Latest / College Hockey Mouth / Episode 22: Christian Sousa | Kennesaw State University Hockey

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Episode 22: Christian Sousa | Kennesaw State University Hockey · College Hockey Mouth

• speaker-0: Episode 22 of College Hockey Mouth, a College Hockey South Podcast. We are happy to bring you another edition here. Before we start this one, we'd like to ⁓ bring awareness to the hazardous conditions going on around the eastern part of the United States. Hope everyone's staying warm and safe out there. Some cancellations are happening around games. Ineffitable with the amount of ice and snow we're seeing. In places that aren't used to it, so with all of the safety concerns, be sure to take an extra hour or two to get what your team needs this weekend and err on the side of caution. We hope everybody gets to their locations, games or not, in a s manner. But we've got a great interview coming up for today's episode. This one is with one of the leading members of the Kennesaw State Men's Division Three Hockey Club. He's a senior and is a homegrown kid. Please welcome to the podcast, Christian Sousa. Christian, welcome to Kalachaki Mouth. speaker-1: Hello guys, thank you for having me. This is great. speaker-0: One of our CHS European All Stars, so excited to talk about that a bit with you and Danny Baum who went over on that trip. But before we do, let's kind of bring in your background. You're from Noonan. ⁓ you know, you said in the the pre questions you started at a very young age. So tell us about ⁓ growing up in the South and how you got into hockey. speaker-1: Yeah, so my parents are actually from Pittsburgh and ⁓ dad moved down here for a job and ⁓ you know there's not too much hockey around here, but ⁓ we worked with what we had. We he moved down to Noonan and all that was there was roller hockey. So I started out at five years old. My brother he played before me and ⁓ he taught me the ways, he'd teach me how to skate and ⁓ I was off from there. I played in a roller hockey league in Peachtree City, which is a town over and It's just all spiraled from there really. I mean, I grew up playing roller until I was about sixteen. And I played ice at center ice for the first time with the travel team. So roller has definitely influenced me a lot more than ice hockey has, but it's so everything about it is great. So speaker-2: Yeah, I so I moved down here when I was twelve and the biggest thing, well, arguably the biggest sport down here is really baseball, you know, in in the Atlanta area. Were you strictly a hockey guy or were were you into other sports? speaker-1: No, I yeah, I definitely experimented. I tried out baseball for a little bit. Baseball, I had football for one season, that didn't go so well. But yeah, baseball was my other sport that I really tried out to the maximum. I mean I played I just played fallball and stuff like that, but I tried to get to a travel team, but I realized I was like, you know what, it's not really for me. I enjoyed hockey a lot more. So I my dad he said, Gotta make a decision. So stuck with hockey though. Glad I did. speaker-0: Right off the bat, are you a penguins fan or did you lean towards the thrashers when you got down here? speaker-1: I was a Penguins fan, even through the Thrashers I was still a Penguins fan. So my dad parents bled through me. So but do miss the Thrashers a lot, for sure. speaker-2: had the the reboot of the thrashers though. I'm I'm looking forward maybe they won't be the thrashers. Maybe they'll give them a a third name. The third try they get a a new name. But ⁓ what do you guys think about another NHL team coming to Atlanta? I'm sure we'll have much different opinions than you, Devon, since you're not an Atlanta guy. I think it would be absolutely incredible and it would do a whole lot better now. speaker-1: I I would agree, I'd say so. But I I think yeah, they have to get the right area 'cause I th I don't think downtown worked. But where they want it now, like at the Alfred area, northern Atlanta, that's where I think most of the hockey fan base would be. So I I think it's worth a shot, but I do want them to come back as the Thrashers. speaker-0: For sure. That's an interesting point you make. Down here in South Florida, a lot of fans share that sentiment where North Broward is where a lot of the Panthers fans are, and that's where they built the arena, but it's still far away from a lot of big neighborhoods that led, you know, Panthers fans. Like you have to drive there. So I feel that kind of sentiment with where the Thrashers were, like you're