Cover of the December 2006 Issue of
the NW Hockey Report
Latest
Gonzaga Hockey News:
2.17.08
Gonzaga's hockey
season came abruptly to an end last weekend when their games
in Seattle against the Huskies from the University of Washington
were cancelled due to weather conditions. The team attempted
to make the drive in the morning and by the time they made it
to Ellensberg, they got word that the road passes across the
mountains had all been closed due to avalanches and snow storms.
The passes would remain closed for the remainder of the weekend
and wouldn't open again until early next week. Unfortunately
the games are so late in the season there is no time to make
up the games before the ACHA and Pac 8 tournaments.
So their previous
home games against University of Montana would unknowingly be
their last of the season. The first night against Montana the
ZAGS didn't really show up to play as they only recorded 26
shots and 1 goal. Montana had an impressive 54 shots against
goaltender Kevin Davis and he made 48 saves. The Griz would
win this game 6-1 and the Bulldogs only goal was scored by Tommy
Destefano who received a breakaway pass from Conor Donnelly.
Destefano made a move and took the shot, as Montana's goaltender
was trying to control the rebound he helped the puck into the
net.
The next night the
ZAGS would make a contest out of it, but still come up short
in the third period and lose 10-6. Kevin Davis faced another
42 shots, to make his total about 100 for the weekend. Brian
Side and Billy Watson would each have 1 goal and 2 assists,
Tommy Destefano had 2 goals and 1 assist, Chris Rector had 1
goal and 1 assist, Tony Nelson added the other goal, and Sean
Kurtela, Tyler Rockwell, and Conor Donnelly all added assists.
The top 5 scorers
on the season for the ZAGS would be Billy Watson with 21 goals
and 17 assists for 38 points, Tommy Destefano with 22 goals
and 12 assists for 34 points, Chris Rector with 15 goals and
17 assists for 32 points, Brian Side with 12 goals and 17 assists
for 29 points, and Sean Kurtela with 7 goals and 17 assists
for 24 points. Kevin Davis was stellar in net all season taking
on the majority of the work load in goal. He had all of the
ZAGS wins, faced 1,132 shots while making 980 saves, which gave
him about an 87% save percentage. All of these guys had a great
season and good luck to the Bulldogs in the 2008-2009 season!
1.28.08
Since the Bulldogs
have been back from break, they have played 6 games. They have
fought hard for a 3-3 record in those games. They came back
from break a week early to play a 3 game series in Kennewick,
WA against Columbia Basin and Walla Walla. The ZAGS rolled over
CBC winning 20-3. Scoring for the Bulldogs was provided by Billy
Watson had a remarkable 7 goals and 1 assist, Tommy Destefano
added 4 goals and an assist, Sean Kurtela added a goal and a
playmaker with 3 assists, Conor Donnelly had 4 goals, Keith
Mowell and Clay Vogan both added 3 points, Chris Rector had
a playmaker with 3 assists, Jake Patterson had a 2 point game,
and Tyler "T-Rock" Rockwell scored his first ACHA
goal. Three players had hat tricks in this game.
The next two nights
they played Walla Walla and lost both contests, 6-9 and 4-10.
Scoring from these two games combined were provided by Tommy
Destefano who had 3 goals and 2 assists, Sean Kurtela and Chris
Rector each had a goal and 2 assists, Tony Nelson had a goal
and an assist, and Keith Mowell had 3 goals.
The following weekend
the ZAGS would play tough Utah State and they came in Spokane
and stomped the Bulldogs 0-9. Kevin Davis played extremely well
in this game with all of the shots he faced. The 9 goals that
were allowed definitely didn't reflect how he played against
the extremely talented and skilled Utah State team.
Just this last weekend,
Gonzaga, made the trip to Tacoma, WA to play the University
of Puget Sound. The ZAGS definitely showed up to play, because
they took 2 great wins from the Loggers winning 7-3 and 10-4.
Scorers from these games were Tommy Destefano with 5 goals and
2 assists, Billy Watson with 4 goals and 2 assists, Sean Kurtela
had 4 assists, Keith Mowell had 2 goals and 1 assist, Brian
side made his comeback with 1 goal and 3 assists, and Chris
Rector added a pair of goals.
Through these last
6 games some key players have heated up for the ZAGS: Tommy
Destefano has 13 goals and 5 assists, Billy Watson has 12 goals
and 3 assists, Keith Mowell has 6 goals and 3 assists, Sean
Kurtela hs 2 goals and 10 assists, Chris Rector has 3 goals
and 4 assists, Tony Nelson has 2 goals and 3 assists, and Kevin
Davis has faced 253 shots and made 215 saves to earn himself
3 wins out of 6.
