By By Nick F. Simons · February 21, 2024, Huntsville, AL: Over the weekend, the Tennessee Hockey Club won the College Hockey South Division II title in commanding fashion f…
February 21, 2024, Huntsville, AL: Over the weekend, the Tennessee Hockey Club won the College Hockey South Division II title in commanding fashion for the first time in 15 years, defeating the Clemson Tigers 4-1 in the tournament final. With excitement and fervor, first year head coach Drew King and the Ice Vols hoisted the Ameritrans Cup into the air, bringing the title back home to Knoxville for the first time in over a decade. The three-game tournament opened for the Ice Vols in Huntsville, Ala. on Friday against the University of Alabama-Huntsville, in a dominant 6-1 victory, with six different players scoring a goal. After the first period ended in a 1-1 tie, the Ice Vols came out for the second period puck drop with a fire under their skates netting three goals in the second period, and two more to finish out the game in the third period. The Ice Vols looked absolutely dominant in their opening performance, lighting up Alabama-Huntsville for 67 shots on goal. Highlights of the game included a three-point performance from junior Louis Gimbert, and a goal and assist two-point game from freshman Will Schneider. Freshman goaltender Lincoln Simons picked up the win with an impressive 0.968 save percentage. The College Hockey South Semifinals were then set for Saturday against the University of Tampa. In repeat fashion, the Ice Vols trampled the Spartans 6-1, with two Vols scoring two goals, and the team putting over 50 shots on net for the second day in a row. This time, the Vols got out to a hot start, scoring before five minutes had expired in the first period, netting three more goals in the second period and never looking back. The sophomore duo of Tyler Iles and Kyle Stober put up two goals apiece, with Iles also scoring an assist on the night for three points and being named player of the game. Senior forward Michael Cosentino also had a stellar performance, assisting on three of the team’s six goals. Goaltender Patrick Green opened up his tournament with a win, giving up only one goal on 30 shots for a 0.967 save percentage. On the other side of the bracket, the Clemson Tigers battled for an overtime win against the University of Florida in their first game, then won a 6-4 victory over Florida Atlantic to gain a spot in the final against the Ice Vols. The two teams had played twice already during the season with the Vols picking up two away wins over the Tigers in late January. In the final game of the tournament, the Ice Vols broke out early with freshman Mitchell Spranklin netting his second shot of the tournament in the first 11 minutes. Only two minutes into the second period, freshman wing Schneider scored his second goal of the tournament which proved to be the tournament clincher. Youth prevailed for the Vols this weekend as both the 18-year-old Schneider and freshman teammate Spranklin had massive performances, with each scoring two goals and two assists for four points over three games. Tennessee went on to score two more goals in the second period, and went on to win the championship with a final score of 4-1. Green won his second game of the tournament, stopping 35 out of 36 shots for a 0.972 save percentage. With these three wins, the Ice Vols improved their record to 17-8-0-1. The Vols close out their home games at the Knoxville Coliseum this weekend, facing the Division I Auburn Tigers at 11:15 PM EDT this Saturday for Summitt Blue night, as well as 2:15 PM EDT Sunday for Senior Day.