The game went into the Halloween night/morning, but instead of getting bite-sized candies, the Long Beach State 49ers ice hockey team was handed a bitter-tasting defeat from the University of Washington Huskies.  The Huskies—dressed in hideous purple jersey—beat the Niners 5-2 for their second straight loss in front of the home crowd.

John Thompson scored both goals for the Niners, coming off Jonathon Fish assists.  Long Beach State trailed the entire game despite outshooting the Huskies 49-39. This is due in large part to a 23-shot third period, which was by far the Niners’ best-played hockey of the night. Maybe it had something to do with the clock hitting the Halloween date, or the shifting of two defenders to the front line, but from the third period face-off Long Beach State seemed revitalized and focused, something they didn’t show in the first two periods of play.

Huskies center Tristan Wickliff scored the first two goals for the Huskies in the opening period. His first goal came at the 11:27 mark off an assist from Ian Snook. Two minutes later the Niners missed getting the equalizer when Paul Leigh got rejected on a breakaway opportunity and Fish missed on the rebound. Wickliff made the best of his breakaway chance, putting a backhanded shot past Niners goalie Alex Miklovic with 25 seconds remaining in the period. Long Beach State was erratic throughout the first 20 minutes, with careless passing and an inability to handle the puck in the neutral zone.

The second period action was squeezed into a two-minute span where the teams traded goals. U-Dub’s Stefan Sobiek slipped past defenders en route to a loose puck he was able to force by Miklovic (10:09 left in the period). Fifty-one seconds later Thompson answered with his first goal of the night. Fish battled behind the Huskies goal recovering a puck he had lost and centered it to Thompson, who was able to get in through some traffic in the box. This made it 3-1 Huskies. Thompson would soon find himself in the penalty box on a questionable hooking penalty that got the Niners bench off their seats.  The Huskies, unable to score on their previous two power-play possessions, didn’t waste any time, as Byron Ma scored off a rebound, 19 seconds into the power play. That was the last shot Miklovic saw in goal as he was pulled for Frankie Mitrano.

With 4:20 remaining in the second period, U-Dub’s Ian Shook was called for a roughing penalty that caused a near fight with Niner Jason Elliot. Long Beach State was already without three key starters who missed the game due to their involvements in an altercation during the squad’s most recent road trip in Utah, according to internet broadcast announcer Billy Roggenkamp. Sean Hoang, Joe Nalley and Chris Chan are the first line starters who were in dress clothes for the game, a frustrating sight for Niner supporters. Nalley and Hoang lead the team in points.

As previously noted, the Niners came out recharged in the third period, yet still wasted countless opportunities. Long Beach State’s second goal came during a power play when Thompson redirected a Fish center into the net. By that time Ma had scored his second goal, beating Mitrano on a backdoor pass from Sobiek.

The Niners will look to transfer their third period energy to next week’s games: they face off against UNLV next Friday and Saturday at Glacial Gardens. Stay posted to LB Post Sports for your Long Beach State Icebags hockey fix.