saying, there at State Farm Arena downtown. I think it used to be All State Arena. So Phillips. ⁓ wow. I don't want to get suited. Boom. speaker-2: Phillips. speaker-0: Free advertising for three companies right there. Are you kidding me? But but you know, I I yeah, like do you think that the state of Atlanta is ready for that? I know they have a minor league team, I believe the Gladiators, right? But are they ready for that kind of return? speaker-1: That's definitely over my pay grade, but ⁓ I know personally I am. But yeah, I I'm skeptical, but I I think it I think they're ready. But I mean, everything's been going down here. I mean, the cooler mainstay rank that's been up for thirty plus years just got shut down last week or last year for pickleball. So I mean there's there's so it's we'll see. That's all I can say. speaker-2: Insane decision. You mentioned the the gladiators. They're called the Atlanta Gladiators, but that they really tax the definition or you know the use of ⁓ the city name. It's like ⁓ like the Bears, how they're about to move to Indiana and they're still gonna be called the Chicago Bears. Are there I would say the rank where they play is like minimum 45 minutes away from Atlanta, but you're gonna It's gonna take over an hour to get there. So we really don't know how Atlanta's gonna ⁓ react, whether they'll fully embrace it. ⁓ I think it'll be I think if they go with go into it with a plan like how the Braves built their stadium and surrounding area, I think a lot of professional organizations have looked at that as a model to build and and to create. I don't know how we got on this conversation. Southern hockey, Georgia, speaker-0: Why not? speaker-2: We have another Georgia person on here, Devin. We we have all these kids that come on that are from, you know, Minnesota and Michigan and New Jersey for God's sakes. I'm sick of the New Jerseyans. I know. Another Georgia person on here. speaker-0: It's non traditional and and and you eat it up, right? Like it's it we could have like like an hour discussion about the NHL and what it means and expansion, whatever. So, you know, for you, I mean, you said the the roller hockey background. So unique. I I know a person from ⁓ you know, that was a coach and still is in the ACHA that went down to Florida a lot for roller hockey. Did you guys get to travel to a lot of tournaments growing up? Or was it like kind of out of your main rink at home? speaker-1: It was that we would have local tournaments all around Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee area. But there was always a big tournament, it's called State Wars. That's where that's the big roller hockey tournament and well what they used to do was we would have evaluations and you would represent the state. So we would represent Georgia and then go to believe it was in Chicago one year, Detroit another, Saint Louis another year and you'd battle out battle it out with different states and that was cool and fun growing up. But ⁓ Not sure the state of it now. I think it shut down for COVID for a little bit, but then it picked back up and they're starting to do the do to do the actual state wars aspect of it. How'd you guys do in the speaker-2: How'd guys do in the State Wars tournaments? Do you have any good runs? speaker-1: One of the COVID years we won we ended up winning. I think it was twenty one. But that was that wasn't actually representing the state. We just took our own team and we would just go and register with the tournament. But years before that, I don't remember I don't think we ever won a championship. I think we got to one, but we never won one. Did speaker-0: Did that play of roller hockey translate to the ice, like succinctly, or was it more of a, Hey, I gotta figure out here to step here, get my hips in this place? What was the transition from roller to ice? Since you started I think you said what, ice hockey around sixteen? speaker-1: That's correct. Yeah, it's it's definitely a lot more positional on ice. Roller you can do whatever you want wherever you want, really. I mean, there's no offsides, no icing, four guys. So I mean the flow of the game is a lot different, but I think besides the skating really, everything transitioned pretty smoothly, I would say. Yeah, getting the edges and stopping, that that one took a little bit. speaker-2: Yeah. ⁓ so you're a you're a I would say an offensively minded defenseman. Now were you a forward to start or have you always just had that ⁓ that itch to be offensively involved? speaker-1: For as long as I can remember, I've always been a defenseman. I think maybe