Latest / College Hockey Mouth / Episode 13: Claire Carson | Alabama Women's Hockey and Veterans Cup Recap

Transcript

Episode 13: Claire Carson | Alabama Women's Hockey and Veterans Cup Recap · College Hockey Mouth

• speaker-0: Welcome back everybody to the College Hockey Mouth Podcast, a College Hockey South series. This is episode thirteen. Danny, welcome back from Huntsville, Alabama. You ⁓ were in commentary for some of those games I heard and looked pretty fun. A middle Tennessee win, but how was the weekend over there in Alabama? speaker-1: Well, first of all, ⁓ this is usually where I get my college football talk in for like a couple of minutes because I'm a college football nut on top of being a a hockey freak. But Texas and South Carolina were both on bye weeks. And I guess that's a good thing for Carolina because I mean, I don't know, this year they would find a way to lose on the bye week. Like my my freshman year, ⁓ the first couple of years of Carolina when they were terrible, we would at least be like, you know what? We may lose on the field but we're gonna win the tailgate. I've I've been seeing some of the videos and I think we're starting to lose the tailgates now. Like if you've seen some of the videos coming out from our tailgates, if you know, you know. I'm not gonna get into it anymore. But yeah, Vets Cup was a blast. Middle Tennessee supplanted themselves as ⁓ the number one team in the country, no doubt. Those rankings come out later this week. ⁓ and I'm assuming we're gonna see them at number one. But I've got a couple of things I want to get to. Have nothing nothing to do with with the game, so which we'll recap later on. But as you said, I was I was on commentary for the first game. Second game was Middle Tennessee against Tennessee and you know, Brady Palmer, the great Brady Palmer and the penalty box radio folks were broadcasting that they did a great job. So I'm down there in the box with Brooks and Savannah Prefontaine and a bunch of other folks, and they're all huddled around a phone watching the Alabama game. I'm I'm looking around, I'm like, wait a minute, these are all Alabama kids. Like I'm surrounded by like Crimson Tide. It's like I'm at Bryant Denny. I was like, and so I like to stir things up. I'm an asshole. So I was like, Alabama missed a kick. I was like, go tag us, go tag us, just trying to just trying to get on their nerves. And I'm realizing that in our studio right now, listening to our conversation, is an actively enrolled student at the University of Alabama. So probably not the best way to get on her side to start, but I've got a a second point from Vets Cup. I'm gonna I'm gonna get her back, Devin, don't worry. Second day, Savannah had something to do. So Brooks had to hop on aux. Morgan Brooks, head of our graphic design team. He's awesome. The whole team does such a great job. They're rock stars, right? However, his music selection, my God, was it bad. Okay, it it was awful. Like, probably heard the same Pitbull song like four times. And I'm giving it to him on the broadcast. I was like, folks, if you had, you know, Don't Stop the Party by Pitbull, if you took the over on it being played three and a half times, you know, cash those tickets. Anyways, we get to like the end of the second period and Alabama's goalie gets run two times in three shifts, so there's a scrum that happens. Gloves flying, sticks flying, whatever. Referees go over and convene by the penalty bench. The the kids are getting led to the to the box. And Brooks starts playing the Canadian national anthem. These kids are are getting led to the box and they're playing Canada. And on the broadcast, I'm sure there was probably like five seconds of like dead silence, 'cause I have headphones on. I'm trying to process what I'm hearing. And it's O Canada being played. Like, I don't know, maybe it was like the Pitbull version of O Canada. It didn't play long enough for us to realize. Brooks, heck of a graphic designer, but he he was not even on the hot seat anymore for being on aux. He will never and I'll see to it personally, he will never play music at a CHS event ever again. That was brutal. Great guy though. speaker-0: I I do respect the attempt at trying to get the party raised, right? 'Cause I think Pitbull is a good de facto we need something off the Spotify playlist. Let's throw in something. But ⁓ that I mean that's brutal. Like four times in a row, I I would go crazy. I think like the Canadian anthem, if it was in French, would be like a little bit funnier, but if we're just talking like the regular one, then yeah, this this is definitely some hot seat worthy stuff. speaker-1: It was like the first ten notes and I was like, There's there's no way this is happening right now. It was obviously a mistake, but how is that on the same playlist as a bunch of Pitbull songs? Like Mr. Worldwide Pent O Canada. Where did you find this? It's not game day mix anyway. speaker-0: Yeah, so moral of the story is Morgan is banned from AUX for our next one, which will be College Hockey South playoffs all the way in February. Sorry, stud, but like you say, he does a great job making our cover art for the pod and all the other graphics on the social page. Solid weekend for me. Keep it simple. Called five games in three days for Florida Atlantic. Saw Tampa just absolutely whoop FAU ⁓ three and then the ⁓ two team had a For all intents and purposes, surprise performance, ⁓ sweep over Florida. But ⁓ my best moment of that weekend was meeting Scrub Daddy, ⁓ Aaron Krause, Bryce Kay's dad. He gave me this sticker that's a phone screen cleaner. It's these little circle pads that stick onto your phone. And ⁓ I guess I guess they've got like this microbial cleaning solution on them or whatever. But ⁓ God, he was a character. I mean, we're we're there, you know, into the dead of midnight and he's Just laughing away. He's got his, you know, family and friends there. And like they're waiting outside for the bus and they're just, you know, shooting the crap till like one in the morning. Like, I'm leaving. And these guys are all just like in a circle, just like, you know, postgaming it. So heck of a time meeting him and everybody that's involved with that program. We've got a great episode ahead and a great interview we're gonna bring to you in a moment here. We are joined by a member of the Alabama woman's team. She is the reigning. conference MVP in the women's division, one of the most elite players to come into College Hockey South and has been trailblazing for this ⁓ woman's team for the year and now the last year and a half. Please welcome with great pleasure to the College Hockey Mouth podcast, Claire Carson. Claire, welcome to the pod. Thanks. speaker-2: for having me. I'm excited. It'll it'll be fun. speaker-0: You know, this is something that we wanted to get done a lot sooner, and I know Danny's had it bulletin boarded because you are an exceptional talent. The numbers you put up last year are are just honestly just stupid in a good way. Eleven multipoint games for those hat tricks. You were top three in scoring in all categories. You're from Burlington, Ontario, so you know, this seems pretty natural. Tell us how you got into hockey and playing growing up. speaker-2: So my like my parents never played, but I feel like being in Canada it's like, you know, it's a Canadian thing. People always say that. But my sister started playing and she started playing late, so I was about like three or four. And I watched her play like her first game and I kinda just was like, that's what I wanna do. I don't wanna I used to be like a dancer, but I I was not very good. So I was like, I'm done with that. I wanna play Yeah, I was like I wanna play hockey. So my dad literally like took me out, got me skates and like the first time I stepped on the ice, it's like I was just skating in circles for hours. So Yeah, I feel like I was kind of I don't know, I just wanted to be like my sister and now now I've continued to play. So that's kind of how I got into it. speaker-1: Yeah. So for for people that are kinda unfamiliar in the States with like the the hierarchy of of hockey before you get to the college ranks, where were you and what was that experience like, what that competition was like for you? speaker-2: So I played, I guess, I mean, in Canada and the US, women's hockey's different. So like our double A would be like your like American triple A. So I played I guess like American Triple A, but most of my hockey career up until my ⁓ junior and senior year, which is where I played junior, which is like basically just triple A but like older people, I guess you could say. So that's kind of where I finished off. I went to prep school for my last two years of high school as well. So ⁓ we traveled all around. We played lots of teams in the States as well. ⁓ it was a very like very cool experience. I mean, like getting to play at a high level my whole life was honestly I'm really glad that I did. ⁓ even from like a young age, it was busy, but I wouldn't trade for anything. Like I'm really glad I did it. The competitions for sh was for sure it was it was difficult. I mean, I enjoyed it. I think like any competition is good. So ⁓ speaker-0: Yeah. So we're talking with AAA here, the Bell Tires. I think in Victory Honda, being from Michigan, I know some of these programs. So, you know, give people a comparison. Are you playing against essentially girls that may have gone N C double A D three, D one? I think a lot of people may be