12.10.07
A lot has happened
for the Bulldogs in the past few weeks, both positive and negative.
They came back from Thanksgiving break and were scheduled to
face off against the Vikings from WWU on November 30th, but
they had to forfeit because they were unable to get enough players
to Spokane in time. This gave the ZAGS their 3rd official win
on the season. They were hoping to get their 4th the next night
as WWU was able to get 7 skaters and 1 goalie to play on Saturday.
Numbers were definitely in Gonzaga's favor, but they didn't
use it to their advantage. They were only able to score one
goal on 37 shots. Chris Rector was able to find the net on a
short handed goal. He poke checked the puck away from WWU's
defender, got a break away, and scored five hole on the Viking
goalie. Western scored 2 goals on 22 shots against Kevin Davis
and that's all they would need to coast to a 2-1 win.
This last weekend
the ZAGS played the Wolf Pack from Walla Walla. Paddy Stoy got
his first start of the season in net on Friday. He made 30 saves,
unfortunately that wasn't enough to keep Walla Walla from scoring
10 goals. Kevin Davis relieved Paddy late in the third period
and they only got 2 by him as he made 14 saves. Gonzaga was
able to only score one goal, once again. Kevin Brutacao was
able to net his first goal of the season in his 3rd game back
from hip surgery this last summer. He scored a one-timer, bank
shot, off the post from a face off win by Brian Side. The Bulldogs
were dominated this night as they lost 12-1.
The next afternoon
they looked to get some revenge and that's exactly what they
got. They finally opened up a scoring frenzy and reached double
digits for the first time this season. After going down 2-0
in the first minute of the 1st period, the ZAGS lit a fire and
scored 8 straight goals combined in the 1st and 2nd periods.
They would continue dominating as Kevin Davis played extremely
well only allowing 3 goals on 34 shots. The Bulldogs played
their best game of the season by winning 10-3 over the visiting
Wolf Pack. Brian Side had a hat trick and finished the day with
5 points, Billy Watson also had 5 points, Tommy Destefano finished
with 2 goals and 4 points total, Sean Kurtela had a 3 point
game, Tony Nelson added 2 goals, Chris Rector had a goal and
an assist, Bryce Coomer and Keith Mowell each had 1 point as
well.
This was a great
way to end the Fall 2007 Semester and the ZAGS won't play another
game until 2008. They will come back a few days before classes
start again to travel to Tri-Cities, WA. The Bulldogs will play
Columbia Basin College January 12th, and games January 13th
and 14th against Walla Walla University. Hopefully they can
carry the momentum from the last big win into the Spring Semester
for some wins in the new year.
11.19.07
The Bulldogs returned
home this last weekend to face University of Washington. Struggles
continue as they were outscored this weekend 18-7. They have
lost 5 straight and 7 of their last 8 games.
Sportsmanship in
the ACHA West and wins for the ZAGS are both very rare things
these days. Both of these were true and evident as GU faced
off against the mouthy Huskies. The first game was the usual
1-0 UW after the first period and then they would go on to score
5 more goals in the second. The only offense from the ZAGS was
provided by Chris Rector who had a natural hat trick, scoring
three goals in the second period. Other than that the Bulldogs
couldn't find the back of the net and the Huskies rallied to
win 8-3 in the third period.
Saturday afternoon's
game didn't go with the norm as the ZAGS took the lead for once
early in the first period. Brian Side scored a back hand goal
off the face off won by Chris Rector. That didn't last for long
as the Huskies answered back with two goals before the end of
the first. The second and third periods never seem to be good
ones for the Bulldogs as they gave up 5 goals in the second
and 3 more in the third. The ZAGS could only get one goal in
the second scored by Tommy Destefano, and 2 more in the third
scored by Sean Kurtela on the point and Brian Side found the
open net one more time. The final was 10-4.
Kevin Davis continues
to play very well in net even though his statistics don't reflect
that. He makes unbelievable saves and LMU even referred to him
as Dominik Hasek in regards to some of the saves he made in
Los Angeles. If the ZAGS had a few more bodies on the bench
and maybe some more help in the defensive zone, his numbers
would probably reflect how he really plays, which is extremely
well.
Chris Rector finished
the weekend with 5 points, Billy Watson had 3 points, and Brian
Side, Tommy Destefano, and Sean Kurtela all had 2 points each
this weekend.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs
now have a week off for Thanksgiving Break and return to the
ice next Tuesday for practice and will play Western Washington
University next weekend at home. Last time the two met, the
ZAGS split with them so hopefully they can get one or maybe
two wins when they get back from break.
