The Sacramento State Hockey team dominated U.C. Davis in its last home game of the season Friday night at Skatetown. The tiny Roseville rink was overwhelmed with chanting fans that were never hushed and not disappointed.

Puck control was key in the lopsided win for the Hornets. The Aggies’ offense was denied for much of the first period, allowing the home team to build a substantial lead.

Assistant team captain Raymond Gsell scored a hat trick for the Hornets near the end of the final period. The fans congratulated him in the tradition manner of tossing their baseball caps on the ice.

“I just played hard and they went in tonight,” Gsell said. “I’ve never had the hats thrown out for me, so that was pretty cool.”

He also had two assists and no penalties for the game.

Late in the game, Davis’s Greg DePalma was ejected after a verbal run in with one of the referees.

“He physically assaulted me,” DePalma said.

The incident was one of only five penalties for the Aggies, while Sacramento accumulated nearly a dozen.

“I don’t have a problem with the penalties that were called,” said Coach Tom Bowen.

Thomas Coursey scored the Hornets’ ninth and final goal with just minutes on the clock. The fans began chanting “Double digits,” partly out of pride for their team and partly because Skatetown serves pitchers of beer, resulting in a very enthusiastic bunch of patrons.

“If they didn’t sell beer here, we wouldn’t have any fans,” said Gokalp Gurer, one of the Hornet goalies.

Sac State’s team Captain Matt Vanatta said the rivalry with Davis always brings a lot of energetic fans and makes the team want to put on a show for them.

“It should get everyone pumped up,” he said.

As the final seconds ticked away, the body-painted sea of green and gold spontaneously burst into an awkwardly charming arrangement of Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.”

Following this win, the team was pumped up to go onto Davis’ turf on Saturday for a repeat victory and to finish off the season on a high note.

“I can’t wait,” Bowen said. He said the team just needs to go out and do the same thing. “It’s going to be a fun game.”

“We’re going to their place. Obviously they can’t like a 9-2 score so it’s going to be tough,” Gsell said.

At Saturday’s game, Sac State held Davis to only two points and dominated the game 6-2.

Dawn Johnson can be reached at [email protected]