familiar with girls that played Unified High School. Like, what's that skill level? speaker-2: I would say it's a lot of girls that went NCAA, ⁓ division one and division three are like the main ones. Quite a few girls went ACHA as well. I mean, they're just there's so many girls that they would take any opportunity to play anywhere. But yeah, I would say like mainly NCAA, D one, and D three were like the main ones that everybody shoots for in my league. But yeah, that's kind of where I I fell on that. speaker-1: Not the the typical jump to go from just outside Toronto all the way down to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Teetown as they call it, Devin. I don't know you knew that. How did you end up at Bama? And I don't know if you had any expectations of what hockey was going to be like in the South. How have they differed, or maybe not, from how things have played out for you? speaker-2: Yeah. So getting to Alabama was super it was honest, like to be honest, it was very random. I obviously like throughout my hockey career in Canada, my main goal was was NCAA Division I, just like everybody else. I had toured a couple schools, D three, D1, ACHA. And every time I toured a school, like nothing ever ⁓ like nothing ever clipped for me. And my dad used to always tell like, when you go to the right school, like you're gonna know that that's where you're supposed to be. And I kind of just at the end of all my tours in my senior year, I was like, I don't know where I wanna go. I feel like nowhere I visited is like the right place for me and I don't know what I wanna do. And so I was kind of felt like I was like got a standstill, like I really didn't know what my next steps were gonna be. And then randomly one day my mom was scrolling on her Facebook and Alabama woman's hockey popped up. And so I was like, No way, like that's so random. Like what's that's so we looked into it and obviously I knew it was gonna be very new. Obviously, like a second year or At least for Alabama, that would be their second year as like a real team. So it's very new and like competition. I d I wasn't wasn't really sure what to expect. But my dad, he played football for the University of Hawaii. And he was like, honestly, Claire, like seeing a big school like this is would be like it would be life changing. It's so much different than all these Canadian schools and these little, you know, D three schools that you're looking at. You might as well just give it a try. And so I literally before even toured, I just like applied and I was like, you know what? Like, why not? So I just applied. I looked at some pictures online and once I got in, Savannah actually reached out to me and so did Anya. And they both were like, We would love to have you come down here. Like obviously we know it's gonna be super different from what you're already looking at, but I think like we really want you. I think you know, you should give it a try. And I don't know what I don't know why. I really don't. I just was like, you know what? Yeah, like let's give it a try. So I literally showed up on my first day and moved in. I hadn't even hadn't toured, I hadn't done anything. I just showed up and I I absolutely love it. And you know, as random as it was, I'm really glad that you know it happened the way it did. speaker-0: This is sounds like some divine intervention. You see a school that you don't think anything of it. I'm I've heard in an interview you said that you didn't even know if they knew what hockey was down here. Yeah. You come through. So like when you finally get on campus, like how much of a is it not only a surprise to find out ⁓ that hockey is in Tuscaloosa, but then seeing the men's team and eventually the women's team, what was that experience like for the first week? speaker-2: That is true. It was honestly it was it was pretty crazy. I mean, like I really truly had no expectations coming in and I remember I our first tryouts like so clearly because I showed up and I was obviously a little nervous because I didn't really know again, like I didn't know what the competition was gonna be like and I didn't know where these girls who I was gonna play with are coming from and I had no idea there was not just one men's team but three. Like I didn't know I didn't know any of this. And so, you know, I showed up and all these girls are from like all these places I've heard of. I've Kira, who was our captain last year, like honey baked, like I know honey baked, or, you know, like some teams in Illinois or like all this. I knew that and I was like, wow, like this is a lot more familiar than I thought. And then I found out there was three men's teams and was like, Whoa, like this could you know, I didn't know this was a thing, but I think this could grow into something really big. And I feel like it has, which is like super awesome. And it's only been a year. So it's been pretty crazy just to like experience it all and to see it happen right in front of me. Yeah. speaker-1: I mentioned it in in our intro, but I'm a SEC football nut. Coming from a hotbed of hockey to a hotbed for college football, have you picked up on that intensity or is it like does it really translate to you as someone who didn't really grow up with college football? speaker-2: I would say, you know, my first first semester I was a little bit like, This is so weird. Like this is so strange. Everybody everybody is so into it. And I was This is so weird. Like I'm not gonna be like that. And then the more and more I watched, the more and more I was like, Mm, just kinda fun, you know, like I kinda like this. And now this year I'm completely like I'm totally like into it. Like I watch every game. I've literally been to like almost all the games. ⁓ I get pretty into it. I mean I still You know, it's like I hate to admit this because I feel like I can't admit this, but like I still don't know all the rules. I am working on it still. And you'd think I would too because you know, my dad played football, so like I should know. But I'm I'm getting more into it now. And it's weird too because even when we play like on ice, like when we play other teams, like especially when we played like Tennessee or like Georgia, like those football games like translate to our hockey and it's so weird. It's like we're talking about football and like, you know, this big rivalry against each other, like ice and it's just so weird because you know like it actually does make you want to play harder but it's like I've never even like I've never thrown a even thrown a football but I feel like I'm on the team. Like I feel like I'm like you know, but no, I've definitely thrown a football that was a lie, I was just exaggerating, but I have thrown football. ⁓ yeah, but like not in like any any other setting either. speaker-1: Come on. ⁓ speaker-0: You you remind me a bit of ⁓ there's this like Instagram account where this and I don't know if it's real or not, I think she might be acting, but there's this like foreign girl that like goes to her first football game, like in the SEC I it might be. And she just like doesn't have a clue. And obviously you come from a sports family, so ⁓ it's a little different for you, but like you're into it and ⁓ that's incredible. You know, I can't say the same. Like my college teams suck in football just bluntly. But ⁓ you know, it's different in the south and and I love that energy. I I wanna speaker-1: Two and five, buddy. South Carolina's two and five. Don't don't should it be Alabama. speaker-0: Bama is number four in the country. I mean it might as well be Nick Sabin there now. Like all the talk about your your current head coach is gone and I mean you might be going to Miami. Who knows? We might see you in South Florida in a few months. speaker-1: Okay. But ⁓ let's move along. speaker-0: Yeah, right, right. This is a hockey podcast after all, not football. ⁓ I wanna touch on your relationship with Savannah Prefontaine. She was our very first guest on the pod, and back then she called you her little Canadian recruit, turned lifelong best friend. Talk to us about the influence she's had on you, not only as a player, but as a person as well. speaker-2: She's had like such a huge influence on me. I mean, she was the first person to ever reach out to me about Alabama Women's Hawk. So really truly like I wouldn't be here without her reaching out to me. Like from the first day, I already felt comfortable. Like she, you know, she knew she knows like about Canada. Like she's Canadian. So I mean, we had that kind of connection right off the bat, which was honestly it was really comforting to have somebody like that. And continuously throughout this year and last year. She's just always there. Even, you know, obviously like she's women's commissioner now, which is like such a big step for her. She's still always there whenever I need her. And I mean, yeah, she really like I really am her little Canadian. Like, I mean, we say it all the time. And I'm really, really happy that she's somebody that I get to, you know, spend ⁓ my, you know, college life with. She's just been very impactful for the past two years. speaker-0: That's all. speaker-1: Awesome. ⁓ another person that I'm sure has had an impact on you, ⁓ Anya Laxton, who was ⁓ your assistant coach last year, this year's stepped into the role as head coach. How would you characterize her role and how you've come into the spotlight and college hockey south? So speaker-2: Anya definitely has a lot to do with it. I mean, she