The San Diego State Hockey Club kicked off their 2013 campaign with a bang on Friday night, delivering an 8-2 blowout over Long Beach State in front of nearly 400 Aztec fans in attendance. With the win, SDSU (1-0) improved to 15-3 all-time against Long Beach (0-1), the most wins against any opponent in the team's six-year ACHA Div. II history.
Senior Eric Stelnick put SDSU on the board just 40 seconds into the young season, setting off what would be the first of many "Red Nation" renditions in the Kroc Center. Old penalty woes would temporarily derail the goal spree, however, as an Anthony Mata crosschecking penalty at 16:37 turned into a Long Beach power play goal and a tie game.
A pair of roughing penalties to Stelnick and Long Beach winger Ian Hoang put the Aztecs in their first four-on-four situation of the year, where head coach Chris Migliore's extra emphasis on special teams earlier in the week paid dividends. Sophomore Travis Sevilla scored his first of two goals on the night, beating Long Beach goaltender Steven Strother following great puck movement from seniors Alex Cambas and Branden Nevarez.
Special teams again emerged as a key catalyst for SDSU near the end of the first period, as freshman Vincent DiMaggio scored the first of what would be three Aztec power play goals. DiMaggio was the benefactor of tremendous blue line play from Nevarez and senior Donnie Keffer, who were able to continuously keep pucks in the offensive zone and find open targets.
A pair of roughing penalties to Stelnick and Long Beach winger Ian Hoang put the Aztecs in their first four-on-four situation of the year, where head coach Chris Migliore's extra emphasis on special teams earlier in the week paid dividends. Sophomore Travis Sevilla scored his first of two goals on the night, beating Long Beach goaltender Steven Strother following great puck movement from seniors Alex Cambas and Branden Nevarez.
Special teams again emerged as a key catalyst for SDSU near the end of the first period, as freshman Vincent DiMaggio scored the first of what would be three Aztec power play goals. DiMaggio was the benefactor of tremendous blue line play from Nevarez and senior Donnie Keffer, who were able to continuously keep pucks in the offensive zone and find open targets.
"Our power play was moving all night," said Migliore after the game about the team's 3-for-4 PP conversion rate. "I'm happy with the way our players were finding chemistry in the first game of the year. We have something positive to build on as we head out to face some tough opponents."
Heading into the first intermission with a 3-1 lead, SDSU received a loud roar of applause from its active fan base, which included a healthy mix of students, alumni, neighborhood residents, a bear and a green man. The fans also had another reason to cheer, as their pregame contributions to the Aztecs Unite Canned Food Drive totaled in approximately 100 pounds of food items to be donated to the Salvation Army.
Three goals of support was all sophomore goaltender Connor O'Brien needed in his first Opening Night start as an Aztec. The Southern California product turned aside 39 of 41 shots on the night, robbing several would-be goals when Long Beach was applying offensive pressure in the game's middle stages.
Heading into the first intermission with a 3-1 lead, SDSU received a loud roar of applause from its active fan base, which included a healthy mix of students, alumni, neighborhood residents, a bear and a green man. The fans also had another reason to cheer, as their pregame contributions to the Aztecs Unite Canned Food Drive totaled in approximately 100 pounds of food items to be donated to the Salvation Army.
Three goals of support was all sophomore goaltender Connor O'Brien needed in his first Opening Night start as an Aztec. The Southern California product turned aside 39 of 41 shots on the night, robbing several would-be goals when Long Beach was applying offensive pressure in the game's middle stages.
"He gives the guys in front of him confidence," said Migliore, "and as a team you know you have a chance to win every game when you get performances like the ones he's capable of giving us night-in, night-out."
Keffer's first goal of the season gave SDSU a 4-1 lead midway through the second period, but a Taylor Abramson tally at 5:23 gave Long Beach hope for a comeback. A Justin Tutag feed to Sevilla just 19 seconds later denied any such hope, as SDSU headed into the locker room with a 5-2 lead.
With the game out of hand on the scoreboard, tensions from an aggressive, physical first 40 minutes of play were released from both teams in the third period. Major brawls, including a sequence of events at 13:42 that included a game misconduct to Long Beach's Daniel Horowitz, gave SDSU's power play unit continuous opportunities to extend its lead. Keffer and Cambas each found the back of the net on separate man advantages, and a late goal by freshman Branden Vara wrapped up action in front of a satisfied Kroc Center crowd.
SDSU now turns its attention to a pair of tough road matchups next weekend against Arizona State's Division I team. The Sept. 20 and Sept. 21 contests will both be played at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live via online radio on sundevilhockey.com.
With the game out of hand on the scoreboard, tensions from an aggressive, physical first 40 minutes of play were released from both teams in the third period. Major brawls, including a sequence of events at 13:42 that included a game misconduct to Long Beach's Daniel Horowitz, gave SDSU's power play unit continuous opportunities to extend its lead. Keffer and Cambas each found the back of the net on separate man advantages, and a late goal by freshman Branden Vara wrapped up action in front of a satisfied Kroc Center crowd.
SDSU now turns its attention to a pair of tough road matchups next weekend against Arizona State's Division I team. The Sept. 20 and Sept. 21 contests will both be played at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live via online radio on sundevilhockey.com.