I was a forward between the ages of like five to nine or ten, but after that I was like I don't know what made me come to the realization of a defenseman, but it kinda just stuck as soon as I had it one time. But yeah, I've always been offensively minded for sure. speaker-2: Yeah, you you rack up the assists. God, I I I wish I had this on hand, but you were one of our stars of the month. ⁓ and I think your numbers were like you had no goals but like nine assists in four games. And one of the top comments was one of your teammates like, dude, you can shoot the puck. It's okay if you can shoot. speaker-1: I hear it all the time in the locker room, yeah. Yeah, I'd not not typically the one to light the lamp, but I definitely like giving up the puck. I'll let someone else do it. speaker-0: It's easier when it goes wrong than you don't have yourself to blame. You just be like, ⁓ that guy, you know, whiffed on his one timer, his ⁓ his snapper. Kennesaw State, pretty close to home. It feels like it was ⁓ pretty natural for you to go. Was it? Did you have anywhere else in mind and and what led you to kind of playing for the the ice hockey team there? speaker-1: I mean really pretty much the ice hockey was a big factor in my decision. I really only applied to a handful of schools and they were all in state and I knew I didn't have the grades for like a Georgia or Georgia Tech, so this was the result and ⁓ glad I made the decision for sure. speaker-2: Yeah, so ⁓ a little bit of ⁓ unwanted and not no one asked for this background, but I started my club hockey career covering the Kennesaw State team and I believe it was the last year before ⁓ Kyle Stevenson took over as head coach and team struggled a little bit, but I believe you were on that team. What what's been the biggest difference in your eyes in the program since Coach Stevenson has taken over? speaker-1: That is a good question. I would say we are definitely more organized. We would constantly be in a battle with the school and club sports, with turning in forms on time, doing the correct pre game stuff, whatever it is. We're we were always in trouble. But since Kyle's come to the program, it's definitely the organization has stepped up and we have a good board, good group of guys running the team now. So it's definitely we're definitely in a better place than we were. speaker-0: And you as a senior have seen so many evolutions of this owl group. Like have you guys ever, you know, felt like the program was was gonna be in jeopardy for a bit? And how have you and others kind of steered it in a better direction and and made it now where you're a a fully traveling bunch and you guys go to all different places and compete for, you know, what's what's gonna be soon a title? Yeah. speaker-1: Yeah, I mean, really, I mean the transition from D two to D three helped a lot. We were D two for the longest time and we struggled, definitely. But with the mixture of dropping down to our skill level and a little bit more recruiting, over the years we we've definitely built up ourselves to be more successful in the past three years. speaker-2: That first season with ⁓ Coach Stevenson, you guys made it all the way to nationals. ⁓ didn't didn't ⁓ pan out the way you probably thought it would. ⁓ do you have memories of that season and when you guys started to realize like, hey, this team's different, we can really do something? speaker-1: Man, that that feels like a long time ago. Yeah. Yeah, I mean I don't I would say we had a weekend against High Point and that was a really good team. They were a good D two team that year and we stuck with them throughout the both games. We didn't end up coming out with the W either of the games, but we stuck with them and we I think we rode that momentum throughout the rest of the fall semester and we definitely rode on the back of our goalies that year. Connor Lackley ⁓ Tavy On Dees who's now at U GA it they were definitely a big help and big reason as to why we were successful that year. speaker-2: It's a stud, by the way. Both of those guys were absolute studs, Devin. I followed that team closely because I was involved with the KSU back then. And ⁓ I mean they they were absolute battlers in the net. Super, super fun to watch. And yeah, that that high point team most recently, I think they were in the national championship for AAU D two last year. So that was that that team was for real. speaker-1: For sure. speaker-0: I've seen Tavion D's right when he was, you know, at Georgia last year and ⁓ I mean stood on his head against Florida State. They were really good in their tournament. So