is probably one of, if not the best coach that I've personally had, and I've had a lot of coaches growing up. And I feel like it's a when you play at a competitive level of hockey, you're always gonna run into these coaches that really don't really don't care about you specifically. Like really truly, that's just the way it is. It sucks, but it's the way it is. And so coming from obviously like very competitive hockey growing up and having some some not so great coaches. Coming into last year and having Anya there was seriously like I am so grateful for her. She's she really does care about you, not just as a player, but off ice as well. I mean, she always knows what's going on in your life. and she's always gonna be the first person there to, you know, support you or be proud of you for whatever it may be. It could be literally like some stupid you just passed a test and she's, you know, jumping up and down and excited for you. And I feel like that was that's been super impactful for me. I mean, it makes me me wanna play. There's definitely been times where I'm like, ⁓ you know, I don't really wanna not this not not at Alabama, but like previously there's been times where I'm like, I don't know if I wanna keep doing this. But having like Anya there is like one of the reasons why I feel like not only me but our team like continues to go out there and play hard because she's just such a great presence to have on the bench. So speaker-0: That's what I would say. That's an interesting point you make about in previous times wondering if if it's still for you. Like I know guys and girls now that they get in the same situation. Hockey gets a little too serious. The game's not fun anymore. You lose your love for it. It sounds like you've gained a love and appreciation for a situation you didn't know what it was gonna be. You know, you're vice president now, and I'm sure you've learned a lot from her and Savannah and the people you've been around. So what kind of things have you taken with you that you try to ⁓ incorporate into your program on and off the ice. speaker-2: say the biggest thing I already mentioned it before with Anya, but just like having the ability to genuinely care about what you're doing, I feel like that's a really big one is like not only just like doing it, but like showing it to other people like that how much I care about the program. Because I really do care about the program so much. And I feel like that's one thing that you know like Savannah and Anya and you know all these other girls have shown me is like just caring about it and showing people that you care about it goes a long way. And just, you know Yeah, I feel like that I feel like for me, like that's the biggest thing. We've gone we've gotten so far by, you know, just showing people how much the program means to us and how much College Hockey South means to us. And I know that, you know, the other teams in the league feel the same way as well. And that's kind of something that I've taken with me and carried it throughout, you know, these past two years and you know, being vice president this year, I feel like that's a big one as well. speaker-0: Okay, so speaker-1: Last year, first year in CHS for your team, and you guys reached the the pinnacle as far as like winning the conference. Mm-hmm. And we'll get to that in in a second. But one thing that I saw, 'cause I was down at the scorers table, you guys at so you're but the whole celly's going on, you guys are parading the trophy around on the ice and everything. And then I hear someone say, Put the onions in the trophy. Put the onions in. Yeah. Yeah. Wha what what was the s the story behind the onions? 'Cause I don't think I ever heard any context behind that. speaker-2: So basically we show up show we show up to playoffs and Morgan and Kira, Morgan's our captain now, and obviously Kira was our captain last year, but so they they show up to their room and they are looking around and they open their closet and in our hotel closet there's a bag of onions. And they they took a picture and sent to our group chat and we were like, This is so weird, like who left their onions in the hotel? Like, ew, gros, throw them out. And I guess like on their way down, like maybe I think Kira saw her parents and her parents told her that onions actually represent like like way back when it represented like bravery and like courage and stuff. And so I I really don't know why, but us as a team, we decided, you know what, like these are these are like the winning onions. And we brought them with us to everything and to breakfast and in the bus. We gave the onions a jersey. We gave the onions a stick. Like they were they were really truly like very, very important part of our of our playoffs. I don't know why. I don't know what it was. We would yell like go onions on the bench like It's so weird, but you know, it was yeah, that's the story. It's not as, you know, crazy as it seems. Literally we found some probably rotten onions in the closet and took them with us and thought it was a good idea. But clearly it was. Clearly it worked. So I'll say speaker-1: they s did they stay in like the original bag that they they were found in? ⁓ man. speaker-2: They never left They never they never left the onion bag. speaker-0: What a superstition. I mean, this is this is like what the producers at DreamWorks were probably thinking was Shrek, you know, and then ended up springing like four or five movies, you know. Onion onions have layers, ogres have layers. But ⁓ gosh speaker-1: Did they reek? Like I they had to have smelled like crazy. speaker-2: Did they what, sorry? Honestly really didn't. Like I don't know what like they really didn't smell. They didn't look like this is so gross, but they didn't really like look funky either. We were just like we were like, ⁓ no, it's fine. Yeah, I really don't re and it's funny too, 'cause they went directly in the trash can right after we went. It went right in the garbage. Like right after we went, it was like Yeah. We held them around the cup for a little bit and then we decided, you know, we should probably speaker-1: I would have th I would have them like nailed to the wall in like the Yeah in in the locker room. Like those are staying around forever. We were like speaker-0: Every every win gets an onion, you know, it's like when they put pucks up in the playoffs and like they cape it, like that's that's your winning onion. Yeah. speaker-2: Yeah. Yeah, we're gonna need a new bag. ⁓ speaker-0: That's wild. Yeah. God, that's wild. I that's the first time I've heard of a fruit ⁓ superstition, but fruit? We don't judge. I'm sorry, fruit. Wait, no, no, no, no, no. Did I say fruit? Vegetable. Big misconception. Whoops. Yep. speaker-1: I don't think I don't think it's misconception. I think that was just a mistake done. speaker-0: I I get misconstrued on what my fruits and veggies are. I I'm I'm the first guy that would tell you like a tomato well, is a tomato a vegetable? speaker-1: It's a controversy, yeah. 'Cause technically because it has seeds, it's a fruit. speaker-0: Right, right. But they put it in the middle. I don't know. We're getting on a tangent. But yeah, onions. Love it. speaker-1: Onion, rally onions, baby. speaker-0: Rally onions. speaker-2: World audience. speaker-0: Man. All right. So right, you you win the conference. You know, this year you guys are are in a little bit of a different, you know, set of circumstances, more teams, ⁓ a little bit of a different, you know, league now, I believe. So, you know, tell us where the current state of the program is, what your guys goals are for this year going forward. Like where do you want to see eventually Alabama hockey end up in your time as a player? speaker-2: think right now, obviously, yeah, it is definitely ⁓ a different year, more teams, we're in a different league, like scheduling a little difficult. But so I think for this year our main goal is just to, you know, write off our win last year and continue to keep, you know, keep winning, keep doing well. You know, eventually when we go to playoffs, hopefully we can, you know, come home with a win again. That would be great. ⁓ and then overall I think, you know, we all kind of have the the same goal is just to watch the program take take these steps. I mean obviously going to Going into ACHA this year was like a pretty big step for us already in itself, which is amazing. And hopefully, I mean, you know, however long it takes, we hope to take, you know, more of those kind of steps. Whether it's, you know, growing within the ACHA or, you know, just getting a bigger team, even a rank would be great. Obviously, those are those are all things that we'd like to see. But as of right now, we're just focusing on, you know, continue to win and and ride off the momentum we have last year. But we definitely want to see the program, you know, grow as big as it can. Even if you know, even w if I'm not here ten, fifteen years down the road, if we could see Alabama women's hockey, you know, be a lot more popular than it is now, that would be amazing. speaker-1: Yeah. ⁓ I'm I wanna tell a little bit of like a a personal anecdote. It was something that made an impression on me. So back before the playoffs last year, ⁓ I I was putting together a story on ⁓ your team and how they were coming together together in the first year and they were like a a favorite coming into the into conference playoffs and I talked to you and a few other of your teammates ⁓ leading up in