News Archive

Ducks Swamp Trojans in Final

The third time proved to be the charm for the Oregon Ducks, who beat the Trojans 5-1 in the Pac-8 Championship Game on Friday. SC had beat Oregon in the Championship Games in 2006 and 2007. Oregon came out strong and significantly outshot the Trojans in the first period, taking a 2-1 lead in the process. In the second period, the Trojans were hurt by a slew a penalties that left them on the defensive most of the period. Oregon scored just tweleve seconds into the frame and later during a 5 on 3 late in the period to take a 4-1 lead after two periods. The teams reversed roles in the third period, with USC putting on much of the pressure, while Oregon killed multiple penalties, but the Trojans were unable to find the back of the net. Oregon rounded out the scoring with a final tally late in the third.

USC and Oregon have established themselves at the top of the competition in the Pac-8. Oregon's win gave them their second Pac-8 title in four years, while USC has won the other two in that time period. The Trojans have won seven of the thirteen Championships in the Pac-8's existence, but the Ducks hold a six games to five lead over USC over the past three seasons. Both teams should be in the hunt again in 2009 and will battle in Eugene, OR, in late October.

Honors and Farewells

Junior defenseman Matt Lewis and sophomore forward Michael Joyce were named to the Pac-8 Second Team on Friday night. They were the only two Trojans to win awards in what was a discombobulated season for USC. Goaltender Matt Buttweiler, a perennial award winner, missed most of the first half of the season with a groin injury, while many other key Trojans missed time for a various other reasons.

USC says goodbye to some longtime Trojans. Captain Justin O'Neil, assistant captain Ryan Farias, Matt Carter-Tracy, Bryan Price, Mark Koechling, Abraham Padilla, Michael Nijjar, and David Foley will all graduate in the spring. All eight played crucial roles for the Trojans this season both on and off the ice, and their presence will be missed next season.

Trojans Headed to Pac-8 Finals

The No. 3 Trojans scorched the No. 2 Arizona State Sun Devils 9-2 on Thursday afternoon in the Pac-8 Semifinals. ASU and USC battled to 1-1 tie through the first period and the Sun Devils took a 2-1 lead early in the second. The Trojans took over after that, launching twenty-two shots and scoring six goals before the period ended. USC scored two more goals in the third to round out the scoring. Matt Buttweiler played strong in net for the Trojans, and Ryder Fyrwald and Alex Lofthus were named players of the game.

For the third consecutive year, the Trojans will take on the No. 1 Oregon Ducks in the Pac-8 Championship on Friday at 3 pm. USC beat Oregon in a shootout in 2006 and overtime in 2007 to claim Pac-8 titles and look to win their third consecutive title. Oregon beat host Washington State 16-2 in the second semifinal on Thursday. Over the last three seasons, Oregon and USC are 5-5 against each other, but Oregon did sweep the Trojans in a two-game series in Anaheim in October. The game, guaranteed to be an instant classic, will be broadcast live on Pac-8 Ice Hockey Radio.

Rams Batter Trojans

After playing with the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in the West on consecutive nights, the Trojans looked road weary on Saturday night. Playing for the third consecutive night with only fourteen skaters, USC battled No. 6 Colorado State throughout the first period, but gave up two goals in the last minute and trailed 3-0 at the first intermission. Alex Lofthus scored on a shorthanded breakaway early in the second to give the Trojans hope, but the Rams scored three before the second intermission to take a 6-1 lead.

David Foley came in to back up for Matt Buttweiler in the third period and played well before he was inadvertently cut on the neck with eight minutes left in the game. Foley will be ok, but was unable to continue playing due to the severity of the cut. Worried about their rankings, Colorado State tried to keep the game going, but the Trojans had no goaltenders left and the game was called early at a 9-1 final.

Trojans Go For Pac-8s Next Weekend

It was a difficult trip to Colorado for USC, but the battered Trojans return home as a more experienced and conditioned team ready to make a Pac-8 Tournament run. The Trojans host Crosstown ucla next weekend on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm at Anaheim Ice. The Trojans currently hold a one-point advantage over Washington for the final spot in the Pac-8 Tournament. USC will need to win both games to guarantee a trip to Seattle for the tournament. Both games will be broadcast live on USC Ice Hockey Radio and the Trojans expect their biggest crowds of the season.

Trojans Fighting On!

USC Silences WSU (Last Weekend)

The Trojans beat Washington State twice last weekend at home, 7-1 and 8-3, to move closer to clinching a berth in the Pac-8 Tournament. Matt Buttweiler returned to net for the first time since an injury during the first series of the season in September. Buttweiler held the Cougars scoreless for the first 57 minutes of the first game before WSU managed to break up the shutout; it would have been Buttweiler's first shutout as a Trojan. The wins moved USC (7-3 Pac-8, 13 pts) well in front of Washington (7-3, 8.5 pts) in the standings. Washington swept ucla in two 6-5 games down the road, all but eliminating the bruins from Tournament contention. SC fans should closely monitor the Washington-Oregon series this weekend because if Oregon sweeps UW, the Trojans will control their own fate going into the last week of Pac-8 play against ucla next weekend (Oregon beat Washington 5-3 on Friday night).

Shorthanded Trojans Making Statements in Losses (This Weekend)

Despite flying only fourteen skaters and two goaltenders to Colorado, the Trojans held their own on Thursday and Friday night. On Thursday, the Trojans took on No. 4 Denver with only thirteen skaters. Despite the high altitude, the Trojans stuck with the Pioneers and had SC converted a couple of near scores, the score might have been closer than the 6-2 final.

Friday, the Trojans took on No. 1 Colorado, but entered the game undaunted by the Buffaloes lofty ranking. Brent Ozaki joined the Trojans after flying out earlier in the day and helped backbone a stout defense. Meanwhile, Jonathan Stallsmith was called on to play center after an early Trojan injury; it was the first time Stallsmith had played forward in a Cardinal and Gold uniform. The Trojans led the Buffaloes halfway through the game at 3-2, before giving up three goals to end the second period. However, the defense locked down in the third. Colorado stacked the ice late in a blatant attempt to save face against the unranked Trojans and open a lead, but the final score stayed at 5-3 after a scoreless third. Last season, the Trojans tied then No.1 ranked Colorado 6-6 and have played well against the Buffaloes over the years.

USC heads to Fort Collins, CO, on Saturday to take on No. 6 Colorado State. The Rams battered the Trojans 9-2 in Anaheim in November, but after sticking with Colorado's other top teams, the Trojans have nothing but confidence heading into Saturday night's game. USC Ice Hockey Radio broadcaster, Alex Goldsmith, will broadcast the game live at 7:30 pm MST (6:30 pm PST).

Trojans Back On Ice Tonight

USC (8-9, 5-3 Pac-8) will be back in action tonight at Anaheim Ice against Washington State (3-5 Pac-8). It will be the Trojans first game in over a month since they went on Holiday Break. The games will begin what Coach Mark Wilbur refers to as the "Spring Dash," which the Trojans hope to cap off with an appearance in the Pac-8 Tournament. USC currently sits in third place with 9.5 points but is followed closely by ucla and Washington. Oregon and Arizona State have locked up the top two spots in the Pac-8 and Tournament Host Washington State is guaranteed a third. The Trojans will need to finish strong to claim the last spot in the tournament and have a shot at their third consecutive Pac-8 Championship.

Trojans Battle But Lose Two, Head to Holidays

USC (8-9) played with the No. 3 team in the West for a half the game on Friday. The Trojans were in a 2-2 battle with the Long Beach State 49ers before the 49ers blew the game open in the third period to skate away with their second 8-2 win over the Trojans this season.

Saturday, the Trojans put up a valiant effort for three periods. A battered USC had only three lines and five defensemen and held the 49ers to a scoreless period in the first. The Trojans fell behind 2-0 early in the second, but battled back with three straight goals and took the momentum and a 3-2 lead in to the locker room. At the start of third period, the game's referees decided they'd had enough of the Trojans potentially manipulating the ACHA Rankings. USC was called for an unheard of delay game penalty for not getting onto the ice fast of to start the third period; Long Beach State tied the game on the ensuing power play, and the Trojans were called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in relation to the delay of game. The 49ers were able to ride their newly found momentum to take a 4-3 minutes later. The Trojans battled Long Beach the rest of the way, but were called for a roughing penalty with two minutes left and a one-goal deficit. The 49ers were able to put the game away on that power play and finished the game with an empty net goal for the 6-3 victory.

The wary and injured Trojans will take a month off for the Holiday Break in hopes of getting healthy. USC has played most of the season without injured starting goaltender Matt Buttweiler and many other players, including starters Ryan Farias, Mike Joyce, and Matt Lewis, among others, missed Saturday's game with various injuries. The Trojans hope to get back to 100% for the first time this season when they take on Washington State at Anaheim Ice on January 18/19. The Trojans will need to put together a strong showing to make a run at the Pac-8 Tournament and a chance at their third consecutive Pac-8 Championship. The Trojans will likely be in a neck-and-neck battle for the last spot with the Washington Huskies, and, with games left against USC and Washington, ucla still stands a chance at taking that spot. The Trojans will cap their Pac-8 schedule on Feb 1/2 with two home games against ucla.