you've played with a lot of great guys and obviously the the CHS Europe trip, it was you, ⁓ Sebastian Zamborski, James Kravis, you know, what what was that experience like getting to go with those guys, along with, you know, Kyle Stevenson and getting to to represent a bit for a program that I think has really stepped it up in the last couple of years. speaker-1: Yeah, it was a unreal experience. ⁓ definitely a trip of a lifetime. Yeah, I mean, everything about the trip was fantastic. I mean I props to Kyle, ⁓ Kyle now for organizing it all and getting it all together. It was a lot of fun and all the teams we played, it was great. It was great competition. ⁓ Yeah, I mean I w I came into it, you know. You know, these guys are good at hockey on our on our side of things. ⁓ these guys are good at hockey. Hopefully we can like I don't know, Bond from that, but I was think I was a little skeptical going into it, but after the first game, all the guys they were they were great. They were beauties, for sure. ⁓ it was just a an amazing experience. Yeah, who speaker-2: ⁓ who was your D partner? Was it ⁓ Campania Bimmer? I I I think they refer to him as or Bim. speaker-1: Pony, yeah. Dimmer? Bim. ⁓ yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I saw that somewhere. I don't know. I don't get I don't know the reference, but if you I mean speaker-2: I'd never heard the story behind it either, but they call ⁓ Bim. speaker-0: I don't either. I have to find this out. Yeah, it's it's super unique. ⁓ what's kind of a memory that comes to light to you ⁓ about Bim or some other guys from that that experience? speaker-2: That you can say. speaker-1: Yeah, that I can say on here. Yeah. ⁓ I would say just like after every shift, every guy on the bench was there patting you on the back, letting you know it was even if it wasn't a great shift, it was it was a good shift. It was good hockey, it was good job out there. It was every time. Didn't matter what happened on the ice, it was always supportive and that that really stuck out to me the most I would say. speaker-2: Something else that that stuck out not only for you but for a lot of people on the team. Right before the day we were gonna fly back, we had our travel messed up. We're not gonna mention the airline because we don't we don't want to body bag them on here. Do you wanna break that down, ⁓ what that experience was like for you and you know what that last game was? I know just about everyone on the team had issues with travel and that game was a little bit of a gong show because of the stress. Yeah. speaker-1: That was a it was a bit of a fever dream, to be honest. I mean going from the last game, let's cherish every moment to ⁓ we're not getting home. We gotta figure this out. And then all of a sudden go to the bu we get the message, go to the bus, we're going to the rink, and it's like we don't have anything figured out. It was surreal. But ⁓ yeah, we banded together and we we got the W in the end and we all figured out and made it home safely, so Can't ask for much worse or much better. speaker-0: Would you say there was more hockeyisms and by that I mean the travel and your gear and coordinating with the fellas? Was there more of that on this Europe trip than than what you experienced in roller hockey? Or how do the two compare? speaker-1: I would say you mean like just like the camaraderie and stuff? speaker-0: That and also the behind the scenes, I guess, to get into the ice. In roller hockey you don't have as much I think like you still have as much gear, right? But it's not as like yeah, bulky as hockey. So, you know, ⁓ did roller hockey feel like that? Was it tougher to get around places or was was the Europe side different? speaker-1: I would say well that's tough. I mean, getting all the gear, the sticks, the new gear that we received, the backpacks, the jerseys, it was a lot to lug around. So I'd say it was definitely more difficult getting that everywhere. But like I said, in the end, everything worked out, so can't complain. speaker-2: And in roller hockey, did you have to ever deal with any Romanian bus drivers who may have may have been on two two hours of sleep? And yeah, Devin, that that might be a story for another day, but our bus driver was an absolute maniac. speaker-1: Yeah, fortunately not. He was insane. speaker-2: Yeah. ⁓ he surprisingly didn't get into any accidents with how reckless he was with that bus at times until the very last day. ⁓ we were pulling into the game at Amiens and ⁓ he had a thing where he liked to do like twenty five point turns and take forever with them. And