Freeze-out at home

The Portland State Hockey Club closed out the 2009′-10 home season in style this weekend with two wins over Boise State at the Valley Ice Arena in Beaverton.

The Vikings, playing with a shorthanded roster that only included nine skaters, defeated the Broncos in a shootout on Friday night to put an end to a three-game losing streak. It was Saturday’s game, however, where the Portland State players displayed their skill on the ice.

For the first time this season, the Vikings shut out their opponents, beating the Broncos 5′-0 in the last game of the year on home ice. The Portland State defense put the deep freeze on the Boise attack and held the Broncos to only 14 shots on goal, half of which came in the first period.

The Vikings, now 5′-5 on the season, controlled the puck for the majority of the game and used every chance they had to threaten the net-tallying an astounding 75 shots on goal.

Matching goaltender Ryan Stanchfield’s first shutout of the year, forward Tucker Dougherty scored his third goal of the game 12:40 into the second period to earn his first hat trick of the season. Forward Anthony Libonati racked up a goal and two assists, and forward Brandon Aiken scored the other Portland State goal.

Head coach Ross Gale knows how much these wins mean to his squad.

‘We really needed those wins,’ he said after Saturday’s game. ‘We were on a road trip last weekend and got kind of killed by Eastern Washington-so this was a good morale booster.’

Up next for the Portland State skaters is a two-game road trip to Boise State this weekend for a rematch with the Broncos on their home ice Friday and Saturday nights.
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