The Huskies traveled to St. Louis this past weekend to take on Texas A&M, NJIT and the ACHA Showcase hosts - St. Louis University. On Friday night Texas A&M jumped out to an early lead scoring at 7:20 of the first period. The Aggies would take a 2-0 lead on a high glove side shot. Corey James scored the Huskies lone goal on the night just before the first period ended. Though the boys battled hard, Texas A&M would win the game by a final score of 5-1. The Aggies outshot the Dawgs by a tally of 33 to 19. There wasn't much time to reflect on the game as the Huskies were set to play New Jersey Institute of Technology on Saturday.

Things would be promising for the Huskies against the Highlanders. The only negative is that the Highlander broadcast kept refering to the purple and gold as "Washington State" or the "Cougars". On the ice, the Huskies fell behind 1-0 again by the end of the first period. Things changed in the second fueled by Corey James once again. By the time everything was said and done in the second, the Huskies had jumped to a 2-1 lead. Did the Huskies sit back and hang on? No, they added four goals in the third period to win the game 6-3. Congratulations to Corey James for his hat trick. Goals by James (3), Remedios, Carson and McClintock. Maybe NJIT knows who the Huskies are now.

The Dawgs had a quick turnaround for a morning game on Sunday against the Billikens before their flight back home. Corey James put up the first goal of the game on the powerplay and it seemed the Huskies were riding on great momentum. Ryan Minkoff would add a second goal with 16 seconds left in the period to put the Dawgs up 2-0 heading to intermission. The Billikens would score first in the second, but the Huskies answered back to lead 3-1. Things were looking promising but the Billikens then scored four unanswered goals over the next period and a half to close out the showcase. The Billikens badly outshot the Huskies by a tally of 49-21 giving the Husky goaltenders plenty of work over the entire weekend. Husky goals in the game by James, Minkoff and McClintock.

Thanks to Jim and Kristie Minkoff for the weekend updates and photos!

The Huskies are home this weekend to welcome new conference opponents the Skatin' Utes of Utah. Game times are at 10:00 PM on Friday and 9:00 PM on Saturday. Be there!

On Friday night, led by Captain Alex Wytaske's two goals, the Huskies prevailed by a final score of 7-4. The first period was a tight checking affair. The Huskies would get on the board first only three minutes into the first period. Trinity Western would tie the game on a powerplay goal at 10:45 of the first period. The Spartans would take a penalty shortly thereafter but the Huskies were unable to capitalize and the period ended with TWU leading 2-1. The second period could be described as chaos. A lot of penalties, a couple of ejections and a few goals later the Huskies were up 6-2 after the 2nd. The two teams played a calmer third period with Trinity Western scoring two goals. Trinity Western left the game with a bad taste in their mouths and appeared poised to respond on Saturday night.

And respond the Spartans did. TWU outplayed UW in every phase of the game on Saturday night. UW managed to hang with the Spartans in the first period. Corey James scored on a high, far side wrister and the period ended tied 1-1. The Spartans responded in the second period by scoring back to back goals a mere 30 seconds apart. When all was said and done, the Spartans scored 8 unanswered goals to bury the Dawgs 9-1. Spartan forward Brandon Long led the way for TWU scoring four goals. The Huskies played without speed, patience or its usual physical nature on this night.

The Huskies now head to St. Louis this Thursday to begin ACHA play in a showcase hosted by St. Louis University. The Dawgs will face Texas A&M, the New Jersey Institute of Technology and St. Louis. Stay tuned to the web site or our Facebook site to see if the games will be broadcast via the internet.

Weekend notes: Congratulations to Jacob Gilmore on his first Husky win in net and to Ryan Minkoff on his first Husky goal. The Huskies played without Tristan Wickliff and Daniel Carson on Saturday night. Assistant Captain Bryce Johnson is hoping to return from knee surgery this week.