Dyer Ends Heralded Career With Good Showing

Rich Dyer started both games in net for the Trojans and ended the his career with an impressive game on Saturday. Dyer was a leader both on and off the ice for the Trojans. He played goal for USC throughout his career and also appeared at forward during the 2006-07 season. Dyer served as the Team President the last three seasons and put in countless hours for the Trojans. He will graduate with a degree in aerospace engineering this December. The Trojans wish Dyer the best of luck and thank him for his contributions to the team.

SC Claims Los Angeles

The Trojans (8-7, 5-3 Pac-8) won their third consecutive Crosstown Cup with a 4-3 win on Friday night against ucla. Winning has become customary for the Trojans in the rivalry, but as always, the bruins refused to fold easily for the USC. SC scored first, but ucla fought back for a 2-1 lead before the end of the first period. USC then reeled off three consecutive goals in the second period, but the bruins responded to close the game to 4-3 before the end of the period. Led by goaltender Phil Adams, the USC defense shut down ucla throughout the third period. USC controlled the last two minutes of the game and would not allow the bruins the opportunity to pull their goaltender, and the Trojans held on for the win. It is USC's eleventh Crosstown Cup in the thirteen year existence of the trophy.

USC will take on No. 3 Long Beach State next weekend. Friday's game will face off at Anaheim Ice at 7:30, and Saturday's game will start at the same time at Lakewood Glacial Gardens. Long Beach swept the Trojans in a series earlier this year with 8-2 and 6-3 victories. Both games will be broadcast on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

Trojans March Closer To Crosstown Cup

Playing late Thursday night or, for most of the game, early Friday morning, the Trojans inched closer to a third consecutive Crosstown Cup with a 3-1 victory over ucla. USC scored two goals in the first ten minutes of the game and again midway through the second to take a 3-0 lead. The Trojans spent much of the third period killing penalties but were able to hold the bruins to only one goal. Phil Adams had another strong start for the Trojans after posting a shutout in his first career game two weeks ago; he held opponents scoreless through the first five periods of his career. SC played strong in front of him and dominated the bruins physically throughout the game.

USC now leads the Crosstown Cup two games to none and takes on the bruins this Friday night at 7:30 pm at Anaheim Ice. The home ucla game during Conquest Week is always the biggest draw of the season for SC. A win would give the Trojans their third consecutive Crosstown Cup against ucla and eleventh in its thirteen years of existence. For those that can't make it to the game, it will be broadcast live on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

Trojans Down In ACHA Rankings

In the eyes of ACHA voters, two dominating wins against Cal could not overcome the Trojans shellacking against No. 6 Colorado State and the Trojans dropped further in the second ACHA West rankings of the season. USC is not in the Top 13, but received enough votes for seventeenth (falling from sixteenth in the first rankings). USC was in the Top 13 throughout 2005-06 and 2006-07, finishing the seasons at ninth and seventh (respectively) and making the ACHA West Regional Tournament both seasons. USC (6-7) has started off with a difficult schedule, but has only gone 2-7 against ranked opponents. The Trojans will have plenty of big games to work their way up with two games left against No. 3 Long Beach State and No. 7 San Jose State, as well as games during a January Colorado trip against No. 1 Colorado, No. 4 Denver, and a rematch against No. 6 Colorado State.

Crosstown Cup!

In the meantime, however, the Trojans have a big series against ucla this coming weekend. USC leads the Crosstown Cup series 1-0 and would win the Cup with a weekend sweep. The Trojans face off against the bruins at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo at 11:45 pm on Thursday and at Anaheim Ice at 7:30 pm on Friday. Both games will be broadcast live on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

Rams Headbutt Trojans

USC struggled in its biggest test of the season against No. 5 Colorado State in a 9-2 loss on Friday. The Trojans started off strong with the first two goals of the game in the first ten minutes. The goals woke up the Rams, who scored three goals in each period to win the game in dominating fashion. CSU took nearly 70 shots on Trojan goalie Rich Dyer, who played much better than his stats would indicate. USC will have a chance to improve against the Rams when they travel to Colorado in late January.

USC will have a break for Thanksgiving before playing two crucial games against ucla on November 29th and 30th. The Trojans lead the series with the crosstown rival one game to none and hope to build on that lead and their quest for their third consecutive Crosstown Cup on Conquest Weekend. The wins would also give the Trojans a much needed boost in the Pac-8, where they are currently in fourth place with a 3-3 record.

Washington State Games Rescheduled

Due to confusion, the Washington State games have been rescheduled from January 11/12 to January 18/19 at Anaheim Ice. This change will be reflected in the schedule soon.

Trojans Sunburn Bears

USC (6-6, 3-3 Pac-8) lit the lamp twenty four times in two games against the Cal Bears (3-7 Pac-8) this weekend. The Trojans battled the Bears in the first game and the Bears responded, tying the game at 6-6 early in the third before the Trojans scored six unanswered goals for a 12-6 win. Tyler McLinn netted a hat trick for the Trojans. David Foley picked up his first career win for USC in between the pipes.

Saturday night was a different story as the Trojans dominated the game from start to finish. Three defensemen (Jason Bush, Justin O'Neil, and Jonathan Stallsmith) all scored power play goals in a six-goal second period that opened the game up to 9-0. The Trojans put up three more in the third to win 12-0. The biggest story of the night was goaltender Phil Adams. Adams had not practiced with the Trojans and was rostered Friday as a back-up. He joined the trip on a last-second phone call to dress a healthy back-up and, in his first career start, backstopped to the Trojans first shutout victory since January 17, 2004.

The Trojans play a big home game next Friday against No. 5 Colorado State (4-6). The Rams beat Arizona State 10-1 the day before USC began a two-game series split with the Sun Devils. The game will faceoff at Anaheim Ice at 7:30 pm and will be broadcast live on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

ACHA Rankings

The ACHA recently released their first rankings of the season and the Trojans have some work to do. USC is ranked sixteenth; the first time they've fallen from the Top 13 in over two years. Of teams that USC has played this year: (0-2 vs) Long Beach State is fourth; (1-1 vs) San Jose State is ninth; (0-2 vs) Oregon is eleventh; and, (1-1 vs) Arizona State is twelfth.

USC Ice Hockey Updates

The Trojans opened up Pac-8 play recently and the injury bug affected the Trojans early in their conference campaign. The Trojans lacked offense in being swept by the rival Oregon Ducks at home on October 19-20. USC dropped the first game 4-2, giving up an empty net goal late. The second game was close throughout, with the Ducks up 1-0 going into the third, but the Trojans were unable to find the net and suffered their first shutout since January 2005 in the 3-0 loss. James Carcich played well in goal for the Trojans against Oregon in replacing regular starter Matt Buttweiler, who missed the majority of October with a groin injury. However, shortly before the Ducks second goal in the Saturday match, Carcich dislocated his knee on a play, and Oregon was able to score before the whistle was blown for the injury.

The following weekend saw two new goaltenders make their debuts for the Trojans. On October 25th, USC played a back-and-forth battle at the Staples Center against Crosstown Rival ucla. The Trojans held a shot advantage throughout the game, but couldn't separate themselves from the bruins until late, leaving with a 5-4 win. Andrew Clark was the winning goaltender for USC in his cardinal and gold debut.

The Trojans hit the road for Tempe, AZ, the following morning to play a two game series against Arizona State on October 26 and 27. The Trojans came out strong against the Sun Devils, who swept Oregon earlier in the month, and Clark backstopped the Trojans to a 5-1 win. Clark had to fly back to Los Angeles early Saturday, and his departure paved the way for long-time Trojan broadcaster, David Foley, to make his debut. Foley played roller hockey goalie throughout high school, but the start was his first in such a high level ice hockey game. It was apparent the Trojans had played three games in as many days when they fell behind 6-1 after two periods, but USC regrouped and closed the gap to 7-4 by the end of the game.

The games leave USC with a 1-3 record and sixth place in the Pac-8 standings (oddly, the ucla game did not qualify as a Pac-8 match), before they head to Cal this coming weekend to take on the Bears (3-5 Pac-8/fourth place). The games will be broadcast live on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

Battle for the Crosstown Cup begins at Staples

Come support your USC Trojans (2-3) as they take on the UCLA Bruins (1-3) for Game 1 of the Crosstown Cup at the Staples Center on Thursday, October 25. The game will take place immediately following the ending of the Los Angeles Kings game.

Tickets can be purchased through the AEG website.

Lions Roar, Trojans Win

The Trojans (2-3) gave their parents an exciting game to watch against LMU (3-2-1) on Friday. USC fell behind 3-1 in the first and 4-1 early in the second before USC fought back to knot the game at four at the end of the second. Coming out of the locker room confidently, the Trojans broke the tie early, but the Lions tied it halfway through the third. USC dominated late, but Lions' goalie Chris Marks held off the Trojans through regulation.

The game appeared headed for a tie, but with the Trojans killing an overtime penalty, Mike Joyce stole the puck at the point, went the length of the ice, and flipped a pass across to Alex Lofthus, who finished the game with only 10 seconds left in overtime.