that to that week. Anyways, games happen and I think you had taken a couple penalties in like the same game, and I'm working at the scores table. ⁓ and you come into the box and you're you're steaming mad. You're and ⁓ Mr Mr. and Mrs. Carson, I I I can't confirm or deny if she said any expletives, but she was mad, all right? She did not agre she did not agree with we at the agree with the calls. and so the second penalty, you come in and you don't even know what the call is. And so you were like you you say to me, like, what do you even call me for? And I was like, it it was a high stick. You got her. You definitely got her. Like I I was looking at the play. ⁓ and so you you were steaming mad and I was like, By the way, I'm Danny. And you were like and and you there was like a complete switch up and in personality, which was so funny because I was asking your teammates about you, they were like saying like, ⁓ she's like the the sweetest, like she's like a teddy bear and you were like locked in and fiery, and then I saw the switch and that just made like a huge impression on me. So my question to you is, do you think there's like a tangible difference between on ice in game Claire and then out of game Claire, or is it just like there's like shades of gray? speaker-2: You know, honestly, it really does depend. I feel like most of the time most of the time I'm pretty, you know, like bubbly, normal, like happy Claire. Like most of the time. But there's definitely like when I start to play hockey or the game, especially when the game's like intense, like I am not gonna be like not necessarily unhappy, but I definitely feel like I I guess you could say like lock in. I don't really like that, but like lock in more than you know, I would be. Especially like I really I don't know what it is, but I really hate getting penalties. Like I really hate it. Like I really don't like it. It's always been something like since I was literally four years old. Like anytime I get a penalty or like someone's, you know, I do anything like that, I get real I get pretty angry, as you may have seen. But, you know, as soon as as soon as it's like that it's like unrelated, like I kind of just like switch back into being like my normal self. But I do get I do get pretty angry. I mean, I like hate to say it because I feel like I don't get angry. often off ice, but on ice I do get angry, not a lot, but you know, when it's warranted. So like if I miss the net, like I'm gonna get angry and I will, you know, maybe like throw my stick around a little bit. But other than that, I feel like it's really depends on the situation. speaker-0: So I'm guessing you're not a talker on the ice, but ⁓ if somebody says something to you it's it's it's something you w don't want your parents hearing, right? speaker-2: Yeah, for sure. I mean, like I'm not gonna I'm not gonna start it at all. I'm never gonna start it. But if you're gonna say something to me, especially when it's something that's so ridiculously untrue that I just have to be like, Are you serious? Like you're really gonna say that? Because I know you're lying, so I don't know. But like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I won't start it. But if you're gonna if you're gonna start it and say something, then I might have to say something back. Yeah, yeah, exactly speaker-1: It's open season. speaker-0: Admitted. ⁓ I read somewhere that you were a soccer player, is that true? That's ⁓ yeah, go ahead, explain. Yeah. ⁓ speaker-2: That is true, yes. I've actually I've actually played soccer longer than I've played hockey, which is pretty funny to think about. speaker-0: But yeah. Wow. So I mean what what translates from the soccer game to hockey? Similar concept, but I know they've gotta be a pretty different, right? speaker-2: Yeah, I would say they're pretty different. Obviously, positioning wise, ⁓ in soccer, I'm a center midfield. And in hockey, I'm a center. So they kind of translate to each other a little bit. I mean, obviously, like a center is always like a little bit like that you'd like to say that they're more defensive, but obviously, you know, offense is important too. But that kind of translates to it to one another. But, you know, sometimes in soccer I'd play defense and I was like, This is like I this is not helpful. Like I don't know. But sometimes I don't know, like body positioning, things like that, those translate well. But I would say like overall, they're pretty different. I mean, obviously, you know, you have eleven players on the field versus like five. So it's like I don't know. Some translated, some definitely did not, and I like, This is not helpful, but but yeah. speaker-1: How about like getting in shape for one versus the other? Because soccer, you get a pretty good cardio base for that. If hockey like so I've heard, you know, it it's one thing to be just like in shape versus like skating shape and like being like game shape. How do those differ from hockey and soccer? speaker-2: for you? ⁓ I would say like for soccer growing up it was again like you mentioned a lot of cardio like it was always like running and like running logs and a lot of like quick, quick things like quick bursts of things like or we did a lot of circuits. And then for hockey growing up I did a lot it's a lot of like strength training. That's almost always that's like all I did was strength training and then a little bit of cardio at the end just because hockey in itself you get a lot of like cardio regardless. I mean you're out there for like forty seconds and you get off and you're like there back. So You still need cardio, but we did a lot of things where it's like explosive, like explosivity, like jumping, deadlifts, squats, like all of that. That's kind of what I would do a lot like growing up. But sorry, there's a train. But but yeah, that's speaker-0: ⁓ No. speaker-2: Literally ⁓ so annoying. But yeah, I would say they're they're pretty different, but I mean they both like the cardio aspect is definitely very similar for both, but I'd had a lot more strength training for hockey than I did for soccer. speaker-1: By the way, I ha my s my sophomore apartment right next to right next to a a a tra ⁓ train tracks and also right down the street from the fire station. So I'm yeah yeah gr grinding at two thirty studying. I have like so many videos where I'm I'm like delusional, I'm taking videos of myself and it's two thirty and there's like sirens and the train is going. speaker-0: Yeah, I had that experience too at at Central Michigan. There was ⁓ I guess most colleges do, I guess. Like like the late night train and it was like one epic so Yeah. Yeah. This this is a universal thing for us here. Yeah, yeah. Maybe it's 'cause we're into hockey, you know, the goal horns and stuff, but ⁓ Yeah, maybe. Yeah. Well ⁓ you know, I I I this wasn't on a sheet, but I I might as well ask, like for you, I'm sure you can teach a lot about the game to people that don't know about it. I there's been a lot of initiatives with speaker-2: Yeah. Envy. speaker-0: Savannah Prefonte and grow the game. You've obviously met players now that haven't skated a whole lot in their life. So, you know, what do you say to people that and girls specifically to want to pick up hockey? How do you, you know, sort of in all layman's terms, break the ice to entering a game that, you know, is is multifaceted with skating and stick stick work? Like, how do you just tell people the easiest way to get into the game and what can people do to start now if they want to jump in someday? speaker-2: me or like for what I would say would probably be first of all to just like just try it. I feel like a lot of girls that I've met ⁓ are like very hesitant to get on the ice or to try even just a little bit. I know it's very scary, especially if you start late. It is very scary because I mean obviously, you know, I started young so it was it was pretty easy for me to learn because you pick it up quickly. But I mean I think like the biggest thing is just like have confidence and just try because really truly like once you get on the ice and you learn, you know, how to do a proper hockey stride, like from there on, you're fine. And I would say like that's what I would that's my biggest piece of advice is to just go out there and try it and, you know, just try your best to have as much confidence as you can. I mean, like obviously you're gonna fall over, but I mean, eventually you're eventually you're not really. Eventually you're not. Once you do it enough, you're not going to. And yeah, hockey's definitely a very, you know, fast pace. There's lots of other things that, you know, go into being a good hockey player. I mean, you need to have Skills a part of it, but like your IQ is a big part of it as well. So I'd say if you're really, really trying to like look into playing, for me at least, like watching just watching hockey is a big one as well. You know, take the time, watch hockey, see, you know, positioning. That's a really big one. Nowhere to be, all of that. And I think, you know, once you do that, really, I think you you'll be able to play if you just, you know, they take the time to to kind of understand the game and obviously, you know, get out there and try. speaker-1: So speaking of taking time, we've taken a bunch of your time already and th thank you so much. We're gonna have a few lightning lightning round questions. So who on the team in the locker room on the bus? Who hops on aux? Who's the DJ? speaker-2: Who hops on ox? I