this one in particular he decided to scrape up against like four or five different different cars. And it was we we didn't move for like twenty five minutes. Or so it felt like. And we were like, What are we doing here? But and ever everyone's like agitated and stressed because the travel's all messed up and we're just sitting there in the bus, like, What's going on right now? We're we're not moving. Yeah. speaker-1: know if you were on the bus you went to the ski resort, correct? Yeah, I was I was there. Yeah. On the w on the way there and on the way back, especially on the way back 'cause we were going downhill. You know, we were cruising through the mountains of Germany, you know, going back and forth up and down hills and he didn't like to use his brakes. So we were we were flying through there on a double decker bus. It was it was a a bit scary. Just a little bit. speaker-2: Yeah, I I noticed on the way up that they had these little narrow roads on and you know, we're going up a mountain, Devon, and ⁓ you know, he's gotta go around like a pretty tight corner and he just didn't care. Like if there was a car in the opposite lane, like we were just gonna hit him. Like we had no choice. He was like he he claimed the road. ⁓ and I'm I'm like I'm just looking out at like the landscape, like, man, this is super cool and then I look down and like we're on the other side of the of the road, like, ⁓ god. I don't even know what his name was, but I think someone said it was Igor. Might not though. I think someone just gave him a nickname. speaker-0: Yeah, I think you know what would have been the ice cream on the cake is have you seen the ⁓ the guy that drives I think he's in like Poland or somewhere and he drives a bus and he does all these like made up like hand signals. He has like a signature. Do you know what I'm talking about? ⁓ I'm gonna sound so stupid on this this recording for this. Yeah, he does like I don't know, he does these like if he if you know, you know, he does like these like little like flicks, like this random like thing you started. That would have been like the ice on the cake. The way this guy sounds ⁓ truly a a European experience for you guys as Americans. Maybe it was messing with you because you're Americans, you know. But ⁓ I ⁓ just great stuff boys from ⁓ you know what was awesome. I I want to go back just real quick to kind of something you mentioned to us about, you know, you at KSU. ⁓ you said you studied geospatial sciences. Can you kind of explain what that major entails? speaker-1: That is correct. Geospatial Sciences You know, everyone has the same perplexion to it. I tell ⁓ my major, like, boy, what is that? It's rooted down to really what I like to put it as is modernized cartography, which is digital mapping, remote sensing, satellite imagery, surveying, LIDAR detection, anything anything with ⁓ newer mapping technologies is involved with the major. speaker-0: Interesting. Yeah. So like what's the what's like the ⁓ like the standard like where would you work to do this? Like for for I'm gonna sound ridiculous, but like NASA? Do you work for like a state? Yeah, you know, road guard? speaker-2: First time? Work for NASA? speaker-1: NASA is it is an option. I mean the remote sensing is a big field within the the ⁓ department. NASA, lots of I'm currently interning at a city government and so that's one. Local engineering firms. I really want to get into hydrographic surveying, which is mapping large bodies of water, the ocean, lakes, rivers. That's using sonar. And that's really what I want to get into. But that's just a sliver of the field. It's it expands To every branch you could think of, really. Yeah. speaker-2: I do not have the mental capacity to formulate a follow up question that would be in in any way intelligent. But as long as you're happy doing it, I'm glad for you. Although I wanna ask a a hockey question now. So last last year at playoffs, one one thing I observed was that, you know, South Carolina was like the the juggernaut team. They finished the year undefeated, but the team that played them the best and gave them the best run was you guys. And then, you know, fast forward to the beginning of this season, you guys give them their first ever loss. Do you think that's a little bit of a rivalry forming or ⁓ you know you think you guys might have their number a little bit. They're having another great season and might be a team you see in the playoffs. speaker-1: Yeah, I mean you could see a budding rivalry. We get we're very chippy with a lot of teams and surprisingly, with them it's not not too bad actually. Those