By Abby Doperak · KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Ice Vols split the weekend series with the South Carolina Gamecocks at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. The weekend ope…
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Ice Vols split the weekend series with the South Carolina Gamecocks at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum.
The weekend opened with a late-night game on Nov. 8. Despite the late puck drop, Tennessee took the ice backed by an energetic and vocally passionate crowd.
Using the period to display a strategic defense, the Ice Vols held the Gamecocks scoreless. At 18:14, forward Matt Pavek connected with the back of the net, giving Tennessee a 1-0 lead with an assist from captain Connor Frazer.
Starting the second period on a power play, the Vols came out with high energy fueled by their home crowd. Still playing with minimal penalties, South Carolina evened the score at 11: 04 with a goal from Carson Skove.
Responding later in the period, alternate captain Kyler Stober scored to regain the lead at 2-1, assisted again by Frazer.
Early in the third, the Gamecocks tied the game once more with a goal from Garett Albers, making it 2-2. The back-and-forth battle led to overtime.
With less than two minutes remaining in overtime, Frazer capitalized on a breakaway opportunity, scoring the winning goal and securing a 3-2 victory for the Ice Vols.
Looking to build upon the night’s success, Tennessee looked ahead motivated and confident.
“Keeping up the tempo and intensity,” Frazer said. “Hitting guys on the wall and getting pucks deep will make sure they have a hard day at the rink.”
In the second game of the weekend, the Ice Vols and Gamecocks started with frantic play, seemingly in a rush. Lincoln Simons stayed strong in goal for Tennessee, but after fending off multiple shots, Skove scored at 7:11 to give South Carolina a 1-0 lead.
Just two minutes later, Carson Stickley added another goal, extending the Gamecocks’ lead to 2-0.
After two additional goals for the Gamecocks early in the second period, Tennessee made a change in goal, pulling Simons and bringing in Green. As frustration grew for the Ice Vols, physicality – and penalties - increased.
Despite the effort, the Gamecocks ended the period ahead 5-0.
Heading into the final period, a spark was lit within the Ice Vols. Tennessee began a scoring run at 7:32 with back-to-back goals from Mitchell Spranklin, followed by a third goal from Jake Premo to make it 5-3.
“We had a player-run meeting between the second and the third, talking amongst ourselves,” Green said. “I think coming from our leadership, it helped us push forward and gain momentum for the third.”
Holding South Carolina scoreless in the third, Tennessee’s momentum grew. Forward Will Hurlburt scored at 12:27, bringing the Ice Vols within one at 5-4. Despite their push to force overtime, Tennessee came up short, outshot 30-20, with the final score 5-4.
Though the Ice Vols continue to struggle with fast starts, they are showing improvement in capitalizing on created opportunities.
“There was high energy,” Green said. “We were moving the puck pretty well, and we were creating a lot of good opportunities for ourselves. More consistency with that, and we will be just fine.”
The Ice Vols return home Nov. 14 at 10:30 p.m. and Nov. 16 at 11:15 a.m. at the Coliseum to face Fairfield University.