Icecats face intrastate rival Arizona State on comfortable home ice

Arizona Daily Wildcat

Arizona vs. Arizona State.

That's all you have to say about this game.

The Arizona club hockey team is ready to sew up one of the more impressive regular seasons in its history, and the series is against an old foe.

But this series has another relatively important facet for the Ice Devils. They are attempting to put to rest a 59-game losing streak to their intra-state rivals.

The Icecats have given ASU a serious taste of consistent play.

Even though the UA coaches and players do not overlook the Ice Devils, they still haven't been on the losing end of any score at either the Tucson Convention Center or ASU's Oceanside Ice Arena since 1983.

The Icecats hope they will be able to make it through this weekend and still keep the momentum that they have had all season.

The UA-ASU games will be played tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30 at the TCC Ä a somewhat strange occurence lately in that four of the Icecats' last six games have been on the road. The Icecats hope that they will be able to capitalize on the home-ice advantage.

"We are at home again and that makes me a little more comfortable. Home ice is always better than skating on the road," Icecats coach Leo Golembiewski said.

The Icecats have been hitting on all cylinders, and are led once again by the scoring prowess of Steve Hutchings, Greg Mitchell and Ethan Kaulas, solid defense by all defensemen Ä especially Ricky Pope Ä and solid goaltending by senior Dennis Hands.

Ä Larry Mullenix

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After jumping out to a quick start by winning its first three games, the UA men's club lacrosse team will face its toughest challenge this weekend.

The Laxcats will travel to southern California for a two-game road trip with a game against UC-Santa Barbara tomorrow and then Loyola Marymount on Sunday.

The Gauchos will be the first Division I team that the Laxcats have faced this season.

The UA closed the season last year with a loss to Santa Barbara, and is looking to avenge that loss and reprove themselves to the Gauchos.

"We want to show them that we will win this game," said Coach Mickey-Miles Felton.

Felton feels the team is ready for the challenge.

"We have the players that we need," Felton said, "and there are no excuses. This game is significant because of how the Laxcats will respond to the challenge."

Even though the Laxcats are playing two teams this weekend, their primary focus will be on the Gauchos. They have been preparing for UCSB throughout their practices this week.

Ä Julie Shiroma

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Coming off a disappointing 6-9 season last year, the Arizona women's lacrosse club team was looking for success this year.

Success is exactly what they have earned, jumping out to a 7-1 overall record, and 2-1 in Southern California Women's Lacrosse League play.

With new head coach Nicole Plotkin and more athletes coming out to play, Arizona has put together the talent and desire that it hopes will lead to a solid year.

"Nicole is very patient with us, but she demands a high level of commitment and fitness which has really helped us this year," senior co-captain Christiana DelloRusso senior said.

Last weekend, Arizona brought their "A" and "B" squads to Santa Barbara, Calif., to play in the competitive Santa Barbara Shootout.

The tournament divided teams into four divisions based on strength of the squads. Arizona's "A" team was placed into the third division where they went on to capture the Division III crown.

They went 5-0 in the tournament and beat Pacific 13-10 in the title game.

Arizona's "B" squad played the tournament in Division IV and finished fifth.

While in Santa Barbara, the Lady Laxcats played two leagues in which they came away with a split. Against a tough UC-Santa Barbara team, Arizona lost 13-9 in a tight match. But the UA came away with a 21-18 victory over UCLA the following day.

"Everyone on the team works real well together. We have no selfish players which makes us a better team," DelloRusso said.

Last season, the Wildcats only fielded an "A" team, but with 42 participants this year the future looks bright for women's lacrosse at Arizona.

"We definitely have the talent to do real well and maybe win all the rest of our games this year," DelloRusso said.

Ä Jason A. Vrtis

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