The Cougs made the trek northward to Cheney, Washington, on Jan 31. and were met with a packed-out crowd and a pair of tough losses on back-to-back days against Eastern Washington University.
The Eagles set the tone during senior night in the first period, putting up four goals coming from freshmen forwards Dawson Bunch, Sterling Myers, Dominick Didzerekis and senior forward Frank Flood. WSU senior forward Ian Gould was able to get on the score sheet to close out the period, helping to wake up the team after a tiring first period.
In the second period EWU extended the lead with a shorthanded goal from Myers, his second goal of the night, and another goal from junior forward Wyatt Stevenson. The Cougs stood up to the Eagles in the third period, preventing them from getting on the board and Ian Gould picked up his second goal of the night to close it out.
Despite the strong closing period, the WSU went on to lose the first game 6-2.
Eastern Washington head coach Jay Oien was impressed with the Cougs heading into the second game of the series.
“They didn’t quit, and they beat us in the third period,” Oien said.
Oien said he wanted the Eagles to work on finishing the whole game in the second matchup.
Whether they finished the game or not, the Eagles’ defense and forechecking was relentless as they put up 47 shots on goal in the first matchup and continued that pace into night two. Every time the Cougs tried to clear the zone and get set up offensively they were met with black, white and red jerseys shutting them down.
WSU head coach John Lupinacci praised the Eagles’ forecheck.
“We were hearing footsteps all night,” Lupinacci said.
He said the Eagles were quick to the puck and kept the Cougs a step behind them all game.
Heading into night two, both teams were missing some crucial players. EWU was devoid of their goal leader Dominick Didzerekis due to an injury. WSU missed Max Lazzaro who was ejected from the first matchup after a third period boxing match, and all-time points leader Gould, who suffered an injury after picking up two goals the night before.
The second matchup sung a different tune. The WSU defense tightened up and was able to hold EWU to only one goal from sophomore forward Peyton Lund after the first period. The Cougs took a page out of the Eagles’ playbook and implemented a tight forecheck to try to slow down the EWU offense. But it couldn’t stop three goals from leaking through in the second period off the sticks of junior forward Joel Lusk, sophomore forward Jared Jelinek and senior forward Frank Flood.
Sophomore forward, Cole Carlson, got on the board late in the third period for the Cougs, but it was too little too late as the Eagles soared away with a 4–1 win and a season sweep of all four games against WSU.
After those two final results, both EWU and WSU posted an 11–14 record on the season. WSU will now face off against the University of Washington in the first round of the PAC–8 playoffs on Feb. 7.
The Cougs are 0–4 against the Huskies this year but they feel more than ready to take them on in the playoffs.
“We are as ready as we will ever be,” captain Miles Seguin said.
The first line for the Cougs featuring Seguin, Carlson and Gould have brought offensive firepower all year and Seguin said they have some of the best chemistry in the entire Pacific Division. When the Cougs play at full effort, they are a challenge to stop.
Coach Lupinacci said he was confident in his team heading into playoffs, pointing to their goaltending depth and exceptional special teams.
The freshman pair of goaltenders Michael “Drew” Ramsay and Alexei Kuhl have both been solid in net all year. Not many teams have two
quality tenders, but the Cougs use that depth to their advantage.
The penalty kill was exceptional for WSU in both matchups, with the team being able to kill off multiple man–advantages.
Lupinacci said that and their first line is their strongest weapons heading into playoffs.
“They can go toe–to–toe with any first line in the division,” Lupinacci said.
Although they dropped both games against EWU, the Cougs are looking solid heading into playoffs next Friday. With Gould hopefully back to full health and Max Lazzaro back from suspension, WSU could be at 100% going up against the Huskies.
The game will be played at the EWU recreation ice rink on Friday at 1 p.m.
