BYU NewsNet - BYU Hockey Team Falls to UVSC

The battle for valley hockey supremacy between BYU and UVSC finished its third and final installment of the season with another Cougar loss.

The bleachers at Seven Peaks Arena were packed with fans from both sides as chants of "Let's go Cougars!" competed with "Utah Valley.".

The announcer repeatedly asked spectators to move to the center of the rows to comply with the request of the fire marshal.

"It was the biggest crowd of the year for sure," sophomore center Brandon Holmes said.

Holmes gave the Cougars something to cheer about in the first period when he scored the first goal of the game.

But the Wolverines responded in decisive fashion, scoring two goals before the buzzer signaled the end of the first period.

UVSC continued to rack up points, scoring less than one minute into the second period and again before the halfway mark after a scramble in front of the BYU net.

With just over seven minutes left in the second, BYU's Landon Ball chipped the puck in front of the UVSC goal as a diving Derek Battisti effort slammed it into the back of the net.

Battisti's goal started a scoring frenzy and in less than a minute three more goals were posted on the scoreboard.

The Wolverines scored two of those before Holmes responded with his second goal of the night.

"It felt really good to score in front of a big crowd," Holmes said. "I just wish we could have gotten a few more."

Scoring slowed down in the third period with only one goal by UVSC off a long-range shot that slipped through the BYU defense.

In the last 10 minutes, the Cougars attempted shot after shot, but the Wolverines' goalie denied BYU another goal and a way back into the game.

"We got pucks to the net but the goalie was playing really well," Holmes said.

Sophomore defender Josh Burkart said the 7-3 loss was not BYU's best performance.

"The guys worked hard but we definitely didn't play our best hockey and that cost us," Burkart said.

Coach Ed Gantt said some of the goals were due to inexperienced goalkeeping. Freshman Blake Hanneson played in goal for the third game in a row after starter Ben Shapiro was injured in practice two weeks ago.

"Blake's going to grow into the position big time," Gantt said. "He's learned a lot of hard lessons as a freshman."

The battle may be over for now but the war seems to have just begun.

The Cougars will play their last game of the season Friday against Utah. Saturday the team will finish by hosting a skate with the team event. It will start at 8: 30 p.m. at Seven Peaks Ice Arena. The cost is $3 plus $1.50 for renting skates. To buy tickets or reserve a spot call 422-7286.