USC will have Saturday off to celebrate Parent's Weekend, before they open Pac-8 play next weekend in a big home series against rival Oregon.

Goal Rushed

USC (1-3) was swept this past weekend by a good Long Beach State 49er team. Beach (3-1) started off strong against the noticeably lethargic Trojans Thursday night, taking a 3-0 lead in the first period and 5-0 lead in the second, before the Trojans finally broke the shutout in the third period.

The Trojans recovered some on Friday night in their home opener. After Long Beach jumped to a 2-0 lead the Trojans responded with a goal of their own and hit a post as time expired in the first period. However, the USC broke down in the second and fell behind 5-1, before recovering in the third to keep the game close at a 6-3 final.

USC will host Loyola Marymount (2-1-1) at Anaheim Ice on Friday at 7:30 pm. LMU beat ucla last weekend and the Trojans hope to get back on track before a big weekend against Pac-8 rival Oregon on October 19-20. USC dominated LMU last season, winning 13-1 and 8-1; this will be the only game of the season between the two teams.

Radio Broadcast Ready For Long Beach Series

USC Ice Hockey Radio is officially back on the air this week after technical difficulties prevented last week's San Jose State series from being broadcast. Tune-in both nights to hear the internet broadcasts.

The Trojans open up their Southern California campaign at Long Beach State on Thursday night at 8:50 pm. The game will be played at Glacial Gardens in Lakewood. On Friday, the 49ers and the Trojans will finish the home-and-home series with USC's home opener at 7:30 at Anaheim Ice.

USC split with Beach last year, losing 6-2 in October, before winning 7-4 a month later. Beach returns its top five point scorers from last year and its starting goaltender, and the 49ers come off a split with Division 1 Arizona State last weekend. The Trojans will face Long Beach a total four times this year.

Trojans Defeat History

In the historic battle of Troy, the Spartans defeated the Trojans, and such was the case in the hockey rivalry between the San Jose State Spartans and the USC Trojans. It appeared much of the same when the Trojans faced off their season in San Jose on Friday. USC fell behind 2-0 in the 1st period, and despite an early response in the second, trailed 5-1 by the end of the period. However, USC buckled down and fought to keep the final score at 5-1.

The momentum the Trojans gained from that third period carried over to Saturday. The game was a defensive battle midway into the second until the Trojans went up 2-0 and the Spartans promptly responded to knot the game at two headed into the third period. USC opened the scoring in the third, but SJSU again responded. However, with less than five minutes in the game, USC took yet another lead and called timeout. USC won the faceoff out of the timeout and went directly down to make it a 5-3 game. The Trojans killed a 6 on 3 late in the game and held on for their first win of the season.

Saturday night's win snapped a twelve game losing streak and thirteen game winless streak against the Spartans. USC's previous last win against SJSU was Feb. 7, 2004, and the current senior class had never beaten the Spartans. San Jose State had not lost at home in over two season, a streak that dated back to the 2004-2005 season.

Trojans Head To San Jose For Opener

USC to San Jose State this weekend for their season opener. USC will faceoff at 7:45 pm on Friday and 7 pm on Saturday at Logitech Ice in San Jose. Despite recent strong seasons, the Trojans have struggled against the Spartans, dropping the last eleven games between the two teams, and USC has not beat SJSU since Feb. 7, 2004.

Trojans Back On The Ice

The Trojans finished their last of three tryouts Monday night. USC has a good new group of guys while being anchored by several veterans. Despite the loss of two-time captain Ryan Seals, the Trojan defensive wall boasts a lot of talent and experience; while the offense gets younger but will not lose any talent. 2006 Pac 8 MVP Matt Buttweiler will see most of the time in goal, and Team President Rich Dyer will return to the net after a few years at forward to back up Buttweiler.

USC will open the season on the road at San Jose State on September 28/29 at Logitech Ice. Friday's game will face off at 7:45 pm and Saturday's game at 7 pm.

USC's first game in Southern California will be a home-and-home series with Long Beach State. The first game will Thursday, October 4th at Glacial Gardens in Lakewood (Time TBD) before the Trojans play their first home game on October 5th at 7:30 pm at Anaheim Ice.

2007-2008 Schedule

The 2007-08 schedule will be posted soon. To preview through 2007, USC will play home: Oct 5 (vs Long Beach), Oct 12 (vs UConn), Oct 19-20 (vs Oregon), Oct 25 (AT ucla), Nov 15 (vs Colorado St), Nov 16 (vs Stanford), Nov 29 (AT ucla), Nov 30 (vs ucla), Dec 7 (vs Long Beach), Dec 8 (AT Long Beach). Other than SJSU, the Trojans will travel to Arizona State (Oct 26-27), Cal (Nov 9-10), and will do a Colorado tour near the end of January 2008. Sorry for the delay on the schedule.

Trojans Send Prayers To Hokies

The USC Ice Hockey team would like to send its thoughts and prayers to the friends and families of the Virginia Tech victims. The Hokies field a Division 2 ACHA team and their website reported Wednesday that all Hokie hockey players were safe. USC Ice Hockey has never played Virginia Tech, but did play its ACCHL rival Duke in January of 2006. The Trojans would like the Hokies and their entire community to know that they support them in dealing with this terrible tragedy.

Captain Highlights Team Awards

The USC Ice Hockey team held its banquet Friday night. Captain Ryan Seals was among the recipients for the various team awards. The team and its staff voted on many of the awards:

Most Outstanding Player (tie): Ryan Seals, Ryan Farias
Best Offensive Player: Shon Smith
Best Defensive Player: Ryan Seals
Rookie of the Year: Michael Joyce
Trojan Spirit Award: Rich Dyer
Most Improved Player: Mark Koechling
Best Individual Performance (tie):
Shon Smith-December 7, 2006-For his three goals and two assists in a 6-6 tie against #1 Colorado.
Ryan Seals-February 10, 2007-For his performance in a 4-3 overtime win in the Pac-8 Championship, after which Seals was named the tournament's MVP.

Coach Wilbur also handed out a few awards of his own choosing:
Coach's Award: Chris Dralla, Mark Farrish, Matt Carter-Tracy
Rob Yanez (for service and citizenship): Mark Gangloff
Mike Fratto Trojan Award: Rich Dyer
Mike Fratto played goalie for the Trojans in the late 1990s before he died tragically of cancer. His father handed out the award to the player that exihibited the characteristics that Mike exemplified: Faithful, Skillful, Scholarly, Courageous, Ambitious.

The Trojans elected Justin O'Neil next year's captain, and Ryan Farias, Tyler McLinn, and Michael Joyce the assistant captains.

USC bid a final goodbye to Rich Dyer, Matt Carter-Tracy, Mark Farrish, Chris Dralla, Mike Mariani, Shon Smith, Ryan Seals, and Mark Gangloff.

No Final Wilbur Show

As fans might have noticed, the final Mark Wilbur Show did not air last Wednesday as expected. The final show has officially been cancelled due to investigations based on the on-ice incident in Utah. Among potential other organizations, the USC Judical Affairs committee announced last week it would be investigating the team. At this point, the Trojans are trying to let the investigations run their course and do not want to discuss the issue in a public setting while the investigations are being conducted. Sorry for any inconvience. Fight On!

Final Wilbur Show

USC broadcasters David Foley and Andrew Samel will air the last Mark Wilbur Show of the season this Wednesday at 4:45 pm. The show will do a thorough wrap up of the 2006-07 season and discuss both the successes and disappointments of the season. The show will also address the national attention USC Ice Hockey has received as a result of an on-ice incident in Utah. Foley and Samel will also look ahead to the future of the program and give a final tribute to the outgoing Trojans. Tune in for the final take on the season.

Flat Finale

Maybe it was the five hours of sleep the Trojans got after playing in the last of four games on Friday and the first of four on Saturday. Maybe it was the uncharacteristic 10 am start time. Maybe it was the deflation from having gotten knocked out of ACHA National contention in a tough loss the night before. For whatever reason, the No. 7 Trojans put up a lackluster effort in their final game of the season against No. 10 BYU. USC struggled defensively in giving up five goals and an empty netter. The Trojans jumped to a 2-0 lead and remained close throughout the game. However, USC hurt themselves with a series of penalties midway through the third period and was unable to close the season with win. Seniors Chris Dralla and Matt Carter-Tracy both scored in their final game in cardinal and gold.

