawlik, Senior Assistant Captain Jason Bush, Junior Assistant Captain Dante Caravaggio, Junior Mike Mowrey, and Freshman Ryan Manning. Look for the team to build on their great play heading into next week's huge showdown with Washington, a rematch of last year's Pac-8 Championship game.

See you all next week here in Anaheim!

James

USC Trojans vs. ucla Bruins-Crosstown Cup Game 4 1st Period Analysis

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, both USC and ucla had plenty of opportunities to take control of the game, but both goalies, Freshman Alex Caravaggio of USC and Al Ricciardelli of ucla, have played unbelievable to keep the game tied at 0-0.

Both teams had plenty of chances in the period, with ucla having a very extended powerplay right in the middle of the period, including one minute of a 5-3, but Caravaggio stood on his head time and time again to keep ucla off the board, including two great saves against uncovered Bruins. On the other side, a couple of great plays by the first line of Senior Charlie Mach, Freshman James Huebner, and Sophomore Beau Selisker, gave USC some great chances in front of the ucla net, but still have trouble capitalizing. Look for the three of them to continue to work on their rhythm going into this second period.

On the other side of the ice, as Mr. McClanathan said at the end of the period, USC needs to do a better job bottling up Sophomore Michael Carder, who has emerged as the primary threat on the ucla offense after the graduation of Daniel Vayntner. Look for the Trojan defensemen to play the body on him and stop him from making the end to end runs he has been making.

I'll be back after the second period with more analysis.

James

USC Trojans vs. ucla Bruins-Crosstown Cup Game 4 Pregame

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to tonight's matchup between the bitter Crosstown rivals, USC and ucla. Last night USC took a thrilling overtime victory in game 3 of this annual series, securing the Crosstown Cup once again would return to Downtown. Junior Assistant Captain Dante Caravaggio netted the game winner in what was the most thrilling matchup between the two teams this season. Yet, what seems like a somewhat meaningless game actually is very important for both teams, for a USC victory secures their place in February's Pac-8 tournament in Seattle, and will end ucla's hope of a return trip to the tournament.

Tonight's key matchup is between the Trojan's first line of Sophomore Beau Selisker, Senior Charlie Mach, and Freshman James Huebner, against the ucla goalie Al Ricciardelli. Last night, Ricciardelli showed great improvement from his previous two performances against USC, doing a much better job with his rebound control to shut down the aggressive play of the first line. Look for them to take more shots to try and tire Ricciardelli out early.

I'll be back with my first period analysis of this crucial game.

James