Hockey comes up short

By Kim Anderson

The Fresno State ice hockey club team arrived with high expectations but came up short of defending its title this weekend at the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.

Play began Friday for the Bulldogs with a 9-1 loss to College of the Canyons.

“ I’m proud of how far we got this season seeing as we played with a limited number of players,” defensemen Kevin Keeler said. “I feel we accomplished a lot.”

On Saturday, the Bulldogs faced Santa Rosa Junior College.

Putting the previous day’s loss behind them, the Bulldogs stepped on the ice fired up.

Santa Rosa came out strong and scored the first goal early in the game.but the Bulldogs played to a 5-3 win.

A 1-1 standing left the Bulldogs to play against College of the Canyons once again to battle for the opportunity to play in the championship game.

Unlike the previous match-up with the Cougars, the Bulldogs had control of the game, with many scoring opportunities but were unable to put the puck in the net.

The Cougars got out to a 2-0 lead, but the Bulldogs continued to put pressure on the Cougar goaltender.

The lead increased to three when the Cougars scored on a power play.

With less than two minutes remaining in the game, senior forward Steve Clements put Fresno State on the board for the first and only time.

The Cougars found one last wind and with less than a minute left, secured a 5-1 win over the Bulldogs.

“ We made a great effort and I’m proud of each and every one of these guys.” Keeler said.