Other ACHA West Regional Scores:
#3 Colorado 5, #6 Utah State 1
#4 San Jose State 6, #5 Denver 5 (OT)
-Colorado and San Jose State advance to ACHA Nationals.
#8 Long Beach 4, #9 Oregon 0

Aggie-tated Trojans

No. 7 USC lost a tough 3-1 decision to No. 6 Utah State on Friday. The Trojans played hard, but could not manage a goal against the Aggies until five minutes left in the game. The goal cut the USU lead to 2-1, but the Aggies scored minutes later to put the game out of reach for the men of Troy. USC will faceoff on Saturday morning at 10 am (MST) against No. 10 BYU. SC split a series with the IceCats in late January. The game will be broadcast live on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

Other ACHA West Regional scores:
#3 Colorado 6, #10 BYU 5
#4 San Jose State 3, #9 Oregon 2 (OT)
#5 Denver 5, #8 Long Beach 2

Trojans Roll Into Utah

The Trojans took a 13-hour bus ride Thursday in preparation for the ACHA West Regional tournament this weekend. The Trojans left campus at 8 am (PST), stopped an hour for lunch in Las Vegas, and rolled into Salt Lake City at 10 pm (MST). The No. 7 Trojans will open the weekend against tournament host, No. 6 Utah State on Friday. The game will face off at 8 pm (MST) [NOTE: 7 PM PACIFIC TIME] in Logan, UT. The Trojans hope to continue their tournament success after winning the Pac-8 Championship last weekend. The Trojans will play Saturday regardless of Friday's outcome. A win on Friday would give USC the opportunity to play for a berth in the ACHA Nationals on Saturday. Opponent and game time for Saturday will be determined based on the outcome of Friday's games. USC Ice Hockey Radio will broadcast both games on the internet. Tune in at your local time (7 pm PST) to here the Trojans play in enemy territory.

Twice As Nice!

"Fight On!" is the Trojan motto and that is exactly what the Trojans did on Saturday evening against the Oregon Ducks. The Trojans trailed the Ducks 3-2 with 2:31 left in the game and had a two-minute powerplay. SC put the pressure on but was forced to pull goaltender Kevin Kliman after the first minute of the powerplay ticked away. Finally, with less than a minute left in the game, the Trojan powerplay came through when Shon Smith scored to send the game into overtime. SC beat Oregon 4-3 in a shootout of the 2006 Pac-8 Championship and the 2007 game appeared headed in the same direction until Jake McKee picked up a loose puck high in the offensive zone with 45 seconds left. McKee turned around and fired a wrist shot at the Duck net, the puck bounced off Jason Filantres and into the net. For the second year in a row, the Trojans were able to hog pile for a Pac-8 Championship.

Although the Pac-8 season is over, both SC and Oregon still have some postseason left to go, when the travel to Utah to play in the ACHA West Regional next weekend. No. 7 USC will play No. 6 Utah State on Friday at 8 pm, and an undetermined opponent on Saturday. If the Trojans win both games, they will advance to the ACHA Nationals in Colorado in early March.

Four Trojans Take Pac 8 Honors

After scoring two goals in the championship and one in the semifinal and putting up a solid defensive effort to win the Pac-8 Tournament MVP, Trojan captain, Ryan Seals gave an encore performance later Saturday night when he received First Team All Pac-8 honors. Along side Seals on the first team was Trojan goaltender Matt Buttweiler, who was the 2006 Pac-8 Tournament MVP. Forward Shon Smith was named Second Team All Pac-8 and defenseman Brent Ozaki was named Honorable Mention All Pac-8. Ryan Farias, who led the entire Pac-8 in ACHA scoring, was noticably absent from the All Pac-8 selections.

Washington State coach, Chris Soriano, was named the Coach of the Year after rebuilding a Cougar team that should compete for the Pac-8 Championship next season. Also in the hunt next season will be Arizona State, who beat ucla 13-9 in the consolation game on Saturday. This season was ASU's first season back in the Pac-8 after an extended absence. ASU was knocked out of championship contention in a 5-2 loss against SC on Friday but did hand the Trojans one of their three Pac-8 losses earlier this season.

ACHA Regional Radio

USC broadcasters David Foley and Andrew Samel will be on the road with the Trojans for USC Ice Hockey Radio after broadcasting this past weekend for Pac-8 Radio. The entire tournament is archived and the broadcasters would greatly appreciate any feedback on their broadcasts, please send emails to radio@pac8hockey.com. The Mark Wilbur Show will air this week at 5 pm on Wednesday. Listen in to hear the Pac-8 Tournament summmary and a regional preview.

Trojans Set Sun Devils

The Trojans punched their ticket to the Pac-8 Final with a 5-2 win against Arizona State on Friday evening. The Sun Devils scored early in the game, but the Trojans responded with three goals before the end of the first and extended it to a 4-1 lead by the second intermission. The Sun Devils came out strong in the third period, but goaltender Kevin Kliman and the Trojans were able to hold ASU back and Ryan Seals sealed the game with a shorthanded breakaway late in the third. It was the third of three breakaway goals for the Trojans, who also got breakaways from Matt Carter-Tracy and Cory Adler. Carter-Tracy added a second goal, and Ryan Farias scored for USC.

The win advances the Trojans to Saturday's Pac-8 Final at 4 pm at the Toyota Sports Arena in El Segundo, CA. The Trojans will face the Oregon Ducks, who beat ucla 6-4 in the other semifinal. USC and Oregon have been evenly matched as the top two teams in the Pac-8 over the last two seasons. Oregon won the Pac-8 in 2005, before the Trojans beat them 4-3 in a shootout to win the 2006 Championship. USC and Oregon split two 3-2 decisions in late October. They also split the 2005-2006 regular season series two games to two. USC is currently ranked seventh in the ACHA West and Oregon is ranked ninth.

Both the ASU-ucla consolation game at 1 pm and the championship game will be broadcast on Pac 8 Radio.

Healthy Trojans Ready For Pac 8s

The Trojans held their final practice before the Pac 8 tournament on Wednesday night and most of the the injured Trojans were back on the ice. Ryan Seals, Ryan Farias, Jason Bush, Jonny Baron, Michael Joyce, and Shon Smith were all back near 100% after missing time last weekend due to injury. The Trojans are still without freshmen Zach Porter and Josh Frazier. The banged up Trojans lost three of their last four regular season games and look forward to skating a full lineup this weekend. Wednesday's practice was crisp and quick and SC looks ready for the tournament. The Trojans will play the Arizona State Sun Devils at 5:30 pm on Friday at the Toyota Sports Arena in El Segundo, CA.

Pac-8 Radio Broadcast

USC broadcasters David Foley, Andrew Samel, and Alex Goldsmith will discard their cardinal and gold this weekend to broadcast the full Pac-8 Tournament. Similar to USC Ice Hockey Radio, the tournament will be broadcast through Audio Sports Online, but will be broadcast at the Pac 8 Radio site. Friday's Trojan-ASU game will feature David Foley on play-by-play and ASU's Kyle Glaser on color. Glaser will likely broadcast Saturday's Sun Devil game as well. Tune in all weekend for coverage of all games.

Stumble Doesn't Result In Fall

Despite dropping three of their final four games, the Trojans 19-10-1 campaign was strong enough for them to retain the number seven ranking in the ACHA West. The final ranking means the Trojans will face No. 6 Utah State in the ACHA West Regional on February 16. The regional tournament will be held in Logan, UT, and hosted by Utah State. The Trojans will need to beat Utah State and their February 17th opponent to advance to the ACHA Nationals in Colorado in early March. Elsewhere in the rankings, San Jose State jumped to number four after drubbing SC this past weekend. Upcoming potential Pac-8 tournament foes, Oregon, Arizona State, and ucla, finished ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth, respectively. The Trojans will make their second appearance in the ACHA West Regional in as many years, while Oregon will be the only other Pac-8 representative to make the regional in its two year existence. Despite the upcoming regional, all of the Trojans' attention is on the Pac-8 Semifinal at 5:30 pm against Arizona State this Friday.

Trojans Battered In San Jose

The undermanned No. 7 Trojans were thumped on the road this weekend by No. 5 San Jose State. SC dropped the first game 8-1 and the second game 9-1. The Trojans headed to San Jose without many of their regulars, and then lost Ryan Farias and Jason Bush in the first game, and captain Ryan Seals early in the second game. Shon Smith also played sparingly due to injury in the second game, but came through to score the only Trojan goal in Saturday's loss. The Trojans hurt themselves by giving up four goals in the second period of each game. True to the Trojan spirit, SC fought on in each third period despite the games being out of hand.

The Trojans return to Los Angeles for the Pac-8 Championship next weekend. ucla will host the tournament at the Toyota Sports Arena in El Segundo, CA. The first seeded Trojans will face off against fourth seeded Arizona State at 5:30 pm on Friday, while second seeded Oregon plays third seeded ucla at 8:30 pm. On Saturday, the consolation game will be at 1 pm and the championship at 4 pm. Depsite a rough weekend, the Trojans hope to get healthy and will be ready to defend their 2006 title. Tune into the Mark Wilbur Show this Wednesday at 5 pm for a regular season wrap-up and a Pac-8 Tournament preview.

Trojans Turn Off Lights With Style

The Trojans sent their seniors out of Anaheim Ice on a high note Friday night. USC played a solid game against the BYU IceCats in a 5-2 win. The Trojans controlled the tempo both offensively and defensively, recovering from a dissapointing 6-4 loss the night before. Ryan Farias netted a hat trick for the Trojans and, late roster addition, Jonathan Stallsmith had a solid defensive game. It was the final home game for eight Trojans: Richard Dyer, Matthew Carter-Tracy, Mark Farrish, Chris Dralla, Michael Mariani, Shon Smith, Ryan Seals, and Mark Gangloff. The players were honored in a short pregame ceremony.

