Top Ten Moments of 2013

December 31, 2013
Salt Lake City, UT

The calendar is set to shift from 2013 to 2014, but before we begin the new year it’s time to look back at the past twelve months and take look at some of the moments that have made the last year a great time to be a Utah Hockey Fan!

The last twelve months have seen a lot happen for the Skatin’ Utes, and has helped forge the program to where it is now. I’ve been around this program since the beginning. I’ve seen the highs, and I’ve seen the lows, yet every moment has been meaningful in some way, shape, or form.

With that being said, I’ve decided to comprise my top ten moments from the last calendar year. From the OT winner at ACHA Regionals to the Teddy Bear Toss just a couple of weeks ago, here my top ten Skatin’ Utes moments from 2013.

Before the 2013-2014 started, the PAC-8 conference added a new team in Arizona State and for the first time realigned the conference into two divisions, the North and the South. Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Washington State were put in the North and Arizona State, USC, UCLA, and California were placed in the South.

The Utes began the season dominating the PAC-8, starting 9-0 in the conference heading into their fourth and final game against Oregon. The Utes ended the game with a 5-0 win and thanks to Washington losing to Arizona State, the Utes clinched the North Division in its first year in existence. The Utes will now be the top seed in their pool at the PAC-8 Championships in February in Salt Lake City.

When the Utes made its entry into the ACHA back in 2006, the BYU Cougars absolutely dominated the Utes winning the first 17 contests between the two rivals. Since then however, it’s been all Utah as they have won 19 of the last 21 games and the past three Holy War titles going into this season.

With three of the four games this year happening before the Christmas break, the Utes had an opportunity to clinch their fourth title in a row in the 2013 calendar year. They had that chance in that third game, where they dominated the Cougars with a 10-0 win to win their third game of the year against BYU and clinch their fourth straight Holy War Series title.

Utah State is another team that dominated the Utes when they came back in 2006, defeating Utah time after time until the past year or so. The Utes had won games here and there and were tied 1-1 in the series last season heading to Logan for the final game against top ranked Utah State.

Three periods couldn’t decide a winner so the game would go to overtime at 2-2. In the extra frame, Zeph Fagergren was able to beat the USU goaltender and give the Utes a 3-2 win and their first season series win over Utah State. That Utah team was also the only team to beat Utah State twice in that season.

The Utes were a perfect 6-0 to start this season as they welcomed the Wildcats for the second game of the season between the two rivals. The second game started off great for the Wildcats as they put two goals up in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. After no scoring happened in the second, the Utes found life in the third.

Andrew Wood opened the scoring early to cut the lead to 2-1, and with five minutes left Ryan Huras tied it up at 2 with a power play goal. That goal electrified the crowd, but what would come next would send them into a frenzy. Just thirty seconds later, Kurtis Kunz’s rocket from the blue snuck into the top corner to give Utah a 3-2 lead. The Utes held on and moved to 7-0 on the season and 2-0 against the Wildcats.

In regular season play the Utes have only lost once to the USC Trojans, a 3-2 loss at home in January where the Utes began the game in a 3-0 hole but fell short in the third to come back against the Trojans. The Utes found themselves in the same situation at the PAC-8 Championships in USC’s home barn with the winner advancing to the PAC-8 final against Oregon.

Down 3-1 going into the third period, the Utes were able to find the back of the net twice and forced overtime to decide a winner. In the first minute of the extra frame, Chase McDonald made a diving stab at the puck and sent the Utes to the championship game. It also marked the second straight year that the Utes beat USC in OT at the PAC-8 Championships.

For those who are unfamiliar with what a Teddy Bear Toss is, it’s a tradition that’s been around hockey since the early 90’s where fans throw teddy bears onto the ice after the home team scores their first goal. A couple of weeks ago, the Utes held their first annual Teddy Bear Toss against Boise State.

The Utes were able to score their first goal in the first period, when Chris York found the back of the net and unleashed the teddy bears onto the ice. The Utes won the game 3-2 and ended up donating 229 stuffed animals to Toys For Tots just in time for the holidays.

The Utes won last season’s series against Utah State 2-1, but the road team won each of those three games. When the Aggies came down to Salt Lake City in September, the Utes looked for something they haven’t accomplished. A win at home against the Utah State Aggies.

The Aggies struck first in the first period with a power play goal and took that 1-0 lead into the second period. The Utes came back with two power play goals by Tadas Tsibulskis and Ryan Huras and led 2-1 going into the third. Andrew Wood would add another in the third and the Utes would pick up their first home win against Utah State with a 3-1 win.

Since the Utes were formed back in 2006, the team has progressively gotten better, posting better records and setting new records. The Utes have set several records already this year, no bigger than the start the team had to their season.

In Utah’s first 11 games, the Utes went perfect, winning all eleven games. The win streak saw two wins over Weber State and BYU, a win over Utah State, and six wins against PAC-8 opponents. Six wins were at home, five on the road. Not only did it shatter team record for best start to a season, but it also broke the team record for longest winning streak.

In Utah’s first season in the PAC-8, they finished 2nd in the conference and fell to host Washington in the Championship game at their home rink. After surviving the USC game to make it back to the title game in the 2012-2013 season, the Utes looked for their first conference title against the Ducks.

In a nail-biting back and forth game, the Utes and Ducks were tied at 1-1 going into the third and final period. Adam Brown put Utah ahead for a short time before the Ducks answered to tie the game at two. The score stayed tied until Shaymus Bertagnolli found the net with under two minutes to go to put Utah ahead 3-2. He would add an empty net goal later and the Utes won their first PAC-8 title with a 4-2 victory.

In the 2011-2012 season, the Utes qualified for their first postseason appearance and did quite well, beating host San Jose State in the first round to get to the Regional Finals and one win away from Nationals. All that stood between the Utes and the National Championships were the Northern Arizona Icejacks who beat the Utes 3-1 and went to Nationals.

Fast forward one year later and the two teams met once again, this time in Salt Lake for the first round of Regionals. NAU dominated early, going up by three goals twice in the first two periods. As the second period ended, the Utes found life closing the gap to one before the period ended. Both teams traded goals in the third and the Utes forced overtime with a late goal to tie it at 6-6. Less than two minutes into the sudden-death period, Andrew Reed found a loose puck in front of the net and sent Utah to their second straight Regional Final.