11.13.07
The GU Hockey team
caught a flight to Los Angeles last Friday to play the LMU Lions.
The first game was later that night in Culver City, California
in probably one of the worst rinks in the region. The ZAGS played
very well the first period and then gave up their first goal
in the second period. The third period would be the one where
the Lions put the Bulldogs away with two more goals and the
ZAGS couldn't find the back of the net as they were shut out
3-0.
The next night they
were hoping to play in a better rink, but the rink in Bay Harbor
would be even worse than the one in Culver City. Once again
the ZAGS played very well the first period with a 0-0 tie and
then gave up a couple goals in the second period. The third
period seems to be a troublesome one all year and the Lions
scored five unaswered goals. The only offense the Bulldogs could
muster up this game was three goals. Two were scored by Chris
Rector on great hustling plays and the other by Tony Nelson
who deeked the goalie to his blocker side and scored a very
nice backhand goal.
The trip proved
to be a very disappointing one in regards to hockey. The LMU
Lions were anything but great hosts to their visiting WCC rivals
from Washington. They showed no class throughout both games
with a lot of disrespectful comments and dirty play during the
games. The officials there didn't help the situation either
as one of the ZAGS players was almost paralyzed. Two other players
received injuries as Jake Patterson received 20 stitches on
his chin from his cage and a hit, and Bryce Coomer split his
forhead open and fortunately didn't need stitches. Also the
Lions made several mistakes on the scoresheets from these two
games so the ACHA stats are not correct on the ACHA web-site.
Despite all this
the ZAGS seemed to forget about these problems as they had a
good time at teammate Kevin Brutacao's beach house in Newport
Beach, CA. They had a great time on the beach with bonfire's,
spending time with player's families whom are from California,
and just enjoying the sun shine and great weather down there.
The ZAGS play the
Huskies from University of Washington this weekend and are still
looking to get a winning streak going. This weekend could be
a good one for them at least to get a split.
11.6.07
The Bulldogs faced
off against the Hellcats from Montana State this past weekend.
Friday night the ZAGS were able to get their second win of the
season and then Saturday night they gave the Hellcats their
first win of the season.
On Friday Gonzaga
came out ready to compete, by scoring two quick goals early
in the first period. The first one was a slap shot from the
point by Tommy Destefano that hit the goalie and then trickled
in. The second goal was scored by Billy Watson who seems to
find his way on the score sheet every game. The Hellcats answered
back with two goals at the end of the first period. The ZAGS
came back and dominated the second period scoring two goals,
one was a slapshot from the point by Conor Donnelly and the
second was a beautiful shot to the corner of the net by Billy
Watson again for his second goal of the night. In the third
and final period the Bulldogs let MSU back in the game and they
tied it at 4 each. Then with 4 minutes left in the third period
Chris Rector found the back of the net as an early birthday
present. Kevin Davis made some amazing saves throughout the
whole game and some even more key saves late in the third to
help the ZAGS hold on for the win. Brian Side, Conor Donnelly,
and Billy Watson all finished the night with two points each.
The final score was 5-4.
Saturday night's
game didn't have much offense involved from the Bulldogs end.
There was no scoring in the first period. In the second period
the Hellcats struck first with their first goal and then the
ZAGS answered back with a goal by Tommy Destefano, as he skated
around the defence to beat the goalie glove side. The rest of
the game was all Montana State as they scored two more goals
in the second period and one more in the third, which would
prove to be the insurance marker and game winner for the Hellcats.
The final score was 4-1.
This coming Friday,
Gonzaga will be flying down to Los Angeles, CA to play the LMU
Lions. This will be their first trip to California and their
first flight as a team. The Bulldogs usually travel all over
Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho to compete. This year
they are trying to get some exposure as there is an abundance
of ACHA hockey teams on the West Coast with the majority located
in California. The last time these two teams met, they tied
the first game and then the Lions got the win in the second
game.
10.28.07
The ZAGS continue
to struggle as they have only one win in ten games this season.
The previous weekend they tied two games with University of
Puget Sound. They had both games won, but some breakdowns in
the last few minutes cost them the wins in both games. The first
game was a 4-4 tie and the second a 5-5 tie. Chris Rector and
Brian Side were all over the score sheet. Rector finished the
weekend with a total of 3 goals and 4 assists in both games,
Brian Side had 3 goals and 2 assists in both games. Conor Donnelly
also netted his first ACHA goal in Friday's 4-4 tie.