the guys over there are great. But yeah, we always have ⁓ chip on our shoulders whenever we play them. So I know we got them coming up in February. They're coming here, so those will be some heated games. Definitely big a big implications to ⁓ playoffs. speaker-2: That'll be an interesting follow up, Devin. ⁓ it it's something we've talked about on the podcast a bunch, is how often you guys are in chippy games. Is it just something that is like is it just bred within the locker room? Is it your leadership? Where does that come from? speaker-1: You know, it could boil down to a couple of guys that I may or may not want to call out, but speaker-2: We we've we've probably named them on on this podcast already. speaker-1: One of ⁓ yeah. This is definitely a proponent of a lot of the chippiness. Yeah, I mean, we don't usually go into it thinking, ⁓ yeah, we're gonna mess these guys up, we're gonna get into it with them and but it kinda just ends up happening more times than not. speaker-0: I feel like you guys can embody a team from Georgia that way though. When I think of Kennesaw State, I think of bruised and battered hockey and you come to mind because you're you're a big guy. ⁓ you know, whether you agree or not, I don't know, but that's my take on kind of your playing style. I think we've done a lot of discussion on this pod about kind of what's at stake and you know, what does it all mean? But like when you go into these final games where there is a lot on the line, you guys are trying to make playoffs and that's essentially your season at for this point, like How do you guys kind of approach that and tone down if you do kind of the aggressiveness, or do you keep it all the same the whole year? speaker-1: I know our coach Kyle, he his go to saying is ⁓ not too high, not too low. We try to follow that lead, but ⁓ a lot of times just the heaviness and battling of the game gets to our heads and lots of talking. The talking will we say we're strong or mentally strong and gonna avoid the talking and not get into it, but ⁓ it ⁓ eventually gets to us and we get a little chippy. But yeah, I mean not too high, not too low is what we strive for. Or speaker-2: Okay. ⁓ our our ⁓ fantastic research team found this on the ⁓ KSU hockey Instagram. You boldly stated that you can beat anyone at Mario Kart. Do you wanna put out a bulletin right now across the entire college hockey south landscape challenging anyone to a Mario Kart? speaker-1: ⁓ so I'm a big Mario Kart Wii guy. I could I could put some money down for that. Not so much the modern games, but Mario Kart Wii I could I could mess someone up. speaker-2: Yeah, ⁓ speaker-0: What's the go to? Yeah. 'Cause 'cause it's we. I mean, you know what, let me guess. Are you a Bowser guy? speaker-1: Louise. No, it's gotta be funky cong. speaker-0: That's the best answer. No yeah. So good. Okay, funky Kong. All right. Well what then what what map are you choosing or what cup for it? speaker-1: See, I mean you gotta you gotta test the waters and test your challenge. So I mean you gotta go the the crown or special cup. You gotta go with Rainbow Road, Bowser Castle. Gotta show ⁓ what you're worth. speaker-2: So have have you taken down everyone on your team? I would have to imagine if you're gonna go out there and say you can beat anybody, you have you beaten everyone on your team? speaker-1: You know, I ha we haven't really experimented with it, but now that you're bringing this up again, I it's not a bad shout. Should probably bring it up and actually put it to fruition. speaker-2: I'm saying, maybe at playoffs that that would be a we gotta set up something. ⁓ yeah. Need to have a little Mario car parlay during playoffs. Blow off a little steam. speaker-1: Yeah, that'd be great. speaker-0: Let's have let's use that training room between the two ⁓ the stadium rink and the middle rink and just have that as like the Mario Kart Lounge. Like forget, you know, the figure skating training or whoever can be up there. I think it's us the whole weekend, so we probably could do this hypothetically. But I'll just you know, somebody's we with an H DMI cord and you know. speaker-2: It would get more heated in there than on the ice, probably. speaker-0: Yeah, honestly for real. Yeah. It's gonna be chaos as it is. We're gonna have like I don't even know, thirty teams there or whatever the amount is. But ⁓ Yeah, w we're hoping you guys are one of them. You know, I guess you know, for everyone listening and and you kind of what's been like your your favorite memory and also what's the thing you're looking forward to the most as you wrap