The San Jose State ice hockey team collapsed defensively late in its home opener, allowing a handful of goals in the final 6 minutes and 48 seconds to Texas A&M in an 11-6 loss Friday.
“I think we ran out of gas,” head coach Mike Janda said. “They played a hard, physical game and I don’t think we were ready
for it.”
The Spartans started quickly as senior forward Nicholas Veren scored the game’s first goal just 2:23 into the first period.
The SJSU defense held tight until Aggies junior forward Hank Rooney got his team on the board with 10:08 left in the first to tie the game up 1-1.
The Aggies net wasn’t empty for long, however, as a goal by senior center Emmanuele Tonna gave the Spartans a 2-1 lead just 13
seconds later.
That lead was short lived, however, as Texas A&M sophomore forward Ethan McDonald scored the last goal of the period, tying the game at 2-2 heading into the first intermission.
In the second period, the Aggies physicality took center stage as they outscored the Spartans 3-1, with the lone home goal coming from junior forward DJ Howell, with 6:27 left.
Texas A&M took a 5-3 lead heading into the last period.
The Spartans quickly adjusted in the locker room and came out aggressive, scoring two goals within the first 2:56 of the third period.
Junior forward Evan Pace cut the lead to one while freshman forward Christopher Dysart scored the tying goal, firing up the crowd who gave their loudest cheer of the night after the score.
Corey Semmelmayer, senior forward and one of the team captains, said he loves playing at home and cannot get enough of it.
“It’s one of the best feelings ever,” Semmelmayer said. “It’s great to have the logo on your chest to represent your school and be able to play in front of all your family and friends.”
The energy in the stadium was quickly let out, however, as Texas A&M took the lead again.
It was a trend that continued to show itself over the course of the game, as Aggies senior forward Huston Svondrk gave his team the lead just over a minute later.
SJSU junior defenseman and team captain Ryan Ellis ratcheted the energy level up once again as he tied the game at 6-6 with 7:20 to go.
After that goal, it was all downhill for the Spartans as Svondrk scored the next two goals for the Aggies, tacking on another late in the game for a total of four on the night.
Despite the loss, Ellis liked what he saw from the team.
“For the most part, we were right with them for a lot of it, and I felt like we were outworking them for more than half the game,” Ellis said. “But, we lost our footing, we lost our legs, we were tired, the conditioning just wasn’t there and it cost us in the last 10 minutes of the game.”
Looking forward, head coach Janda said that fixing the defense is the priority going into the next game.
“Our [defensive] zone coverage has to get way better, we can’t give up 11 goals,” Janda said. “We should be giving up 11 goals in a month, not a game.”
Semmelmayer also pointed to the defensive side needing work heading forward, particularly around the net.
“I think our [junior] goalie William Chan is making a lot of the first saves, we definitely have to pick up the rebounds,” Semmelmayer said. “We let in at least 4 or 5 rebound goals [tonight] so we have to fix that.”
The Spartans’ next home game is against Pac-12 opponent Washington State, Friday at 8:45 p.m.