Ahead on the schedule, the Trojans travel to No. 5 San Jose State this weekend. The Trojans and Spartans will go to war at 7:45 pm on Friday and 7 pm on Saturday. Both games will be played at Logitech Ice in San Jose, CA and will be broadcast live on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

Trojans Alone In Rankings

In the fourth set of ACHA Rankings, which were released Friday, the Trojans were ranked seventh. USC had been tied at seventh with current No. 8 Long Beach. USC's 54 voting points puts them only one point behind No. 6 Utah State. The Trojans will need a strong showing in San Jose to move up after this weekend's split with No. 10 BYU.

Mark Wilbur Show on Wednesday

The Mark Wilbur Show has officially been moved to Wednesdays at 5 pm. Tune in to hear the current state of the Trojans with broadcasters David Foley and Andrew Samel.

Friday: Senior Night

Friday night will be USC's last home game at Anaheim Ice. It will be Senior Night for USC. The Trojans will honor the careers of Rich Dyer, Matthew Carter-Tracy, Mark Farrish, Chris Dralla, Shon Smith, Ryan Seals, and Mark Gangloff. It will also be the last home game for graduate students Michael Mariani, Jason Filantres, and Jake McKee. The game will start at 7:30 pm.

SC Slips vs IceCats

The Trojans struggled defensively Thursday night against a rough BYU team. SC dropped a 6-4 decision against the IceCats. The loss could hurt the Trojans in the ACHA West Rankings. USC will likely need to beat #10 BYU on Friday to keep from dropping too far in the rankings. Friday's game will be broadcast on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

Big Or Small...SC Still Wins

USC swept a road series against Cal this weekend. However, the Trojans played two different types of games to beat the Bears. On Friday, USC led 2-1 after the first period before scoring eight unanswered goals in a second period slowed down by penalties. In the third period, the team tried to get team president Rich Dyer his second goal of the year. Dyer played most of the period and was not allowed off the ice during a five-minute power play. Dyer was unable to find the back of the net, but the Trojans still managed two goals before the refs called the game a minute early after a scuffle. The Trojans walked away with the 12-1 win.

On Saturday, the Bears did their best to ruin the Trojans' picnic. Despite controlling the play, USC managed only two goals against Cal goalie Brian Yates in the first two periods. At the same time, the Trojan wall held the Bears scoreless. However, Cal opened the third with three straight goals to take its first lead of the weekend. USC responded with a Ryan Seals goal late to send the game to overtime. Nine seconds into overtime, the Trojans appeared to have won on a Jonny Baron goal, but it was called back. Minutes later, Tyler McLinn knocked home a power play rebound and the Trojans escaped with a 4-3 win.

SC finishes Pac-8 play with a 15-3 record and an 11-game winning streak. The Pac-8 tournament will be played in El Segundo, CA on February 9-10. USC will hope to keep up their Pac-8 success and repeat as champions. The Trojans have won six of the eleven Pac-8 Championships, including the 2006 Championship.

USC has a big home series against Brigham Young this weekend. The games will faceoff at 7:30 on THURSDAY and Friday (there is no Saturday game). BYU is ranked tenth in the ACHA West and has come on strong late in the season. SC lost 4-3 at BYU last January, but beat them 6-3 in the 2006 ACHA Regional Tournament. Both BYU games will be broadast on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

The Mark Wilbur Show at 5 pm

The Mark Wilbur Show has changed times from 8:30 pm to 5 pm on Tuesday. Listen this week as broadcasters David Foley and Andrew Samel breakdown this past weekend and the Pac-8 season and preview the BYU series. All future broadcasts of the show this season will also be at 5 pm.

Trojans Rollin' To Cal

USC extended its Pac-8 winning streak to nine games with a win at the Staples Center against ucla last night. The Trojans dominated early outshooting the bruins 21-5 early into the second period and taking 3-0 and 4-1 leads before the close of the second. However, SC let up in the third, and ucla was able to close the game to 4-3 before the Trojans pulled away with an empty netter and a 5-3 win. Mickey Meyer had the play of the game when he stopped a floating puck with his head while on his knees. The save came with the ucla goalie pulled and less than a minute left.

USC will head to the Berkeley Iceland to take on the Cal Bears this weekend. Cal has struggled to a 3-10 record in the Pac-8 this season, and the Trojans already beat the Bears 12-4 in November. Friday's game will start at 9:30 and Saturday's will faceoff at 8:30. Both games will be broadcast on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

Trojans Return to Staples Center

The Trojans swept the Washington Huskies this weekend by scores of 22-2 and 14-4. The 36-goal weekend was the highest since November 2005, when the Trojans also scored 36 in a series against Stanford. USC is now 15-7-1 and 12-3 in the Pac-8.

This Thursday, the Trojans play their first varsity game at the Staples Center since before the NHL Lockout. USC will take on ucla. It will be the fifth time the teams meet this season. The Trojans are 3-1 against the bruins and already skated the Crosstown Cup against them in December. The game will face off following the Kings-Blues game (somewhere around 10 pm).

The following morning, the Trojans will caravan to Cal for a weekend series against the Bears. Friday's game will be at 9:30 pm at Berkeley Iceland, and Saturday's will be at 8:30 pm. The Trojans already beat Cal 12-4 in November. The Staples Center game as well as both Cal games will be broadcast on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

Trojans Open 2007 With Fireworks

The Trojans posted their highest goal total since November 2002 last night in a 22-2 win over Washington. Michael Joyce, Ryan Farias, Jonny Baron, and Shon Smith all managed hat tricks for the Trojans. USC will take on the Huskies again tonight. The game will be broadcast throughout the Los Angeles area on COX TV. The team will honor late Trojan kicker Mario Danelo and promote the Mario Danelo Scholarship Fund at the game. For those outside the LA area, the game, as always, will be broadcast on USC Ice Hockey Radio. The puck will drop at 7:30 pm.

Trojans Begin Run Tonight

The spring sprint to the playoffs starts tonight for the Trojans. USC is currenlty first in the Pac-8 standings with a 10-3 record and 21 power points. The Trojans will host the University of Washington (Pac-8: 3-8, 5 pts, T-6th). The Trojans only have four weekends of games before the Pac 8 Championship in El Segundo, CA on February 9-10. The following weekend, the Trojans hope to qualify for the ACHA West Regional in Salt Lake City, UT. The Trojans are currently ranked seventh in the ACHA West and must finish in the top ten to qualify. The Trojans need to put together a strong month to prepare themselves for postseason play. The puck will drop tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30 at Anaheim Ice. Both games will be broadcast on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

Trojans Climb Rankings

USC climbed to a tie as the seventh ranked team in the ACHA West. The Trojans are tied with CSU-Long Beach, with whom the Trojans split two matchups this season. BYU, who the Trojans face at home on Jan. 25 and 26, moved up to tenth; the Ice Cats made a similar climb last year and should challenge the Trojans. Meanwhile, ucla fell to eleventh after losing the Crosstown Cup to the Trojans. Only the top ten teams will qualify for the Regional Tournament. USC and ucla will meet at the Staples Center on Jan. 18. Before that game, however, USC has a home series against the University of Washington on Jan. 12 and 13. Both games faceoff at 7:30 pm at Anaheim Ice and will be broadcast online on USC Ice Hockey Radio.

SC Stumbles Into Holiday Break

One night after the No. 8 Trojans and the No. 1 Colorado Buffaloes battled to a 6-6 tie, Colorado proved why they are ranked higher than USC. In a lackluster performance, the Trojans dropped the second game of the series, 6-3. Colorado scored the first four goals and led 5-1 after the second period. The Trojans capitalized on a two-man advantage with two goals midway through the third, closing the game to 5-3. However, they could generate little offense afterward and the Buffs finished the scoring with 18 seconds left.

USC heads into their holiday break and will not play again until January 12, when they host the University of Washington. The Trojans head into the break in first place in the Pac-8. ACHA rankings will be released shortly before Christmas, and the Trojans will hope to move up with their tie against Colorado on Thursday.

The Trojans would like to wish all their supporters a Happy Holiday season!

Trojans Halt Buffalo Stampede

No. 8 USC showed the ACHA West that there's more in them than an eighth seed. Thursday night in Anaheim, the Trojans tied the No. 1 Colorado Buffaloes 6-6. Colorado struck early, opening up a 3-0 lead in the first period. However, the Trojans fought back with a Ryan Farias goal. In the second, Shon Smith took over for the Trojans. He scored two goals to tie the game at three, and completed his hat trick to counter a Buffs' tally. Justin O'Neil gave the Trojans a brief 5-4 lead in the second period, but Colorado tied it up at five before the intermission. Farias netted his second goal of the game late in the third period, but Colorado scored a powerplay goal in the final minute to send the game to overtime. After five minutes of OT, both teams skated off the ice after a hard fought 6-6 tie. Despite giving up six goals, Kevin Kliman did well in net for USC, keeping them with in striking distance all game.

USC was missing many players Thursday night and hope that a full roster will be the difference maker against the Buffaloes on Friday. That game will face off at 7:30 pm and will be broadcast live. Colorado has played a very tough schedule so far to earn thier number one seed, and a good showing by the Trojans could move them up in the rankings.

