The Sacramento State ice hockey club lost to the University of California, Davis Aggies 4-10 on Friday at home.

The Hornets outshot the Aggies 51-31, but still were not able to pull off a win.

“We completely outplayed them,” said Justin Ellison, president of the club. “We just couldn’t put the puck in the net.”

Defenseman and team captain Matt Van Atta was frustrated from the loss. “It sucks because you never want to lose,” Atta said. “We dominated the game; they just scored more goals and came out with a win.”

The Hornets and the Aggies started off the game battling hard for the puck. The Aggies scored the first goal of the game with 17 minutes left in the first period, taking the lead at 1-0. The Hornets came back to tie up the game with 14 minutes left in the period, making the score 1-1.

The Aggies put pressure on the Hornets’ goal and scored another goal with only five minutes left in the first period. With a minute left, the Aggies executed a power play, raising their score to 4-1.

At the start of the second period, the Hornets took the lead and scored within two minutes of the period. The goal was scored by defenseman Brian Hubbert, with an assist by Ellison.

At that point, Ellison and the rest of the team said they were hopeful.

“We thought we were coming back,” Ellison said. “Then they scored again and again.”

Four minutes after the Hornets’ second goal, the Aggies scored another two goals, increasing the lead to 6-2. Eleven seconds later, the Aggies scored again, making the score 7-2. Hornet center Kevin Bean came back to score a second goal at the end of the second period, making the score 7-3. Ellison once again made the assist.

“Justin gave me a pass coming out at the right side, right over the goalie’s shoulder,” Bean said. “I caught the pass and put it right in.”

In the beginning of the third period, the Hornets’ Kevin Kiaski scored with an assist from defenseman Brian Hubbert, making the score 7-4.

“It upped the crowd back into the game,” Ellison said. “We thought we had a good chance to give them a run or to at least tie it up and score those quick three goals.”

The Hornets continued to put pressure on the Aggies’ goal, but to no avail.

“Everything went downhill,” Ellison said. “We were pouring the shots on the other guy, but their goalie was playing really well and wouldn’t let anything in.”

The Aggies went on to score three more times and close out the period, winning the game with a final score at 10-4.

Ellison said that while he is disappointed with the loss, it is essential to move on. “It is hard to be optimistic after a loss,” Ellison said. “The only thing we can do now is to try to get better.”

This home game against Davis, called the Frozen Causeway Classic, was named after the game played between the school’s two football teams. The word “frozen” was added since the game is played on ice. Fans were encouraged to wear white to represent the ice and were given discounts for wearing white T-shirts. The players made their grand entrance through the Hornet tunnel and were cheered on by the dance team.

Ellison said it was probably the biggest crowd in the last three years, when the Sac State ice hockey team was first established.

Bean said: “Our audience was amazing. We had the Hornet huddle; the crowd was going nuts every time we scored. We appreciate the support from our fans; they make the games fun.”

Zaki Syed can be reached at [email protected]