The 2011-2012 Husky Ice Hockey training camp dates have been announced. Camp will kick off with a team meeting on September 18th, followed by a practice that night. Cost per player is $75 (checks payable to Husky Hockey). All activities to be held at Olympicview Arena in Mountlake Terrace unless indicated otherwise. The training camp schedule is as follows:

Sunday, September 18th - 4:45pm - 6:00pm - Practice
Monday, September 19th - 9:00pm - 10:15pm - Practice
Wednesday, September 21st - 9:00pm - 10:15pm - Practice
Friday, September 23rd - Time TBA - Scrimmage vs Western Washington (Bellinghame Sportsplex)
Monday, September 26th - 10:30pm - 11:45pm - Practice

Fifth time is the charm for these guys. After finishing runner-up four previous times, the Huskies stomped on the 100 pound gorilla and are the 2010-11 PAC-8 Champions. The journey started on Friday night versus USC in front of a huge crowd and the Husky band. USC knocked the Dawgs out of the championship game with 12 seconds left last year. Friday's game was an instant Husky classic. Both teams played as well as you could. The two teams battled through nerves and came out delivering hits and shots, but tonight would be the night of the goaltenders. The Dawgs got on the board with 4 1/2 minutes left in the 2nd period but the Trojans scored on a 5 on 3 advantage to tie things up at 1 apiece. Both teams would continue their defensive struggle through the end of the third and also a 5-minute overtime period. The shootout was an amazing event to witness. The crowd in full voice everytime a USC shooter came up - Danny Dougan stonewalled all three attempts. Meanwhile the Huskies scored on all three of their attempts to win the game by a final of 2-1. The Huskies erupted from the bench and piled on Dougan in a wild celebration. The win gave the Huskies another shot at the Ducks for the title. And they were ready...

Saturday night arrived and things were a little surreal. The Ducks being the higher seed were in home whites and were using the usual Husky home bench. The Dawgs were in the road purple jerseys. From the opening puck drop, both teams were up and down the ice. If the two squads were nervous, it was not visible. Again the Huskies got on the board first on a goal by Phil Harezlak with 10:38 gone in the period, but the Ducks tied the score exactly a minute later. Corey James would add a powerplay goal to give the Dawgs a 2-1 lead. The Ducks would get a minute and a half of a 5 on 3 advantage but the Huskies killed this off successfully. The Ducks scored a 2nd goal with 1:30 left in the first. This would be the last time the Ducks would get on the board. Both teams played an intense second period and the Huskies were the only team to get on the board via a point shot from Andrew Johnson with 1:30 left in the period. This goal would end up being the game winner. After a charged speech at the intermission, the Dawgs did not back off in the third period. There was no tentative play from the Dawgs, instead the Huskies kept on the attack. The Dawgs would take a 2-goal lead with 12 minutes to go in the game and the crowd started to sense a Husky victory. The Huskies would add a 5th goal with three minutes to go. The Dawgs would then go after a rebound that set Oregon off and a couple of UO players would start a huge brawl, eventually getting tossed from the game. Oregon's goaltender came out to the faceoff circles to challenge UW goaltender Danny Dougan to a fight. With the victory immenent and quite frankly having more class at that time, Dougan stayed in his crease and shook his head no. The game ended with no further incident and the Huskies again mobbed Dougan in his crease. The players would skate around the ice with the PAC-8 trophy enjoying the victory with the home crowd. Finally, the Huskies had solved their championship curse.

It's the elephant in the room. Everyone is wondering why this is quietly. We have all done the math in our own way, checking the numbers twice, three times. How is it possible that the Huskies are the #2 seed after the regular season has ended? All the Huskies have done is won three out of 4 against the Ducks (only losing in OT) and won both contests against USC. The Huskies dropped only one PAC-8 game this season. The Huskies are a combined 7-1 against the other tournament teams. By comparison, the Ducks are 5-3 and USC is 2-4. So is the diffence in the seeding really going to come down to Oregon playing four more conference games than the Huskies? Yes it is. In what can only be described as a super complex ranking system based on a long formula, the formula seems to have missed this year. I'm not sure there can be much argument about that. So what can be done about it? Nothing. Notta. Zilch. And you know what? It may not be a bad thing.

