Despite showing poise and energy as underdogs, WSU suffered a 7-4 loss to the University of Washington as the Huskies hosted the Apple Cup and rode that momentum to a PAC-8 club hockey championship.
The Huskies set the tone early in the first period with junior forward Benjamin Lampman lighting the lamp 10 seconds into the game. Washington went on to put up two more unanswered goals off the sticks of junior forward Christopher Williams and sophomore forward Brendan Leung. It was not until late in the first period that senior forward Ian Gould buried a shot for the Cougs to make it a 3-1 game heading into intermission.
WSU coach John Lupinacci said that the team’s game plan was to “play our brand of hockey and get pucks deep.”
While the Cougs struggled to live up to it in period one, they turned the tables in period two. Freshman forward Max Lazzaro picked up an early second period goal with a tip out in front making it a 3-2 hockey game. The Huskies were able to strike back thanks to the stick of sophomore forward Cameron Irwin to make it 4-2, but the Cougs built up momentum that carried into the third period.
Husky junior forward Dominic Wolfe kicked off the third period with a quick goal hoping to extend the lead beyond the Cougars’ reach, but WSU refused to go out quietly. Gould picked up his second goal off a quick wrist shot, and junior forward Samuli Sihovonen, a Finland phenom, scored off a feed from Lazzaro. The pair of goals made it 5-4 halfway through the third, causing fans to hold their breaths. Freshman goalie Jonah Nash found himself overwhelmed by a resurgent WSU offense.
However, Leung picked up his second goal of the night and sophomore forward Quin Treacy found the back of the net to make the final score 7-4 in favor of UW.
The Cougs have yet to win a playoff game in over five years and Friday’s loss continued the streak. Despite the early exit for WSU, Lupinacci expressed excitement for next season and the potential for this Cougar team.
“We are going to build on this good team,” Lupinacci said. “Our seniors set the tone and every season this team gets better.”
The 2024-25 season for the Cougs was one to remember. With production from up and down the lineup, this squad is looking to get even better next season. Sophomore forward Cole Carlson ended the season as the team’s points (40), assists (22), and goals (18) leader. Following close behind Carlson is junior forward Miles Seguin with 32 points and Gould with 22 points.
In addition to the playoff performance, the Cougs selected four members to compete in the PAC-8 skills competition. Carlson was selected for the accuracy event, Gould for speed, Seguin for the shootout and Lazzaro for hardest shot. While none of the four won first place, Lazzaro did place second in the hardest shot at 88 mph.
Carlson was also selected to the All-PAC-8 second-team. It is the first award Carlson has won during his time at WSU.
“It is s pretty cool, Carlson said. “It is the first award I have gotten, but I would not have been able to win it without my linemates.”
Seguin and Gould, alongside Carlson, have formed an electric first line that has outworked and outclassed a number of different opponents. Lupinacci said heading into the playoff matchup that their first line could go toe-to-toe with any other in the league and he was proven right. The first line set the tone for the rest of the squad and kept them in all three periods of the rivalry matchup.
With the season officially over, the Cougs will look to enjoy the offseason and put all their focus into developing their young team. They will play a charity game in the coming months and will hold their prospect camp next August, right before the start of the 2025-26 season. With young talent ready to develop and a coaching staff striving for greatness, the only place for this Cougar hockey team to go is up.
UW and the University of California, Berkley, played in the PAC-8 championship game on Sunday. The Huskies came away with a 7-5 win, upsetting Berkley who was undefeated heading into playoffs.
