OAKLAND, Calif. - - The Cal Ice hockey team lost 6-2 in its marquee event of the season, The Big Freeze, but responded with a 5-0 shutout victory the following morning.
The University Chancellor, Rich Lyons, along with Oski the Bear, the Cal band and many adoring UC Berkeley fans were in attendance for the Big Freeze on Saturday night. The Loyola Marymount University Lions silenced the crowd by jumping out to a 3-0 lead, including two power play goals.
Golden Bear freshman Colten Fazio scored the first goal of the Big Freeze at 9:56 of the second period with a snap shot from the left faceoff circle and injected life into the arena.
“It felt awesome to put one on the board and get the crowd going after a rough start,” Fazio said.
Another Berkeley freshman, Liam Collins, made it a one-goal game with a shot from atop the near circle at 7:03 into the third period.
LMU added three more goals in the final nine minutes of the game, including one power play goal and an empty netter, for the 6-2 victory.
The Big Freeze is one of the premier college hockey events on the west coast and continues to grow each season.
“Our team and staff did a great job marketing the game, which resulted in the largest crowd I've seen for a non-rivalry game,” Club President and Team Captain Tyson Storr said.
The second game of the weekend started the morning after the Big Freeze at 10:45 a.m. and the Golden Bears responded with a 5-0 shutout victory.
Sophomore defenseman Trent Teruya scored the first goal on a shot from the far blue line at 9:29 of the first period.
Freshman Dominik Sedlak-Braude and junior Mark Rejna scored in the opening two minutes of the first period to extend the Bear’s lead to 3-0.
Rejna’s goal came on a forehand-backhand move in front of the net and his father was in town from Prague, Czech Republic to watch it happen.
“Having my dad visit Berkeley from Prague meant a lot to me,” Rejna said. “He doesn’t get to watch many games in person and so having him there this weekend was really nice, especially at a game as important as the Big Freeze with such a great atmosphere. Then scoring the next day made the weekend truly special, sharing that moment with him is something I will always remember.”
Fazio and Collins each scored their second goal of the weekend in the third period. Sophomore goaltender Aidan Comeau made 32 saves for his second shutout of the season.
Five of the seven Berkeley goals that were scored over the weekend were netted by freshmen.
“The rookies have been a major driving factor to our success this year,” Head Coach Devin Cox said. “And [the rookies] will continue to play a major role as we push on towards playoffs. Even outside of this weekend, many of our top scorers--especially against the best teams--have been new additions. It's exciting to see them not only buy in and integrate so quickly, but to know that they will help extend our competitive window for several more years.”
Cal Ice Hockey is ranked no. 5 in the Men’s Division II, West Division of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. LMU entered the weekend ranked no. 19.
“This was a great weekend for us to sharpen our game before heading into a gauntlet of a weekend in Utah where we face four of the top six ranked teams in the west,” Cox said.
The next four games on Berkeley’s schedule are against four of the top six teams in the DII West Division rankings at the Beehive Showcase in Utah. Here is a list of Cal’s upcoming schedule and opponents this weekend:
Thursday, November 20 - No. 5 Cal vs. No. 4 Utah State University - 7 p.m.
Friday, November 21 - No. 5 Cal vs. No. 6 University of Utah - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 22 - No. 5 Cal vs. No. 2 Weber State University - 7:15 p.m.
Sunday November 23 - No. 5 Cal vs. No. 3 Montana State University - 10 a.m.
The four games in Utah will conclude the fall portion of the schedule and send the Golden Bears into the winter break.
“We’re all looking forward to putting our best effort into these games,” Sedlak-Braude said. “Obviously I’m excited for the hockey games themselves, but these road trips are also an amazing time when our team is able to bond.”
By Ryan Carlson
