A Storybook Ending for Utah State Hockey

Contrary to what one might think, making a hockey player cry isn't too difficult.

All it takes is a slight touching of his soft spot -- life without hockey and the teammates he has competed with.

The Utah State hockey club rounded out its 2002-03 season last weekend, defeating Weber State at home Friday night 5-4 and BYU 6-4 in Provo on Saturday night.

For three and possibly five Aggies, those two games were their last in USU uniforms.

"Some of those guys are in [the locker room] quite honestly in tears, it's that emotional for them," said USU Head Coach Jerry Crossley following Friday night's win over the Aggies' much-hated rival.

"It's a big game. It's a big experience, something they'll remember the rest of their lives," he said.

Defensemen Paul Amidon, Aaron Sutliff and Marlon Marquez each played their last games as Aggies, while forwards Nick Thiros and Colby Thurston can play one more season if they choose or are able to get into graduate school.

The Aggies (17-13-2) defeated the Wildcats convincingly, never trailing after taking a 3-0 lead three minutes into the second period.

The Wildcats never pulled closer than one goal throughout the game, though the final two-minutes of the third period produced numerous chances for them to tie the game.

USU's ability to clear the puck out of its defensive zone throughout the game was a critical factor in the win.

"That's one of they key things, get it out of the zone and get it out of the zone hard," said Aggie forward Aaron Burrell, who tallied three goals Friday. "Don't let them get any second chances back there. We did a really good job controlling them down low in our zone. That's what we needed."

Burrell is planning to return next season (his last), but he said being without this season's seniors will be a very new and difficult experience.

"This is a storybook ending right here," he said. "I don't even know what to say. I'm going to miss these guys a lot. I've known these guys since I moved to Utah. It's weird they're not going to be around playing hockey with me anymore because they're pretty much [the only people] I've known in my college life.

"You'll make me all teary-eyed talking about those guys," he said.

The Aggies finish 3-1 this season against the Wildcats, a team that finished one spot ahead of them for a trip to the American Collegiate Hockey Association National tournament.

"It's huge to come out and beat Weber," Sutliff said. "The only thing better would be a national championship. Our big guys, some of my best friends, played amazing tonight."

It's a feeling he will be remembering for a very long time.

"Winning the game with all my brothers in there tops them all," he said.

Coming off what Crossley said was an "emotional high," the Aggies struggled for most of the first period against BYU.

"We kind of have a tendency to look past them in a way," he said Monday.

It's not totally USU's fault for doing this because, Crossley said, BYU only has one regular season win over USU in the past nine seasons.

The Aggies finish the season 4-0 against the Ice Cats, outscoring them a combined 26-13.