Here, at last, were our people. The stands were filled to capacity at Glacial Gardens in Lakewood as over 600 rowdy, loud Long Beach State students gathered to cheer on the 49er hockey team, taking on the San Diego State Aztecs. There was a row of shirtless guys with “Go Beach” painted on their chest, a series of family-inappropriate taunting chants, a great DJ (DJ Santa Cruz if you’re in the market), and, in between all that great atmosphere, a hockey game. Long Beach lost 8-2, but talking to fans on the way out, I didn’t get the sense that anybody minded—it was a fast-paced, entertaining game, and even in defeat the 49ers won over a lot of fans.
The first period started out looking pretty painful, as SDSU outskated, outmaneuvered, and outmuscled the Beach, setting up camp in the 49ers’ zone. Thanks to 15 saves by goalie Frankie Mitrano, the 49ers escaped only down 2-0, when it very easily could have been double that.
But the second period was a completely different story. From the beginning, Long Beach came out and fought (literally at times), gutting their way back into the game, pressing down-ice and not turning the puck over as often. Sean Hoang scored for LBSU with 14:27 left in the second, narrowing the score to 2-1. But then, less than a minute later, the Aztecs answered, pulling away to 3-1, and then 4-1. Kevin Chen scored a shorthanded goal for The Beach, to pull within two, but again, less than a minute later SDSU scored a neutralizer, and went back up by three. All in all though, it was a well-contested period, and despite the lopsided final score, it was 3-2 in the second period, when both teams were playing their best hockey
Especially with the Aztecs piling on another three goals in the third period to take a 6-goal victory home with them, I know this wasn’t the result the Long Beach team wanted. But with their biggest-ever crowd, mounting buzz, and a scrappy team that’s fun to watch, the rest of this season looks bright at The Beach. Or is that on the ice?
Seriously, these games are a ton of fun, and the tickets are only two bucks with a student ID, so be sure to get out on October 30th to see the 49ers take on the University of Washington.