feel like it's usually like Morgan or Teagan. speaker-1: What's playing? Pardon? What's what's playing on when when they're on aux? Yeah. speaker-2: We play I mean, y it used to be we like we played a lot of remixes. We play a lot of honestly like just like random stuff, like really truly like random. I wouldn't say we play a lot of rap because I mean I don't think a lot of us like rap, but a lot of people do. And then we also like to play pitch perfect riff offs. Okay. speaker-1: I you know what? That came up a bunch when at the Columbus Classic, ⁓ like our group chat of all the interns that were help running it, ⁓ it was like one of the last days and we're getting like delirious from how long we've been at the rink and people are sending in song suggestions and it wa it it was like we entered a different world. I like, I've never heard any of this before, but it was all the pitch perfect, like riff off stuff. Yeah. speaker-2: Yeah, we like we like it's perfect. speaker-0: Well, this might be as clear as pitch perfect in your mind. Favorite memory that comes to you when in your CHS career or even just in general playing hockey? speaker-2: I would say my favorite memory would definitely be winning playoffs. That was really huge for us. And I've like I've growing up, obviously playing hockey, I've been to so many tournaments and I literally have only ever won something as big as that, like one other time, and I was like twelve. And so finally getting something else was like huge. And that's definitely like gotta be my favorite memory for sure. speaker-1: Last thing for me. I I tried to get Savannah to, you know, I don't know, maybe let us in on a little bit of flair. I I don't want to say dirt, but maybe some like fun stuff to bring up. And she was Fort Knox. She didn't say anything. So shout out to Savannah, at least for you. I mean for us. So I guess w let let's turn it around. Any fun stories about Savannah that you'd like me to bring up? speaker-2: Here. Fun stories about Savannah. I mean, she Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, she's already just like I feel like we have a lot of like fun and like random stories. But like I don't really know. I don't know if I can like there's some that I'm like thinking of, but I don't know if I just have them. I think fun stories. Probably just like like last year I went to Huntsville with her for the that one tournament and I can't remember the name, but the the men's tournament. I went there with her speaker-1: That you can tell. That's cop, yeah, yeah. speaker-2: Yes, I went there with her last year and it was just like honestly fun all around. Like getting to spend a you know, a night with Savannah in a hotel room is it's it's very funny and that's all I'll say. But she's just a very, you know, she's very funny she's very funny person to be around and yeah. speaker-1: So the one thing that she mentioned is that I think you were interviewed by AAU after like one of your games at AAU Nationals and you said you you were going to the beach for the first time and that was like a complete lie. speaker-2: Yes. I literally I swear I didn't say that, but everybody on my team was like, Claire, like you made it sound like it's your first time at the beach. And I was like, it's but that's not what I said. Like she asked me, I thought she asked me if we had been to the beach yet. And I said, no, it'll be it'll be my first time going going. But I didn't mean my but I didn't mean my first time at the beach. It just meant my first time at the beach then. And yeah, you know what? That's pretty funny. I mean, Savannah still bugs me about that, like to this day. Like she still brings that up. speaker-0: Not talking about the Lake Ontario or Lake Superior Beach, are we? No. speaker-2: When we were in well, I mean, I've been to that beach. I've been to that I've I live right by like Lake Ontario, I promise you. speaker-0: You know, being from, you know, that region that like the joke is it's a beach but nobody, you know, goes in the water 'cause it's freezing cold. Yeah. speaker-2: Yeah, it really that's so true. I mean th most I'll do is like I don't know, sit there. Like I don't it's kinda boring though to just sit there. I feel like you you kinda just look at it. speaker-0: Ice fishing. Yeah, you can do that. speaker-2: But I don't I don't like fishing, so like speaker-3: There. speaker-0: That's that that's great stuff. One final one for you. What is your pitch to a prospective player that's looking at a place like Alabama? ⁓ and put yourself maybe in the shoes of like somebody that doesn't realize what it is and like you over in the spot. What's your ⁓ what's your ultimatum? What's your your pitch to them? speaker-2: You know, I've talked to a lot of recruits, you know, this past year and the main thing that I tell them when they ask me, you know, about album's hockey and they always ask me, What's your favorite thing about it? And like what is it? And I'm always just saying, first off, that the league and the team in general is just it's like an experience that you won't get anywhere else. It's everybody's working towards this like one goal and it's you're literally making history. And I feel like that's a huge point I like to make people is that you're literally making history and you get to watch it. Right in front of you. I mean, the past few years that that's all I've seen is like how many steps that not only Alabama but every team is taking. And it's something that, you know, you're not gonna get to be a part of anywhere else. And, you know, it's worth giving it a shot. And also just that Alabama Wenthockey as a team, I feel like I've you know, we're not just a team. We really are a family. ⁓ as cheesy as it sounds, we really are. You know, it's a different experience coming from competitive hockey. Everyone competes against each other and it doesn't feel like that. But coming here, that's what it feels like. And not only are you know making history, watching the league grow and you get to be a part of it, but also you're with like twenty of your best friends all at the same time. And, you know, everybody's just just there to have fun. And I feel like that's the main thing. And that's kind of what I would say. speaker-0: That's perfectly said. Couldn't agree more. And you are trailblazing this league by a lot. We're we're looking forward to seeing you become a leader and continue to develop this program. Thanks so much for joining us, Claire. Rockstar episode. We'll talk down the line and good luck with you and that Alabama team the rest of the year. Danny, that might be one of my favorite interviews that I've done personally. Claire, very well spoken, already sounds like a true leader. speaker-2: Thank you. Thanks for having me. speaker-0: Great things are coming for that Alabama program. I know it's a little bit of a weird year for them in the transition of leagues. Just all around the kind of player you want your team and the person to represent the league. speaker-1: Definitely. She has a a good head on her shoulders. This is an exciting one. We we've had a goalie of the year, someone who's played against Gretzky, ⁓ you know, managers and ⁓ you know, the great Bryce K, but never a league MVP. Now that was a first for us. And ⁓ that was an ⁓ VP interview, if you will. speaker-0: I know, and we're only thirteen episodes into this, like the sky's the limit for our, you know, portfolio of guests we've had. I think what stands out to me is is the ⁓ ability of Claire to like go somewhere, take that risk because I think we can all relate to jumping into something we're not a hundred percent sure is what we think it is. And you know, it's a true testament. If you want to go to a school and you don't know if we're talking hockey, they have a team, like they might just have one and then it it turns out to some be something even greater. I think that's a great story for anybody that listens to this and is wondering about their future choices with the school or their stage of life, you know, whether you're in hockey or not. A lot of wisdom from Claire Carson and and only a sophomore. Really looking forward to what Alabama hockey goes to on the woman's side going forward. Let's talk about week ten here. Vets Cup went down a controlling win of that tournament for Middle Tennessee. You said in the the the episode opener, just established themselves as the number one team, better than the other teams there. No disrespect to Tennessee, Alabama, Kennesaw State, but middle Tennessee was in a class their own this weekend. For sure. speaker-1: Seeing them in live or seeing them in person for the first time this year, what stood out to me, and it it wasn't even necessarily a surprise because of the numbers they've been putting up is how connected and ⁓ it seemed like a step ahead that top line was. And the top line I'm referring to is who we had in the podcast last week, Lyndon Palmer, Matt Siciliano, and Tommy Chenchikov. Those guys have a have a chemistry. And when guys with that kind of skill have a chemistry together, it can be dangerous. And they certainly were. ⁓ But it was the cast of characters that kind of filled in the score sheet, funny enough. ⁓ Huren Ogle, brother of Brendan Ogle, ⁓ ended up picking up the the tournament MVP. But I want to talk about that what was our game of the week. Score was a little bit deceptive. Six to one MTSU. ⁓ they got two quick ones. It kind of looked like maybe they were gonna run away with it. Ultimately they did, but beginning of that second period, hello. speaker-0: Let there be light. I'm not in my my cave, yeah. A little bit I I I don't even know how many different studio backgrounds I've had. This is like the fifth or sixth one in this show now. speaker-1: Are they the northern lights? 