Trojans Win Crosstown Cup

The No. 8 Trojans wrapped up the Crosstown Cup series with their second 3-2 win in as many nights. USC kept the pressure on No. 10 ucla throughout the game. After a scoreless first, Shon Smith scored shortly into the second for the Trojans. USC penalites allowed ucla to fight back and take a 2-1 lead, but Josh Frazier closed the second period with a game tying goal. Frazier's goal set the tone for a dominant third period by the Trojans. Ryan Farias capitalized midway through the third and the Trojans fought on for the victory. Kevin Kliman played a solid game in goal for the Trojans.

The series win marks the second consecutive year the Trojans have won the Cup and the tenth in its twelve year existence. The Crosstown Cup series has been decided but the series is not over, the Trojans take on ucla one more time at the Staples Center on January 18.

Trojans Take Cup Lead

Could Skate Cup Friday

Behind the leadership of captain Ryan Seals, the No. 8 Trojans took a 2-1 lead in the Crosstown Cup over No. 10 ucla on Thursday night. Seals provided a physical boost for the Trojans throughout the game by knocking bruins around all over the ice. He also provided the necessary boost on the scoreboard for the Trojans. Playing a man down halfway through the first period, Seals cleared the puck from his own end onto the ucla net. The clear stunned the bruins by finding the back of the net to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead. However, the bruins got the momentum late in the first by depositing two goals on Trojan turnovers. In the second period, Seals decided to skate the puck the length of the ice instead of shooting it. He went on a coast-to-coast breakaway, finishing a backhand deke to tie the game at 2-2. With time running down in the third, Shon Smith redirected a Daylin Ackerman (back from a shoulder injury) slap shot into the goal. The goal proved to be the game winner in the 3-2 final. As usual, Matt Buttweiler had a solid game in net for the Trojans.

USC now leads the best of five series against ucla two games to one. The win gives the Trojans the opportunity to skate the Crosstown Cup at Anaheim Ice on Friday, if USC can win the game. The puck will drop at 7:30 pm. The two teams have had three even games so far. SC took game 1, 4-2, before ucla fought back in game 2, 3-2. The game will also be broadcast live with Audio Sports Online.

Trojans Retain Eighth-Seed

The Trojans are still seeded eighth in the ACHA West. The ACHA released its second of five rankings this season, and the Trojans did not budge from their ranking in the first poll. USC is tied for the eighth-seed with Oregon. Oregon is currently first in the Pac-8 with a 10-2 record; USC and the Ducks split two 3-2 games earlier in the season. USC beat No. 6 Long Beach two weeks ago, but the 49ers were able to maintain a sizable lead on the Trojans; thanks to their 11-3 record and an earlier win against USC. USC was not able score two decisive victories against Stanford for ranking consideration, but the games likely would not have made a difference.

The Trojans have ranked foes on the horizon when they return from the Land of the Rising Sun on Sunday. Next weekend, USC battles against No. 10 ucla. The best-of-five Crosstown Cup series against the bruins is tied at a game each. Thursday, the Trojans head to El Segundo to play ucla at 9 pm, then host the bruins in Anaheim at 7:30 pm on Friday. The following weekend the Trojans host No. 1 Colorado. Don't miss the breakdown about the Crosstown Cup rivalry on the Mark Wilbur Show, this Tuesday at 8:30 pm.

Trojans Silence Bears' Growl

USC (11-6, 8-3 Pac 8) treated fans to an offensive display Thursday night, beating Cal 12-4. Ryan Farias scored four goals and two assists. Linemates Mark Koechling and Cory Adler teamed-up to mark the scoresheet as well. Koechling got a goal and four assists, while Adler got two goals and an assist for the Trojans. The Trojans are flying high on a six-game winning streak as they take off for Japan today. USC will be gone for a week and a half, but will have some important games soon after they return.

The Crosstown Cup, currently knotted a one-game apiece with ucla, could be decided on Nov 30 and Dec 1. The following weekend, the Trojans will host ACHA West No. 1 Colorado.

The Mark Wilbur Show will not air this Tuesday, but will return next Tuesday (11/27) at 8:30 pm.

The Trojans would like to wish a Happy Thanskgiving to all their fans, since they will be gone during the holdiay.

Tuesday Night: Mark Wilbur Show

Episode Four of the Mark Wilbur Show will air Tuesday night at 8:30. USC Hockey broadcasters, David Foley and Andrew Samel, will break down this past weekend's victories and preview Thursday's game against Cal. Coach Wilbur will give his State of Troy address during the show. Last week's show with Samel and Alex Goldsmith is archived at Audio Sports Online. Thursday's 7:30 home game against Cal will also be broadcast at this address.

In other USC hockey news, the Div III Junior Varisty Trojans beat Redlands Monday night 7-4 at the Staples Center. It was the third time the JVs beat Redlands this year. They are 3-1 on the season and have a 10:30 pm game this Wednesday at Anaheim Ice. The game marked the first game at the Staples Center for the Trojan program in three years. The varsity will play ucla at the Staples Center on January 18, 2007.

Trojans Slow the Gold Rush

Each time No. 6 CSU-Long Beach rallied against the Trojans, USC responded in a 7-4 victory on Friday. USC took a 2-0 lead in first period, but the CSULB 49ers tied it before the first intermission. The Trojans again took a two goal lead in the second period, only to see the 49ers tie it at 4-4 before the second intermission. Shortly after the start of the third, Shon Smith scored the eventual game winner. Michael Mariani followed it a few minutes later for the final goal of his hat trick. From there, Kevin Kliman held the lead for the Trojans. Mariani had five goals in two games on the weekend for USC.

It was a big win for the eighth ranked Trojans (10-6), after they fell to Long Beach earlier in the season. The Trojans have one more game before the second rankings period ends on November 19. Next Thursday, USC takes on Nor-Cal and Pac 8 rival California. Cal is currently sixth in the Pac 8 with a 1-7 record. The puck will drop at 7:30 at Anaheim Ice. It will be the last game before the Trojans take a week and a half long trip to Japan.

Trojans Tame Lions

Loyola Marymount gave the Trojans a battle early on Thursday night, holding USC to one goal in the first period. However, the Lions rolled over in the second portion of the game and the Trojans cruised to an 8-1 victory. In his first game back from a shoulder injury, Jonny Baron lit the lamp twice for USC and tallied an assist. Michael Mariani popped in two goals of his own for the Trojans.

USC (9-6) takes on No. 6 CSU-Long Beach Friday night in Anaheim. After pulling out the last spot in last year's ACHA West Regional Tournament, the CSULB 49ers have been hot this year. They enter the game with a 10-2 record and already beat the Trojans 6-2 a month ago. The game will be a chance for USC to show that they are one of the stronger teams in the West. The puck will drop at 7:30.

Thursday's game was not broadcast due to technical difficulties at the LMU rink. However, Friday's game will be broadcast live at Audio Sports Online.

SC Dominates Stanford

The Trojans put up two solid games against the Stanford Cardinal this weekend in Palo Alto, CA. Rich Dyer, ordinarily a goalie, got the opportunity to skate out as a player. He did not dissapoint the Trojans. Dyer scored the second goal of the game Friday, and along with Ryan Seals, fell an assist short of a Gordie Howe hat trick. With Dyer's help, the Trojans opened a lead quickly and ran away with the game in the third, winning 13-2. On Saturday, Stanford goalie, Otis Chodosh put up a valiant effort early against the surging Trojans. Despite dominating, USC only led 2-0 halfway through the game. Similar to Friday, however, the Trojans ran away from the Cardinal late. Jonathan Stallsmith scored his first goal of the season for the Trojans in the third period, propelling USC to an 8-1 victory.

USC stays in Los Angeles for Homecoming this weekend. On Thursday (10:45 pm), the Trojans head to Culver City to take on Loyola Marymount. Then on Friday (7:30 pm), USC is at home in Anaheim against No. 6 CSU-Long Beach. Earlier in the season, USC beat LMU 13-1 and lost to CSULB 6-2. There will be no game on Saturday.

The Trojans received the eighth ranking in the ACHA Division 2 West. The first polls came out late last week. The ranking is currently first in the Pac-8, in front of No. 9 Oregon, No. 10 ucla, and No. 11 Arizona State.

The Mark Wilbur Show

All Even in Oregon

USC and Oregon proved why they are viewed as the teams to beat in the Pac 8. The Trojans headed to Eugene, OR, this weekend and split two 3-2 games with the Ducks. USC started the first game slowly, but fought back from a 2-1 defecit in the third period. However, despite a dominant third period, the Trojans gave up a goal halfway through and dropped the game 3-2. The Trojans brought their third period momentum from Friday into Saturday's game. On Saturday, not the six opponents wearing Ducks uniforms, nor three more in black-and-white striped uniforms could stop the Trojans. After falling behind in the first, Micheal Joyce tied the game for the Trojans at the end of the second. After the Ducks scored early in the third, the Trojans fought back with two Josh Frazier goals for the win. Matt Buttweiler had two more excellent games in net for the Trojans. USC is now 5-3 in the Pac 8. The Trojans head to Stanford next weekend to take on the Cardinal. They play at the Ice Oasis at 4:30 on Friday and 2:30 on Saturday.