The Huskies will enter the tournament as the #2 seed having to play a harder 2/3 matchup than than in the 1/4 matchup. After all the first seed is rewarded correct? Bottom line is that the Huskies need to win 2 games no matter what to win their first PAC-8 championship ever. EVER. 2 Games. Doesn't matter what seed they are. And in what would be a little poetic justice the Huskies will have to go through the two teams that relegated them to second place the past two years. It is clear the Huskies are tired of finishing in 2nd place. Maybe this little slight will be all the motivation that the team will need to finally prevail in the end. Only time will tell. Either way, control what you can control, win two games. But rest assured, there are Huskies Rising.

The Huskies took to the road the past two weekends to face their toughest challenge of the season. Back to back weekends in Eugene and Anaheim to face the Ducks, Trojans and Titans. All the Huskies did was go a whopping 5 and 0, allowing only 7 goals in those 5 games. Only four goals made it past goaltender Danny Dougan in the final four games of the trip. Overall the Huskies have now won 11 games straight through this tough month. I think it would be fair to say that the Huskies are tired of finishing second. This young team has grown and is emerging as a real force in the PAC-8 and possibly beyond.

With the calendars turning to February, the PAC-8 tournament will become forefront on the minds. The Huskies will play a home and home series versus Western Washington this coming weekend before hosting the tournament for the first time since 2004.

The Huskies are the official host of the 2011 PAC-8 tournament which features the league's top-four teams during the regular season. This year the seeds are as follows: Oregon, Washington, USC, California.

Tickets can be purchased online for e-ticket delivery or at the gate during the tournament. Ticket prices are $5 for student tournament passes, $10 for a daily pass or $18 for a general admission tournament pass. Tickets can be purchased with cash at the gate or with credit cards online at: http://2011pac8tournament.eventbrite.com/ There is a small online fee charged at time of purchase, but we felt this was worth the convenience of eticket delivery and the ability to pay with credit cards.

The tournament schedule is (all games at Olympicview Arena in Mountlake Terrace, WA):
#1 Oregon vs #4 Cal on Friday, January 11th @ 4PM

#2 Washington vs #3 USC on Friday, January 11th @ 7:30PM

3rd Place Game on Saturday, January 12th @ 1 PM

Championship Game on Saturday, January 12th @ 4:15 PM

The Huskies last hosted this tournament in 2004 and have never won the tournament. They finished second to Oregon in 2009 and second to USC in 2010. Please join us this year and help carry Washington to the top. Olympicview Arena holds 1,200 people and we need those seats filled with Husky fans. Go Huskies!

For more tournament details you can visit the PAC-8 tournament site.

The Husky Ice Hockey team rang in 2011 with two solid performances against Cal State Fullerton this weekend. On Friday night, the Huskies used swarming pressure to open up a 3-0 first period lead. Alex Wytaske scored the first Husky goal on the night five minutes into the tilt. Midway through the period Dan Herda had a breakaway that was stopped but Byron Ma put the fat rebound into the net. Jason Bartlett would put the third goal in a little over two minutes later. CSUF would open the scoring in the 2nd period on a goal by Payne Sauer, who would then skate by the crowd celebrating his goal. Things got tight later in the period when the Titans scored a shorthanded goal to get the score to 3-2. Stefan Sobiek scored a powerplay goal with :18 left in the period to increase the Husky lead to 2 goals. The Titans scored first in the 3rd period, but the Huskies answered back four minutes later on a goal by Phil Harezlak. Jeff McClintock would add the 6th Husky goal to seal the game for the purple and gold.

Saturday's contest began with a much more defensive flair in the first period. Both teams would trade powerplay chances, with each team managing only one goal in the period. Stefan Sobiek scored the Husky goal with 8 minutes left in the period. On this night, the Husky defense was much more sound and Danny Dougan made several key saves to keep the Titans off the board the rest of the way. Dougan stopped Blake Dorman on a point blank chance mid-way through the second period. Sobiek would add his second goal of the night and Jeff McClintock also scored giving the Huskies a 3-1 second period lead. UW would add three third period goals to seal the convincing win. The wins bring the Huskies overall record to 14-6.

The Huskies head out on the road to face Oregon for two games, then Cal-State Fullerton and USC in LA in two weeks. These next four PAC-8 games will go a long way in determing the seeds for the PAC-8 tournament hosted by the Huskies this year in early February.