'Cause apparently they're supposed to be visible here in North Atlanta in the next few days. speaker-0: Those were visible in Florida. I saw a picture this morning on Instagram that ⁓ was somewhere on the east coast. I don't know if it's as far as Boca or Daytona, but I mean we had that what, like geomagnetic storm come through from the sun, like there was a there was a giant gap, yeah. This is n we're you know, we're not even talking hockey here, but like that was nuts to see. ⁓ I think there's cleaning people coming through, but no, like I mean like you were saying about about Middle Tennessee, like what what what looks like to me anyway, and you talk about depth, like the championship win for the conference last year. Their ability to learn from that first weekend losing games to a good UNC Wilmington team, that's undefeated by the way. And then parlaying that into experience and ultimately controlling how they play. The way they go on the ice, it looks like they know exactly where the puck's gonna go, what their plan is, and they've executed it from start to finish so far this year. Yeah. speaker-1: And ⁓ what I was what I was saying before the Northern Lights rudely interrupted me, speaking of lighting it up, middle Tennessee State, boy they score goals. No, but the point I was trying to make was Tennessee only down two to nothing early in the second period. They put together like a pretty good stretch of like five to six minutes where they were controlling the puck. They had a top line of Jacob Sackenheim, Dylan Siegel, and Ben Falicki. Those were the three guys. Top line and they were really they were snapping it around at MTSU hemmed in. ⁓ some close calls, hit a crossbar, had a puck in behind the goalie, believe it was Grant Williams in that game. A story as old as time in hockey, right? Like a bunch of chances at one end. You don't cash in, and then it's just one at the other, and it goes in, it's three to nothing. And you know, two probably felt like a mountain to climb, and then three three felt like it was impossible. Ended up being six to one. And then MTSU just ran KSU's show in the championship game. ⁓ yeah. Undisputed number one, I would say. Have to be, right? speaker-0: By the time this recording comes out, you're gonna see new rankings. And I challenge people to look for not just what the graphics sees, but go into the raw data and look at the the ⁓ strength of schedule. Look at the the game performance score because they have one of the best game performance scores so far in the country. I think it's above four point ⁓ right now. Most teams average around if you're in the top thirty, thirty-five, three point ⁓ close to two and a half. They are winning games, but they're winning them handily. And I think the computer is recognizing that. And that's going to be key to them staying where they are. Now, still a lot of hockey to play. Still need to continue to improve and make their strength of schedule worth it. I have no doubt though that that they've got things in the right motion and and they're gonna be one that we talk about now. I mean I mean, we're getting the middle season and we're gonna have a long break coming up. We're gonna be talking about them at the end of the year, not just for conference, but nationally. Congrats to The Blue Raiders on their win. Also should mention that Alabama and Kennesaw State took on each other a five three Kennesaw State win. They've had a really up and down start to the year, banged up lineup here and there. Reese Lego picked up a second period hat trick against the Crimson Tide and of course played Middle Tennessee the next day. Didn't go so well. speaker-1: Yeah, they they play together and they're they didn't really have the bite they usually had in in their game. Yeah, that was one thing that surprised me. They they showed a little bit of it in the MTSU game, but at that point the game had already been decided virtually. ⁓ and I think that's something they're gonna have to do but find a way to stay out of the box. If they can or if even if you you're taking the penalties, drag the other team into it. Drag the other teams into the fight. Wha who have the teams that have been the most successful recently? Teams like Florida and you know, Vegas and Tampa a few years ago. Those teams dragged you into the fight. They're physical, they were in your face. Those are it's an uncomfortable game and they didn't really have that necessarily. ⁓ I know they're banged up. They don't have, you know, they're not at full strength. But I'm sure a lot of teams are in the same way. No one's gonna feel sorry for them. They're not gonna get special consideration in the rankings. And their upcoming schedule are those three teams in the Veterans Cup. They play Alabama this upcoming weekend. They play MTSU ⁓ the weekend after that and then they finish up with a single game against Tennessee. Those are all ⁓ three teams. You're gonna have to you're gonna have to win. If if if they wanna if they even have a hope at nationals, you're gonna have to win a majority of those, which is scary to think about 'cause one of the two of those games are against number one, but you know, you don't really have an an option. speaker-0: I believe James Kravis and that group want that though. That's a that's a crew that needs the development and some growing pains are necessary. They sure had one. But the other game, Tennessee, beat Alabama seven to five for the third place consolation to wrap up ⁓ Veterans Cup weekend out in Huntsville, Alabama. Our final tournament until we get to the college hockey south one all the way in late February. Let's talk about some other games that went around. USF traveled to Miami and by golly, huge. Huge scores, thirteen to one, eleven to two. I don't know if we reverse jinx to Miami. We were talking about this being a sleeper team. They must have heard the predictions on the bull side 'cause this was pure another domination. Yeah. speaker-1: USF seems to be on that plateau of MTSU as far as Division Three goes. They seem to be a little bit ahead of the pack. ⁓ Miami said they were Jekyll and Hyde, and it looks like we got we we didn't get the good Miami this weekend. They're gonna be in a fight the rest of the way to try and get into the playoffs because it's important to mention our division three playoffs, college hockey south playoffs, the top twelve teams will advance to the playoffs. And those are decided by ACHA rankings. speaker-0: Well, hey, some news right there, right? I mean, that conference tournament's gonna matter. We we believe in every opportunity that they have to keep themselves in attention because like we preface to people, those rankings are gonna change. The Michigan schools are gonna get a little more strength of schedule, we believe. You could see you know, if you drop a CHS game here or there, it could affect you in, you know, your your s your strength of schedule, your you know, and how much you lose by, especially. For you, SF looking at their schedule I really stand out to me as we'll talk about their weekend with Tampa ⁓ two, but they're gonna have the Clearwater Jamboree in early December. And I really think that there's good spots for them to really secure a spot with UCF, Tampa, who they're gonna play a couple of times here as we go on with the latter half of the year. Just a strong team. And I know every week it seems like we're talking about the same guys. You know who, you know, Jacob Duhaim, Grant Dietz. For them speaker-1: Let's give him a nickname for the podcast. We'll okay, we'll we'll we'll cut we'll circle back because we'll speaker-0: Circle back to this, yeah. I don't want to force anything. I don't want to force anything. Yeah. Well you you threw the you threw it out there, so so you know, you gotta come up with something, but but don't force it, you know. Well and we gotta get one of these guys on at some point. I mean we we can't talk about these two every episode and not have them on as a guest at some point. But congrats to the Bulls on their weekend sweep CF and Embry Riddle. This was number fifteen versus number eighteen. CF fifteen, embrydle eighteen. Entertaining series. ⁓ speaker-1: That's speaker-0: After their little hiccup with the Spartans in the battle at the beach, Embry Riddle got back on track four to two and three to two wins over the nights, and both games were back and forth. It it really felt like for Embry Riddle, seeing the little bit I did just, you know, you know, box score wise, that they had a big series for different guys, like depth, four different goal scorers in one of them. Like Gerard Keane is a is a standout product, former OHL guy. Rowan Luke seems to be all over their special teams. He had a shorthanded goal. And they had one in each game and that was really the difference for the Ice Eagles in this series. Yes. speaker-1: We gotta start talking about the podcast bump eventually because Coach Joyce has come on and the boy the the boys were already rolling. The Ice Eagles were doing their thing. Okay, so I don't wanna I don't want the podcast to take a hundred percent credit, but man, they've been rolling. Is there a hotter team? Maybe save for middle Tennessee State, obviously. But there is a is there