SJSU SKATED TO A 4-1 WIN OVER DAVIS OCT 9THSJSU Drop Davis in 4-1 Victory - Lovins and Scarbrough Post 3 Points Each
By A. Sheldon
For the first time in the club’s 13-year history, the SJSU Spartans faced off against the UC Davis Aggies, resulting in a memorable penalty-filled contest that drew plenty of dissent from a raucous Logitech crowd.
The Spartans would make the most of a match that relied heavily on special teams with 3 of their 4 goals coming on the power play. The 4-1 victory over UC Davis would give SJSU a perfect 2-0 record on the season.
The first penalty of the night was drawn by Davis when an Aggie skater was assessed 2-minutes for crosschecking with 14:30 left to play in the opening period.
San Jose State had 31 seconds left on the man advantage when Spartan forward Jon Barney was called for roughing.
UC Davis was able to hold the offensive zone, managing a couple hard shots on net before San Jose goaltender Joe Best could cover up and draw the face-off whistle.
The sin bins weren’t vacant long when Spartan forward SkylerYu and Aggie center Jeremy Brooks were each called for roughing at 10:24 of the stanza.
SJSU would be the first to light the lamp with their tenth shot of the night. A mad scramble in the Davis crease allowed right wing Sean Scarbrough to knock the loose puck behind flailing UC Davis goalie Richard Niedzwiecki with 8:18 remaining in the period.
After the center ice face-off, San Jose State center Chris Lee sought to quickly cushion their one-goal lead with a hard shot from the top of the circle that forced Niedzwiecki to flash the leather and deflect the puck over the crossbar.
Lee had another chance, but the attempt was broken up by Davis blue liner Matt Coleman and the Aggies were able to skate the puck out of their zone. The resulting two-on-two opportunity came up short as a Davis shot deflected off the skate of Spartan defenseman Nate Panek.
With less than 4 minutes left in the first, San Jose’s Chris Lee and a UC Davis skater were each given 2-minute penalties, setting the stage for another fast-paced 4-on-4 showdown between the two squads.
However, less then half a minute into the session, Davis D-man Christopher Cress was called for tripping, resulting in a 4-on-3 Spartan advantage.
The home team would capitalize on the open ice situation with Scarbrough netting his second goal of the night after his shot from the slot deflected off the Davis netminder and past the goal line with 1:12 remaining on the second Davis penalty.
San Jose D-man Zachary Glasow was awarded the primary assist with forward Lonny Lovins receiving secondary credit.
With just 38 seconds remaining in the opening period, veteran forward Lonny Lovins posted his second point of the night with his first goal, providing the Spartans with a comfortable 3-0 lead before the break.
The second stanza’s first penalty was drawn by a UC Davis skater for roughing at 4:45 of the period. With 1:25 left on the man advantage, the Spartans struck again, only to have the tally quickly waved off as San Jose Captain Ray Kellam was knocked into the net.
The following play found an Aggie racing up the ice unchallenged, but Spartan rookie Chris Clark spoiled the break away - catching the UC Davis skater from behind, which sent both players crashing into the end boards.
San Jose State would register another goal when forward Lonny Lovins once again put the puck past Aggie netminder Niedzwiecki with 6:46 remaining in the second period.
Soon after, Spartan forward Adam Dekeyrl was hit with a double-minor for slashing and holding.
The Spartans were close to successfully killing off the penalty when San Jose D-man Andy Whiteside joined Dekeyrl in the box. A member of the UC Davis squad was also sent off the ice for 2-minutes.
With 18 seconds left on the double-minor penalty, San Jose State’s Lonny Lovins accompanied his teammates Whiteside and Dekeyrl in the sin bin when he was assessed a roughing penalty.
When the horn sounded to end the second period, 1:26 remained on the San Jose penalty kill, which would carry over into the final frame.
The remaining 15 minutes provided a myriad of confrontations, whistles and subsequent lulls in action as players made their way to and from the penalty box.
Spartan forward Max Ramsey drew the second double minor of the match for hooking and unsportsmanlike conduct with 6 minutes left to play in the game.
SJSU’s Scarbrough almost had a short handed break away chance for the hat trick, but was unable to get his stick on the puck before it was swept into the corner by the Davis goaltender.
Aggie forward Berk Nelson had a hard shot from the far side point, but the puck was blocked and SJSU defenseman Zachary Glasow was able to flip the puck up high over everyone’s heads and out of the Spartan zone.
With 2:06 remaining on the clock, UC Davis finally managed to solve the Spartan netminder and spoil Best’s shutout bid when Davis winger Andrew Le took advantage of a second rebound in the slot and tapped the puck into the open net.
San Jose made one last effort to pad their stats in the final minutes when another scramble in the crease found a Davis D-man in the net behind his goaltender. San Jose captain Ray Kellam tried to tuck the loose puck under the netminder’s pads before being pushed on top of the pile-up between the pipes.
With only 21 seconds left in the game, Aggie forward Berk Nelson was ejected from the game to a hail of cheers and boos from the crowd. San Jose State’s Adam Dekeyrl was also sent off the ice after receiving a 2-minute penalty for instigating.
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