WWU outlasts Vandals in thriller match
For the second time this season, the Vandal club hockey team hosted a game at the Palouse Ice Rink, but this time they weren’t able to take advantage of their home ice as Western Washington stole a 6-5 victory in an overtime shootout Friday night.
Despite the loss, the Vandals are not hanging their heads as they went blow-for-blow with the Vikings — a team that took home a national title two seasons ago, Idaho coach Chris Storhok said.
“The guys left everything on the ice,” he said. “I was really, really pleased with the way they came out and played. Every time they went up we battled right back, and to go into overtime and keep it tied … That was great.”
The Vandals built a quick 3-1 lead in the first period before Western was able to battle back in the second to tie the game at 3-3 going into the final period. WWU built a 5-3 lead before two late Vandal goals tied the game.
The two teams battled back and forth through the overtime period. This then sent the game into a shootout, and the Vikings were able to get a puck past Idaho’s standout goalkeeper Nick Grover to end the game in dramatic fashion.
The Vikings never played in Moscow before, but they loved it so much they are looking forward to playing both of their games against UI on the small ice next season, Storhok said. Both teams had a great time, he said.
Idaho fans stayed loud throughout the game, with the Idaho fight song drowning out everything, even after the final whistle blew.
Despite the outcome, Storhok said he was proud of his team’s performance.
Joshua Gamez can be reached at [email protected]