Trojans Drop Game 2 of Crosstown, Head to Oregon

The Trojans dropped the second game of the Crosstown Cup Saturday night to the ucla bruins. Michael Joyce gave the Trojans a two-goal lead with two early goals, but the offense was shut down offensively after that. The bruins scored once in each period and beat the Trojans 3-2. Mickey Meyer played well in goal for USC. The best of five Crosstown Cup series is now knotted at one game apiece. USC and ucla continue the series on Nov 30 and Dec 1.

The Trojans head to Oregon this weekend to take on the Ducks. USC defeated Oregon in a shootout last season to win the Pac-8 championship. Both games will faceoff at 7 pm at Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene, OR. The games will likely NOT be broadcast via internet.

Trojans Take Game 1 of Crosstown Cup

Trojans Look to Rebound Against Sun Devils

After three straight losses this past weekend, the Trojans hope to rebound at home next weekeknd against Arizona State. The Trojans were beat 6-2 on Thursday at CSU-Long Beach. They took a tough 5-4 loss Friday to San Jose State, giving up a game-winning break away with five seconds left in the game. After a long weekend and hot day at the football game, the Trojans came out flat and dropped the second game to San Jose State 7-1.

Crosstown Cup Returns To Troy

Trojans Force Deciding Game

Trojans To Take On Bruins, Sellout Crowd Expected

The Trojans take on ucla tonight at the Toyota Sports Center (formerly Healthsouth) in El Segundo at 8 pm. It will be game four of the best-of-five series tonight in the Battle for the Crosstown Cup; USC currently trails 2-1 in the series. ucla won the Cup for only the second time in its existence last season and the Trojans have no plans to let them win it for a second consecutive season. In a game that did not count toward the Cup, USC eliminated ucla from the Pac 8 Championships by way of a shootout in February. SC hopes to spoil the bruins' Senior Night and bring the series back home on Saturday for game five, which will faceoff at 7:30 pm in Anaheim. Both games will be broadcast over the internet through USC Ice Hockey Radio.

USC Makes Showing At Regionals

The Trojans played well in the ACHA West Regionals, but not well enough to advance to the National Tournament. USC needed to win both games to qualify for the tournament. On Friday, #9 SC took on #4 Colorado. The Trojans jumped to a 1-0 lead on the first shift, and later took a 3-2 lead in second, but the Buffaloes tied it up in the third. The game remained tied at 3-3 until overtime. Despite putting pressure on the Colorado net in the extra session, the Trojans were unable to capitialize and the Buffaloes notched the game winner eight minutes into the overtime. The following night, USC came out trying to prove themselves in the consolation game against #8 BYU. SC trailed 2-0 after the first, but tied it at 2-2 in the second and scored four goals in the third period to pull away for a 6-3 win. USC still has its two most important games left when it takes on the crosstown Bruins for the Battle of the Crosstown Cup on March 3 and 4. The first game will be played at Healthsouth in El Segundo at 8 pm; the second game will be back home at Anaheim Ice at 7:30 pm. The Trojans currently trail 2-1 in the best of 5 series with the Bruins, but did eliminate ucla from the Pac-8 Tournament earlier this month.

USC Heads to ACHA West Regionals

Fresh off winning the Pac-8 tournament, No. 9-seeded USC faces No. 4 Colorado in the ACHA West Regionals this Friday at 7:45 p.m. from San Jose. USC announcers Rob McPherson and David Telly will broadcast all the action from the ACHA West Regional via http://www.hockeyradioonline.com/ACHA/Broadcast.htm.

USC CAPTURES PAC-8 TOURNAMENT WITH TWO EXCITING SHOOTOUT WINS

USC goalie Matt Buttweiler named MVP

The USC ice hockey team won the Pac-8 ice hockey tournament with two exciting shootout victories against UCLA and Oregon over the weekend in Eugene, Ore.

In the championship game Saturday against Oregon, the Trojans once again entered the third period with a 3-1 lead, but Oregon, backed by a rowdy home crowd, managed to tie it. Despite taking a penalty in overtime, the Trojans survived to force a shootout. In the sixth round, Mark Farrish, last year's most valuable player for the Trojans, scored to clinch the Pac-8 Championship for USC with a 4-3 win.

Next stop for the Trojans will be the ACHA Reginal Tournament in San Jose where the No. 9-seeded Trojans will take on the No. 4 Colorado Buffaloes in the first round on Friday.

Trojans Turn Attention to Pac-8 Championships

After a grueling schedule of ranked ACHA opponents in the spring, the Trojans now focus on the Pac-8 Conference Championship Tournament. The tournament will be held in Eugene, Oregon, this season. The Trojans head into the tournament with the No. 1 seed and are scheduled to play UCLA this Friday, Feb. 10, at 4:00 pm. For more information on the tournament visit www.pac8hockey.com.

USC Qualifies for ACHA Regional Tournament

The USC ice hockey team learned Sunday that the team has qualified for the ACHA Division 2 West Regional Tournament, which will be played one week after next weekend's Pac-8 Tournament. The Trojans received a No. 9 ranking in the ACHA Division 2 West rankings released Sunday and will face No. 4 Colorado in the first round of the West Regionals on Feb. 17 at Logitech Ice in San Jose. Colorado defeated USC, 5-4 and 5-3, in their two meetings this season last month.

Trojan Broadcasters Will Make the Trip to Pac-8 Tournament

Senior broadcasters Rob McPherson and Dan Page are making the trip to Eugene for exclusive full coverage of the 2006 Pac-8 Championships. All four games of the tournament will be broadcast along with a special edition of the Mark Wilbur Show live from the lobby of the Eugene Hilton on Friday, Feb. 10, at 1:15 pm, just hours before the Trojans battle the UCLA Bruins. To contact Rob or Dan please e-mail uscicehockey@hotmail.com.

USC Suffers Setbacks to No. 1 San Jose State

The San Jose State Spartans, ranked No. 1 in the ACHA Division 2 West Region, swept No. 6 USC with a 4-2 victory Friday and a 6-3 victory Saturday at Anaheim.

In Saturday's game, USC was playing without leading scorer Remy Bickoff, and the Spartans got on the board first with Adam Dekeyrel and Logan Martinez scoring in the first ten minutes of the contest to build an early 2-0 lead. USC was able to respond when Jonny Baron scored a goal assisted by Mark Farrish and Shon Smith on a 5-on-3 power play.

The Spartans added to their lead with tallies by Aaron Scott and Sean Scarbrough in the opening minutes of the second and third periods, respectively, to build a 4-1 advantage. The Trojans were able to claw back midway through the third when Smith put a shot through the legs of Spartan goalie Ryan Lowe on a 5-on-3 power play to make the score 4-2. However San Jose State was able to kill off three subsequent power plays to keep USC at bay. Overall the Trojans were only 2 for 12 in man-advantage situations while the Spartans went 2 for 5 on power plays. Lowe stopped 25 of 27 shots for San Jose State. USc goalie Matt Buttweiler made 32 saves on 36 Spartan shots.

Trojans First In Pac-8 Bracket

Undermanned Trojans Struggle In Eugene

Trojans head to Oregon for final Pac-8 play

Trojans suffer setbacks against Buffaloes

The Trojans are bound to drop in the ACHA West rankings after two tough losses to the Colorado Buffaloes this weekend at Anaheim Ice.

In the first game on Friday night, USC fell 5-4 despite two goals by Remy Bickoff and two more by Ryan Farias. The Trojans fell behind in the first period 2-0, but managed to tie it. USC then gave up three unanswered goals, but fought back late in the third period, coming up just short.

Saturday night was a completely different story. In that game, USC jumped out to a 3-1 lead. Colorado fought back, however, to tie the game at three heading into the third period. The first six goals of the game for both teams came on the powerplay. The Bufs took control of the game in the third, scoring the go-ahead goal early in the period and adding another with less than two minutes to play.

Next weekend, the Trojans will head to Oregon to take on the Ducks. The Friday night game starts at 7:30 pm, while the puck will drop on Saturday at 10 p.m. Unfortunately, neither game will be broadcast on the USC Internet Hockey Network.

Jan. 21 game archived

Correction of a previous note: The Saturday night game, USC vs. Colorado, was broadcast and is archived. It was previously stated that the game would not be broadcast due to technical problems. Sorry about the confusion.

Trojans .500 since New Year's

The Trojans have gone 2-2 since returning to campus for the spring semester. On January 8, USC hosted the Duke Blue Devils. Duke proved to be a formidable opponent for the Trojans, who hadn't skated as a team for a month and seemed out of rhythm, but pulled out a 3-1 win late thanks to two Shon Smith goals in the third period. The Trojans then flew to Utah on January 12 were they visited BYU and #8 Weber St. The team suffered two heartbreaking loses when they saw one goal leads evaporate in the third periods against BYU Thursday (3-4), and Weber St. Friday (7-8 ot). After a spirited team meeting on Saturday afternoon, USC fought back from a 3-2 deficit with one of its best periods of the season, scroing four unanswered goals in the third period to split with Weber St. 6-3. The Trojans are back home this weekend in an important series against #4 Colorado. The Trojans are currently ranked sixth and this weekend will play a large role in determining the regional rankings. Seeds 3-10 will go to the regional tournament in San Jose, while seeds 1 and 2 will automatically qualify for the nationals in Rochester, NY. The puck drops at 7:30 in Anaheim both Friday and Saturday night.