a hotter team in all of college hockey south across every single division than Embry Riddle Division Three? speaker-0: I just don't think there's a better story. The way that they have, for lack of better words, been trying to get to a level where they can compete, you know, get to a point where they are in the conversation for their conference. Nationally, it hasn't worked out in their favor. The ACHA, arguably a tougher league, and they are right in the mix of teams that we could see down the line. And I I think this is, you know, against the team that's closely ranked a a a good omen for them. Really great job by Bob Joyce and that staff, you know, I believe the stat we have here is that they've won seven of their last eight games, if you, you know, include the Battle of the Beach. So big things are happening still out there in Daytona. So be on the lookout for Ember Riddle in the rankings this week. Tampa M2 traveled to Fairfield with the Staggs. Commanding series victory for them, six to four and seven to four against the team they beat at AAU Nationals last year. They then traveled over Quinnipia, won over the Bobcats nine to two. Tampa M2 looks to be back on track with Nick Kuzlik's squad that we know had injury troubles. We hope they're getting that cleaned up as they have a really competitive contest coming up with USF here this weekend. Florida Atlantic M2, and Florida was the other M2 conversation. And weekend for Florida Atlantic, they take down in all three games. Another team that I didn't know was so banged up, but Florida had a couple of guys out. They were down to about three and a half lines and This helps the Owls a ton after they looked not so great against Tampa. Got swept by there. They they got upset by Embury Riddle. The story in this one though was their transfer from NCAA division one, Jackson Newendike, six goals total in the weekend. He had a hat trick in game one, a power play goal in each of the last two. And even though we're gonna, you know, preface Florida was banged up, this is a a a comeback performance for FAU when they were, you know, feeling like the the third team in line in that division. speaker-1: It it seems like week to week we can't make heads or tails of our division two. ⁓ one week it was like Tampa's the toast of the town, they three game sweep over FAU, one of those was the game of the week. They go out to Lindenwood, they hang in there a little bit, but ultimately lose those two games. Then they have ugly series against Florida, and Florida's the toast of the town. FAU takes all three. Like what's going on, man? Who knows? Yeah, I I know that FAU's got a bunch of different ⁓ forwards mixed in that weren't on the team last year. Probably takes ⁓ you know, ⁓ a few weekends ⁓ to develop that chemistry. It's one thing to have talent, but another thing to have the chemistry and ⁓ you know, the familiarity. We talked about that with MTSU. ⁓ so maybe we're starting to see that with them. ⁓ it could be a real factor. ⁓ Flor if you have Florida missing guys, it happens, right? Like there there's nothing you can do. Are we gonna You know, take points away from FAU for beating a Florida team that's injured. No. You know, they beat the team that's in front of them. So FAU did a great job. Shout out to them. speaker-0: It's a beautiful thing when you can still say that a league is wide open. And I know Tampa is what they are. They are the number one team right now. Florida Atlantic right now is second in the regular season standings. Of course, it all kind of will play out the same way. What's interesting is we're going to find out our first men's division two rankings. They were a little bit delayed nationally for a week, and they're going to be in the Southeast region. I am so curious to find out, maybe even more than M3, what that looks like, which of those teams gets placed in makes the graphic. They're all fighting for a regional spot in February. That's the way you get to nationals in that league, that division two. So things are wide open and conference fans have a lot to look forward to for all three teams still. A lot to play for everybody. Florida ACDC and Florida State A C D C in the Battle of Jacksonville. Two sides we just talked about. Battle at the beach, it was a great win for Florida State. They, you know, took that all the way into a championship in that tournament. But Florida gets the revenge. A three to one win from Vistar Arena. They wore the ⁓ the specialty jerseys, I believe, too, for this one. Mm-hmm. Pretty cool just to get to play in a big barn like that. You've got the the team graphics on the screen. I know the ice probably felt pretty fresh, and this is awesome for both fan bases to to get a split here. speaker-1: It it seems like that could be a preview of what the conference championship game ends up looking like. ⁓ two really, really good teams. ⁓ I'm sure it felt amazing for Florida to get that a win back. Both both games that on a really elevated stage, you know, Battle at the Beach, tournament atmosphere, game of the week, and then you go and play in ⁓ ten thousand plus seat arena and it's for a good cause and everything, Veterans Day weekend had to be really, really cool for Florida. to you know, tie the season series back up. We might see the the rubber match in the conference championship game. speaker-0: I'm thinking the same thing here. I you know, Florida Tech, I'm still pretty high on them. You know, before we keep going further, just should recognize too that Veterans Day just wrapped up and I have military people in my family. You talked about it last week, Danny. So awesome to see all the players come through, all the donations, the camouflage, sweaters. I believe UCF and Embry Riddle were rocking some of those. Florida State, it's it's terrific, and we cannot stress enough how much service members mean for our country. We thank you if you are a service member listening. For your service, for your sacrifice to this country. And there's no bigger game in my mind, no better game than a than a veteran in hockey. Because I think a lot of those things translate, you know, grittiness, tough. You have to be the most agile, most athletic person to play the game. So really awesome to see everybody get involved with Veterans Day festivities, whether you were in Vets Cup or not. Another series that went on in this rivalry, the Chomp versus the Chop, third week in a row, we've said it. Whatever. I don't know if it's actually true or not, what people say. The woman's side ⁓ took on each other, although I believe the ⁓ Florida won this game. So I think they take all three games in that series. speaker-1: Sure did. Sure did. Yeah. Good to see. ⁓ an another dominant performance from Marissa Bonia. I think we're gonna have more on her in a bit. But hey, ⁓ another note on ⁓ playoff formatting and we're gonna have ⁓ standings graphic and article to come out so we can have more clarity and ⁓ you know, people aren't left in the dark about it. But women's division broke into north and south divisions. We'll be taking three teams from each division and then there will be two wildcard teams. Those based on conference games and points. And as of now, after this weekend, Florida would be the third team going to playoffs from the South Division, which is, you know, all Florida teams. So that's very, very exciting. First year program. Kinda like a similar story to Clemson, perhaps, where they don't have the numbers, maybe not the quantity, but they've got the quality, obviously. I hearing that anecdotally from from the Tampa players talking about how competitive of a game that was, even though they're short on skaters. Big win for Florida. Both of ⁓ both wins. speaker-0: With a family member that graduated from Florida. Kind of partially like like to see that. That Florida State Women's Program doesn't take away from them. Getting their feet wet, figuring things out as well. That leads us into our three stars of the week. First star went to the performance by one of Middle Tennessee's best, and ⁓ and not someone we talk about all the time on this pod, but Kiera Ogle. Four goals, four apples, eight points in those two games, named Tournament MVP. Dan, I know you went to extent already about how that looked. But explain to me what it was like to see Ogul and just the style that he plays with for MTSU. ⁓ speaker-1: ⁓ I don't know if you said Kira or Kieran, but I don't I don't think it's that big of a deal, Gavin. We we can just keep rolling. I I'll look like a good It's Kieran. Yeah. Let's just keep let's just keep rolling. ⁓ Kieran, you you you played a fantastic ⁓ tournament. And he kinda plays a complimentary role, you know, not to denigrate the young man. He had a heck of a weekend, obviously, but ⁓ the focus goes really on the top line with Palmer, Chenchikov, and Siciliano, obviously, with how much they produce. speaker-0: Did I say did I say Kir Ogle? speaker-1: But yeah, he was just a steady force, playing on the same line as his brother, which has to be pretty cool. Seeing a lot of ⁓ the goals this weekend, Ogle from Ogle, which was you know, I can't imagine playing on the same line as my brother. I don't I don't think we would we would score very much. speaker-0: Fair enough. Congrats to Kieran Ogle for the first star of the week in College Hockey South. Second star, Florida's Marissa Bonilla, nine goals in two games against Florida State. And the third star of the week, Tampa M3's Tyler Hofberg for his performance against Florida