BYU NewsNet - Hockey to Take on Utah Teams This Weekend

The BYU hockey team will take on in-state rivals Utah State and Utah this weekend.

The Cougars head to Logan today to face the No. 7 Aggies, who are barely edging No. 8 BYU in the regional rankings. The two teams have played five times since early November, with BYU winning two of the five games and the last game resulting in a 5-3 Utah State win in January.

BYU coach Ed Gantt said he focused on mental preparation this week in practice.

"It's always a challenge to go up to Logan and play them up there," Gantt said. "They have great fans and a lot of confidence on their home ice."

Senior Derek Battisti said the Cougars need to concentrate on their game and avoid penalties on Friday night.

"The strategy is to play our game and stay out of the [penalty] box," Battisti said.

The Cougars will look to do just that before hosting the Utes Saturday. They will have home rink advantage, but may not need it.

These teams have met four times since October and the Cougars have won each of these games by at least five goals.

The Cougar defense has not allowed the Utes to score more than four goals in any of the contests.

Battisti said the traditional rivalry would be strengthened if the Cougars didn't always "win by 10 goals."

However, Battisti said that a fair amount of pressure comes because of their stellar performances against the Utes this season.

"It's always good to kill Utah," Battisti said. "There's added pressure because we're expected to do so well against them and they get better and better each game we play them."

These games, along with another game next week against Utah, will be the last contests the Cougars participate in before the regional playoffs. The results of those playoffs will determine which teams travel to nationals in March.

With BYU and Utah State being so close together in the rankings, this game could have an impact on the final standings.

"It's last minute jockeying for positions," Gantt said. "I would much rather have us in the middle of the pack."

Tonight's game will be in Logan at 8 p.m. and Saturday's game will start at 8:30 p.m. at Seven Peaks Ice Arena. Admission is $5.