up, I believe if you're a senior, wrap up your collegiate career. speaker-2: Stop there, yeah. speaker-1: So best memory. I can't I can't really narrow it down to one single memory. I mean it's it's been a fantastic four years and I I can't thank the program enough and thank everyone around me, parents, girlfriends, friends. They've all been super supportive and it's been really great. I guess going into these last final weeks, just cherish every moment. ⁓ there's only about four or five weeks left, so you gotta make do with what you got and leave it all out. speaker-0: I like that answer. And ⁓ and you'll have a lot to leave it out for. We look forward to seeing you guys play in South Carolina, like you mentioned, ⁓ in February. And got some AAU games coming up, I think. So ⁓ enjoy those and and and Christian, thanks so much for coming on the pod and and good luck the rest of the year. speaker-1: Yeah, thank you guys. This has been awesome. Thank you for letting me share all my stories. So this has been great. Thank you. speaker-0: Thanks to Christian Seusa for coming on the pod. As we like to say. Kennesaw State. Fun to see them down the stretch competing for the playoff spot in Men's Division III. Let's get to our game recaps of episode 22, starting with Tennessee and Clemson. Entertaining split series. Clemson took game one six to two. The Vols came back six to four in game number two. I really thought. after watching game one and how Clemson controlled this, that they would handily win this series, obviously Charlie Serafian's Volus had something to say about it. Yeah. speaker-2: Speaking of Charlie and his friend, ⁓ well, his friend, but also his broadcast partner, Holden Balls. ⁓ I'm pr I'm pretty sure that's not how you say his last name, but that's how Charlie pronounced it. Whatever. Sorry, Holden, if that's not how you say your last name. What a performance those guys had. Those guys had a blast calling the game. ⁓ you know, there are specific moments that, you know, made me chuckle, made me put my hands on my head, like what are they doing? But ⁓ definitely go out of your way to watch those guys call a game on ⁓ TC S N. ⁓ but yeah, it was pretty dominant for Clemson in that in our ⁓ game of the week. ⁓ you know, it started off with a five on three shorthanded goal, which is probably the worst possible thing you can allow. It's like I don't know, bases loaded, no outs and getting no runs. It's like throwing a pick in the red zone, maybe a pick six in the red zone, trying to think of other analogies, but it's just the worst thing possible. And that kind of just set the tone for what was really a mess of a game for Tennessee. But they come back and get the split, which is important for them, seeing as how rankings decide the standings for the D three playoffs. speaker-3: Yeah, I I didn't expect Tennessee, I'm not gonna lie, to go and win one of these games. So good on them splitting the series, potentially moving them up in the ranking. Obviously Clemson's pretty high up there, lock for a playoff spot. That's not really a question at this point. It's more is Tennessee gonna fall out or teams gonna take their place? So good on them not to get swept and to get one of these games. speaker-0: So I gotta address the gaping elephant in the room here. Well look, look, for those that are watching this on YouTube, I am in the office here at my regular work, and I I told Gavin before we started recording, I feel like I'm in a movie Alien Exodus, because I've just got yellow lighting around me. So I apologize if you have to look at my ⁓ face here on the YouTube recording. Just just skip past that. Gotta gotta go where the Wi Fi connection is the best, you know. I've had some troubles there at home. All right, no comments. speaker-2: Strasbourg. Don't go to Strasbourg, Rouen or Yeah, yeah. Ba basically those two places. They don't they don't have the best streaming Wi Fi, believe it or not. speaker-0: Sperry. I don't plan to. I didn't I didn't even know Strasbourg existed until you guys talked about it a couple of weeks ago. speaker-2: It it's pretty sweet, not gonna lie. I enjoyed straws. speaker-0: I'm sure. I've never been overseas, like to Europe. So you've got that leg up on me. Moving things along, Florida Atlantic and USF, an M2 Florida Atlantic team taking on the Bulls, M3, in this non-conference exhibition, although it was as entertaining as you can find among games this last weekend. The Bulls took game one six to four with some impressive goals. They led by three late in this one. Owls made it interesting. They stormed back in game two, won four