Atlantic, four goals and four assists himself, eight points over in South Florida. That Tampa M3 group, we've talked about them a lot, number two team in the country at the time of this recording. And they are deep. And you mentioned teams that get under your skin that are gonna be in your face. They were all over Florida Atlantic in this one. ⁓ fourteen to five and nine to four wins over there, led by Hofberg and company. A couple of guys with hat tricks in there. Yanni Satsulin, Brennan Sickles. Really deep stuff they have over there on that group. Looking ahead for week eleven, we'll turn it back to South Florida for Clemson traveling down to Florida Atlantic. Now two ⁓ three teams that could be competing. for the cut line this year when we get to playoffs. Not exactly the formatting set and secure, but Danny, I I have a feeling these two teams are in a very similar position. And coming out of this series, I feel like we'll be the per s the team that gets into the conference tournament ultimately. speaker-1: Definitely. Both teams still trying to find themselves, I would say. Clemson lost a lot of players from their team last year. There went the lights again. ⁓ goodness. ⁓ I hope that's not a nomen. Clemson, but they they got a big split with South Florida a few weekends ago. ⁓ and they had their series last weekend canceled, unfortunately. They were supposed to play Christopher Newport, but they're heading down to to Boca, maybe starting to feel themselves a little bit, starting to play some better hockey after losing a couple of ugly games to Middle Tennessee to start the year. speaker-0: That game of the week will be Friday, November 14th at 7 30 PM East. Want to remind folks the criteria a little bit. It is about the strength of the game. Owl TV, though, and this is objectively. Does a great job with their broadcast. You can watch this game on Owl TV both Friday and Saturday. Friday's game will be at Boca Ice Center, and Saturday's will be at be at the Panthers Ice Den out in Coral Springs, Florida. So I'm traveling for two sides and ⁓ Comes down to ice time for Florida Atlantic. That's why the games are played at those two different ranks. Florida ⁓ two will travel up to Old Miss for a weekend with the Rebels at the mid South Ice House. And visiting a an Old Miss team, former college hockey South, they are struggling. One five, one and ⁓ This seems like a great opportunity for Frank Pasquale's group that's banged up right now to get back on track. Yep. speaker-1: And I I believe this goes hand in hand with ⁓ the the Florida football gators going to Oxford to play Ole Miss and those series are becoming more commonplace and ⁓ amongst the SEC schools. So that that that's cool to see. Yeah, good opportunity for Florida playing another Division Two team. ⁓ as we saw from the other teams that have been on the wrong end of sweeps at at CHS's division two. You wanna nip this in the bud immediately. You don't wanna want the the bad vibes to continue. It you know, it's not as easy as it sounds, right? And they're short staffed, they're a little banged up, but you know, you wanna turn turn the ship right back in the right direction as soon as possible. speaker-0: Should be noted too that Zach Selmanski will sit out game number one after serving a two game suspension, but he'll be back for their game, I believe it's on Sunday, so a little bit of a weird not Sunday, excuse me, ⁓ a Thursday and a Saturday schedule, if I'm not mistaken, out there in Olive Branch, Mississippi. speaker-1: Those Zelmanskis play a rough brand of hockey. I love it. I love both of them. Zach and Zarek for the ACDC squad, a number six, seven, double Z, Z Z. But yeah, they talk about in your face physical brand of hockey. The Zellmanski's. I've really enjoyed watching them play both of them. speaker-0: So so I you know, I'll j I'll just I'll just point it out. ⁓ this weekend I may have called Zach Zarek close to about twenty times and didn't realize that it was yes, the other Silmatsky, because I you know, I I've seen the ACDC Florida team and I'm thinking in my mind, like I have it written down too. Like it's one of those those things when you're calling a game sometimes, you don't realize the one thing, like and and full disclosure, you know, I I try to prep as well as I can, study the roster before the game know them. It just happens, but I I felt so bad and I tried to find him after and I couldn't. So if you listen to this, Zach, I'm sorry for calling you Zarek and maybe vice versa if I got him mixed up, but no, they do. Za Zach is a guy that flies around, he's a bowling ball, and he's not afraid to get in your face. And we saw a little bit of that with ⁓ a scrap with Daniel Toe for FAU. Someone they need with you know, like we mentioned, needing to get back on track. And we expect them to go into all ⁓ Olive Branch, Mississippi and compete in that series. Moving things along. Alabama and Kennesaw State. You talked about the Vets Cup, these two teams played each other. ⁓ AC won five to three out in Huntsville. Alabama is still without a conference win this season. O eight ⁓ and ⁓ Tough to see. We ⁓ hope that we and you know, Alabama's competing. They actually competed really well with Middle Tennessee a few weeks ago. So it's unfortunate. Maybe they get their first conference win this weekend. And elsewhere going on an ⁓ three. UCF travels to Miami on Friday and Saturday. Both these teams played each other. a year ago in their season opener. UCF took the first game four to three and Miami took it four to two. These are two ranked teams. Miami top twenty. UCF coming off being number fifteen. We'll see where they're at by Friday. Competitive series last year, and I think this is one that people can, at least their supporters, look forward to, can go either way. speaker-1: Sure. I mean, we'll mention it again. Don't know which Miami will get. You would have to think they've got a chip on the shoulder wanting to get back after, you know, some ugly scores against USF. ⁓ and UCF I mean, a loss is a loss at the end of the day, but when you're talking about rankings that can take in consideration, you know, how bad the loss is as as far as goal differential and everything. UCF had a couple of tight ones against Henry Riddle, Miami. You know, did they lose both by ten Ten goals to USF, that's hard to overcome when you're in a battle for for ranking. So gotta be a a whole lot of ⁓ fire going to this one for Miami. speaker-0: Final game to look at for this weekend, at least ones we'll sort of preview. Florida women's travels to USF. So our friend Lizzie Pinogen will play this Florida team again. Hopefully this time they have the referees scheduled correctly and they don't play with just one that they borrowed from a men's league game. ⁓ Us USF won on October twenty fifth, sixth to two, and you know, Florida, it's against Florida State, but they are coming off three straight wins. speaker-1: Yep, and it features two of the premier offensive talents in in the conference, Chloe Valente and ⁓ Marissa Bonilla. I both multiple times stars of the week. So we might have to put them on Chunchikov Island. We call that Braden Curry Island, Grant Dietz Island. ⁓ I actually saw it in the comment section 'cause our three stars post came out today. One of Marissa's teammates ⁓ commented almost immediately was like, Second week in a row? And I was like, Yeah, you want to avoid that, but ⁓ hey, I mean it She she's making it hard to not put her in, right? And that that's what ⁓ all these players have done. So speaker-0: You know, y you just harped on something there, the islands. These are groups or duos that are in ⁓ you know different states. So I don't know if there's any islands out in Tennessee. Like if there's a lake or anything. But you know, is that what we roll but you know that I think of Tennessee when you think of Rocky Top. So what do you call middle Tennessee? ⁓ speaker-1: There's old Rocky Time. I don't know. speaker-3: Right. speaker-0: I mean those guys are lightning in a bottle every time they touch the ice. Maybe you could do something there with with you know it it being a blue raider and all. I don't know. I'm just I'm just spit spitballing. I don't even know if this is gonna go in. Gavin's probably gonna keep this in, but ⁓ you know, we'll we'll figure something out. We'll give you more time to think about your nickname for the ⁓ US F men's Bulls. But, you know, on that woman's side, really looking forward to that for for Chloe Valente. ⁓ I've mentioned this pod before former Michigander and ⁓ speaker-1: Outside of all Rocky Top. speaker-0: There's an extra bump this week, you know. With it being Veterans Weekend, we did celebrate, if you're a Michigander, the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Just saying, I don't know if that's a bump for Chloe Valente, but ⁓ you know, I would if I were her, I would go for at least six or seven goals in honor of the Edmund Fitzgerald. What a great episode. What a great conversation with Claire. Mm-hmm. I I'm ⁓ anticipating that M3 is gonna shake up a lot. I hope people aren't too upset. If the computer favors those northern teams. But hey, Middle Tennessee is gonna stay as the number one team. Tampa ain't going anywhere. USF ain't going anywhere. And we ain't going anywhere. Thanks everybody for listening to another edition of College Hockey Mouth. A sit down with Claire Carson. We'll be back next week for another one. Enjoy the rest of your week, everyone, and good luck in your games.