USC starts off 2006 against Duke

After almost one month off for winter break, the USC ice hockey team will take to the ice for its first game in 2006 against the Duke Blue Devils on Sunday, Jan. 8. The game will be played at Lakewood Glacial Gardens at 9 p.m. and will be broadcast on hockeyradioonline.com.

A new addition to the schedule, the game will count as a regular season ACHA game and affect the national rankings.

Every four years, the Duke ice hockey team takes what they call a "dream trip," and this year the team will be playing four games in Northern and Southern California against California, San Jose State, USC and UCLA.

USC is ranked No. 6 in the ACHA Division II West Rankings. Duke has received votes in the ACHA Division II Southeast Rankings but is currently outside the Top 13.

USC gets back on track with 8-1 victory over Long Beach State

The Trojans head into the winter break on the right foot after a dominating 8-1 victory over Long Beach State on Friday at Anaheim Ice.

In a physical game dominated by penalties on both teams, the Trojans capitalized with their speed and physical pressure. USC jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first period and never looked back with stout goaltending by junior Rich Dyer.

Several Trojans had stand-out performances including Shon Smith’s hat-trick, Remy Bickoff and Matt Lewis’s four point games, as well as a pair of goals by assistant captain Mark Farrish.

The Trojans are now off for 30 days before they host Duke University on Jan. 8. at 9 p.m. in Lakewood’s Glacial Gardens Ice House.

Trojans' 13-game winning streak snapped in losses to Bruins

It was a tough weekend for the Trojans, as they had their 13-game winning-streak snapped with two losses to the UCLA Bruins on Friday and Saturday.

In a thriller at Healthsouth in El Segundo on Friday, USC couldn’t hold on to a 3-2 third period lead in a 4-3 loss.

The next day at Anaheim Ice, the Trojans fell, 8-3, after surrendering five first-period goals to UCLA.

With the weekend sweep, it seemed as though UCLA was going to capture their second straight Crosstown Cup. However the Bruins had to forfeit six of their games earlier this season because of an ineligible player. As a result, USC’s 3-2 overtime loss at home to the Bruins earlier this season now counts as a win.

As it stands now, the Trojans trail UCLA two games to one in the Crosstown Cup with two more to go in March to decide who takes home the coveted trophy.

Trojans put 13-game winning streak on the line against the Bruins, the last team to defeat USC

Riding a 13-game winning streak, the USC ice hockey team jumped to No. 6 in the most recent ACHA Division II rankings released on Nov. 20.

USC has not lost since a 3-2 overtime defeat to UCLA on Oct. 13. This weekend the Trojans will renew the Crosstown Cup rivalry against the Bruins in a home-and-home series on Dec. 1 and 2. The two teams are currently tied in the Pac-8 standings. Thursday's game hosted by UCLA will be at Healthsouth in El Segundo, Calif., at 8:45 p.m., and Friday's game hosted by USC will be at Anaheim Ice at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on Hockey Radio Online.

Trojans sweep Ducks

Trojans place 7th in initial West rankings

Trojans extend winning streak to 6

USC improved to 8-3 with an impressive sweep of Washington State, outscoring the Cougars 22-6 in two games.

In the Trojan’s 8-2 win Saturday night, USC scored 6 times in the third period to take control of the game. Goalie Richard Dyer picked up his first win of the season and also recorded an assist while stopping 21 of 23 shots he faced in goal. Senior Remy Bickoff scored two goals and added four assists in a dominating performance.

The Trojan’s six game winning-streak started nearly two weeks ago with a 5-2 win over Weber State. USC then swept Washington in an exciting two-game series on the road, before trouncing Long Beach State, 6-1.

During their streak, USC has outscored its opponents, 44-15, averaging seven goals per game.

The Trojans put their winning streak on the line against the Stanford Cardinal next weekend in a two-game series at Anaheim Ice. Both games start at 7:30 p.m., and will be broadcast live on www.hockeyradioonline.com .

USC ends 3-game losing streak with a big win against Weber State

After suffering an overtime loss to crosstown rival UCLA, the Trojans looked to rebound against an offensive powerhouse in Weber State, and thanks to three points from senior Remy Bickoff and 38 saves by freshman goalie Matt Buttweiler, USC had no trouble beating the Wildcats, 5-2.

In their previous game against Utah Valley State, Weber State put 11 goals on the board and their leading scorer, freshman Anton Volkov, was averaging a goal per game prior to their matchup against USC at Anaheim Ice.

Thursday’s game started out with some early opportunities for each team, but the Trojans were able to draw first blood with an early goal by Bickoff. Later in the period, a great play by Bickoff led to another USC goal, as he fired a quick shot wide to goaltender T.J. Fitterer’s stick side. The puck bounced off the boards behind the net, and ended up right in front of Shon Smith. Smith then capitalized on the opportunity by immediately firing a shot from the left faceoff circle to beat a confused Fitterer and give the Trojans a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

USC was not satisfied with its two goal cushion heading into the second period and wasted no time in jumping all over the Wildcats. Bickoff started a flurry of quick USC goals with an incredible play from behind the net. After being stopped on a point blank scoring chance, Bickoff regained control of the puck, and he banked the puck from behind the goal line off of the Weber State goaltender for his second goal of the game and his eighth of the season to give USC a 3-0 lead. Nine seconds later, Jake McKee took the puck off the faceoff, sliced between two Weber State defenders, and beat Fitterer five-hole to extend the Trojan’s lead to four.

About midway into the second period Fitterer lost his composure after USC’s Mark Koechling crashed into him when he came far out of his crease to play a puck. Fitterer, clearly angry by the play, chased Koechling and jumped on him. From that point forward, the Weber State goaltender was never the same.

The Trojans took advantage of Fitterer’s frustration, as McKee scored his second goal of the game to give USC a commanding 5-0 lead. Ryan Turpin took over between the pipes for a Fitterer, and it appeared as though USC had the win sealed heading into the third.

The Wildcats were not heading back to Ogden, Utah, without a fight, however, and scored two goals in the third to give the Trojans a bit of a scare, but the USC lead was safe thanks to a tremendous game from Buttweiler, who made 38 saves on 40 shots including numerous glove saves. After posting a .842 save percentage and a 6.00 goals against average (GAA) in his first two stats, Buttweiler rebounded to post a 2.00 GAA and a .950 save percentage against Weber State.

Unfortunately the Trojans will not have much time to enjoy their victory. Friday morning they flew to Washington for a two game series against the Huskies starting Friday night at 10 p.m. USC will then face the Huskies again on Saturday at 8 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live on the USC Hockey Network as Dan Page and Rob McPherson bring you all the action.

For more coverage of USC hockey, listen to the Mark Wilbur Show on Wednesday nights at 9:15 p.m. on the Network for all the latest news, insight, and analysis about the team.

Trojans come from behind in final minute before falling to Bruins in overtime

In an exciting, physical game at Anaheim Ice, the USC Trojans ice hockey team fell to crosstown rival UCLA, 3-2, in overtime. UCLA drew first blood early in the first period, putting the pressure on a young USC team. The Trojans responded however, as Remy Bickoff tied the game at one midway through the first period.

The second period saw sloppy offensive play from both sides, with goalies Adam Kubalski (UCLA) and Mickey Meyer (USC) shining between the pipes. Heading into the third the game was still tied at one.

The third period had a much more up tempo pace, as UCLA took the lead with just over three minutes to go. USC looked overwhelmed and struggled to produce shots on goal in the last minute, but with 11.5 seconds remaining Matt Lewis fired a beautiful shot past Kubalski to tie to the game once again. Heading into overtime it appeared as though USC had all the momentum.

The Bruins quickly answered in the extra period, as Martin Galstyan set up Scott Frechet for a perfect one timer that just beat Mickey Meyer to end the game. UCLA pulled off an impressive 3-2 win to take game one of the Crosstown Cup.

USC next faces Weber St. at Anaheim Ice at 7:30 p.m., before traveling to Washington on Friday and Saturday to face the Huskies. Game times are 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m respectively. Every USC ice hockey game will be broadcast live on Hockey Radio Online.

Extensive Coverage of USC Ice Hockey This Season

Starting with this Thursday's game against UCLA, every USC ice hockey game will be broadcast on Hockey Radio Online. This year's broadcast team will be Rob McPherson, Dan Page, Jonathan Horowitz, David Telly and Andrew Samel. Thursday's game against UCLA begins at 7:30 p.m. from Anaheim Ice.

On Wednesdays from 9:15 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. is the Mark Wilbur Coaches. The show, which will feature Coach Mark Wilbur, a USC ice hockey player spotlight, and a player or coach from USC's upcoming opponent, will begin airing this week.

Informational Meeting: 5 p.m. Wednesday, August 31 in the Heritage Hall Auditorium

Trojans Falter, Look Forward

Crosstown Cup on the Line