Western concludes road trip splitting with USC

Photo by: Nat Ballard

The residency at Sharks Ice at San Jose continued for the Western Washington University hockey team over the weekend, as the Vikings played the USC Trojans in a pair of games on Sunday and Monday in San Jose, California.

A hard fought battle on Sunday night saw the Trojans get the better of the Vikings, winning 4-3.

The next morning, the Vikings bounced back in dominant fashion, as a hat-trick from forward Bret Brumbaugh helped to steer to a commanding 9-3 victory. Brumbaugh upped his season goal total to six.

The Vikings combined to outscore opponents 27-18 over four-games on the road trip. Forward Aaron James scored a goal in each game, finishing the weekend with five goals total.

Forward Andrew Fan scored twice in the win on Monday, upping his season total to four goals. Tallies from Jesse Degan, Cooper Huntersmith, and Patrick Pierson helped the Vikings pull away.

Monday’s victory snapped a three-game losing streak against USC, with their last win coming on Sept. 30, 2023. The Vikings improved to 3-1-0 on the season, as well as 3-1-0 in PAC-8 play.

Bellingham Sportsplex will be the place to be this Friday Oct. 10, as the Vikings open up their home schedule against the EWU Eagles. Tickets will be $10 for general admission, and $5 for Western students with ID.