This last weekend
the Cougars were too much for the Bulldogs as they outscored
them 15 to 5. Billy Watson scored 2 of the ZAGS' goals on Friday
and Conor Donnelly got the third goal on a great pass from Chris
Rector. That was all the offense the Bulldogs could provide
as they lost 7-3 on October 26th to WSU. The next night they
were looking for some revenge on the Cougars as the game was
tied 1-1 after the first period and then WSU took the lead 2-1,
then 3-1, all in the second period. The third period was a bad
one as Gonzaga couldn't find the back of the net and Washington
State scored 5 unanswered goals in the third to defeat the ZAGS
8-2. Sean Kurtela scored on his birthday with a one timer pass
from Billy Watson. Brian Side scored the second and final goal
with a huge slapshot from the top of the circle.
Next weekend the
Bulldogs will battle the Montana State Hellcats at Eagle's Ice
Arena.
10.14.07
The Bulldogs make
the 6 hour drive over to Bellingham and still managed to come
out flying last Friday. Billy Watson scored a breakaway goal
only 30 seconds into the game. Tommy Destefano scored a one
timer goal from the point on the powerplay. That play was set
up with a great face off win by Tony Nelson and the pass from
Billy Watson. The third and final goal was scored on a breakaway
by Brian Side as he went top shelf to beat the Vikings goalie.
Kevin Davis was stellar in net making multiple diving saves
and only giving up one fluke goal, he just missed a shutout.
Gonzaga was able to coast past Western Washington with a 3-1
win. That was their first "W"of the season.
The next game was
a different story as the ZAGS let Western outwork them and take
a 2-0 lead in the first period. The Bulldogs answered back in
the second period as Tommy Destefano skated past the defense
of the Vikings and beat the goalie low glove side. That wasn't
enough to get things going for Gonzaga as Western struck again
with their 3rd goal of the night. In an attempt to comeback
Keith Mowell netted the second goal for the ZAGS with a great
backhand shot over the goalie's shoulder. That was all the offense
the Bulldogs could come up with as the Vikings would score another
goal to help them to their first win of the season, 4-2. Netminder
Kevin Davis played very well again, but didn't receive much
help in front of the net.
Gonzaga will face
off against the Loggers from Puget Sound next weekend.
10.7.07
GU definitely didn't
come ready to play on either Friday or Saturday against the
speedy Idaho Vandals. Their very aggressive and fast style of
play was too much for the ZAGS as they were outscored by a total
of 22 goals by the Vandals to the Bulldogs one goal on Sunday
scored by Sean Kurtela and assisted by Conor Donnelly who received
his first ACHA point.
Gonzaga was shut
out on Friday 9-0 and then didn't do much better on Saturday
as they lost 13-1. Costly mistakes and penalties are ultimately
what hurt the Bulldogs.
The ZAGS will be
traveling to the other side of Washington this weekend to play
WWU in Bellingham. They hope to bounce back from last weekend's
terrible display, and finally add an ACHA league win to their
record.
9.30.07
The ZAGS began ACHA
against the LMU Lions this last weekend. The first game they
jumped out to a 3-0 nothing lead and let LMU even up the game
during the second period. During the third period LMU took a
4-3 lead and the Bulldogs came right back with a goal to tie
it at 4. This led to a 5 minute overtime with no one scoring
and it eventually ended in a tie. Kyle Hall recorded a hat trick
and freshman Billy Watson scored his first ACHA goal.
The next night was
different story as the Bulldogs lost Kyle Hall to a shoulder
injury. The ZAGS once again jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the
first period, but decided to let LMU back in the game again
during the second. The rest of the game lacked urgency from
GU as they let the Lions coast to a 5-3 victory.
During the weekend
Brian Side and Chris Rector added a pair of assists each, Billy
Watson scored two more goals in the second game to give him
a total of three on the weekend, and Tony Nelson added a goal
as well on Saturday. Next weekend the Bulldogs will face off
against the Idaho Vandals.
9.5.07
The Bulldogs are
back on the ice as they had their first practice of the 2007-2008
season last night. From the looks of it they have a lot of new
talent this year and are looking forward to a big 35 game, or
more, season. The ZAGS will continue practicing and doing dryland
workouts every week from here on out. They are in the process
of scheduling an exhibition game against a local Midget AA team
here in Spokane for September 12th. Details on this game will
be posted within the next few days. Stay posted and GO ZAGS!!!