to three Jackson Neuwendy with a hat trick in game number one. I feel like this USF team has the makeup of a really seeing them again for the f you know the second time since the break, like they have developed their depth in a large way. Daniel Bogdanov had a great series. He was all over it. Bryson Yurig impressed the heck out of me. Max Mudge and Grant Dietz each added two goals in game number one. And Despite this being an exhibition, these two teams competed last year in the same division of AAU, and USF looks like a team that's poised to make a nationals run. speaker-2: Yeah, and exhibition, I d I don't like that term, ⁓ necessarily for teams that are still in the same conference, not the same division, of course, but these games mean something. You know, in state and USF and FAU have developed a rivalry across all their varsity sports. You know, it it it it there's definitely some some tension between the the two schools and there's tension in this series. ⁓ you know, I had a bunch of guys throwing out and picking up penalty minutes. I Grant Deet's had north of like thirty five penalty minutes in in the two games. So he's gonna increase his lead for ⁓ penalty minutes in the entire ACHA, which is pretty ridiculous considering he's one of the top scorers as well. ⁓ but hey, you know, they pick up a win against a a good FAU team now back at full strength. You know, last week they didn't have I believe it was four players that were coming back from Europe. And, you know, hey, hats off to USF for picking up a win. speaker-3: Yeah, USF is one of those teams where I think they could probably move up in the next year or two. I mean, obviously they've gotta get a little bit more disciplined. Grant Dietz took sixteen penalty minutes in game one and that was with like two minutes. I mean, obviously there were two minutes left in the game, but relatively the first game was pretty clean and then when I saw they had to pull out the second sheep for penalties, that's when you knew the second game was a little bit more heated, a little bit more of that rivalry that Danny talked about. speaker-0: This all stemmed from a hit late with Daniel Tove, Will Fliss. Basically everybody just dogpiled in there. And I really don't blame either guy for doing what they did after the whistle. It was a tough play to to make. It took like seven minutes. I mean, you you need an entire second sheet for penalties alone. Even though this one looked bad on paper, it was not really I don't think the story of the game. Both teams had their looks back and forth. I think it was mostly about the skill and It wasn't as chippy as you might think by just the ending, how it got out of hand. And I believe that if USF moved up a level, which I have full confidence they can do, that these young guys with this young team around their core, which is, you know, Deets, Duhaim, Jurg, a couple of others, that they would be able to compete with FAU, that they would probably compete better against Tampa. We're gonna talk about in a little bit. They'll have a a sear a game with them again. But it's just ⁓ an interesting thing to you know take away from. And Danny, I I like that you called me out for the non conference point. You know who who coined that as ⁓ the guy that I worked with, Craig Minervini from ⁓ FanDuel Sports Network on this game. And he he mentioned to me that non conference sounds better, but I don't know. I I mean they they are same same conference, different divisions. It could be though pretty soon, and and Newendike gets our player of the series with five goals overall, former NCAA division one player from Kenesius. Who also keeping speaker-2: Devon, who also got thrown out of that second game. And what I what I wanted to bring up because speaker-0: Did we mention that? Yeah, this was kind of a big thing, I yeah. speaker-2: He he ended up and you know, we'll have more on Jackson New and Egg later because he performed very well in this series, as you mentioned, player of the series. So they were on the power play in the third period, and ⁓ he was kinda at that the left point, made a pass over ⁓ to the left circle and then was trying to move it towards the slot, got tangled up with a guy and and kinda just like a reflex play, like a hay I think you know, hockey players were called a separator, kinda gave him a poke in the midsection and he jabbed them pretty good. Like, you know, it was a penalty. Problem is the FAU power play continued for like another fifteen seconds before they ended up taking a shot and then, you know, in the ensuing whistle or after the ensuing whistle, the referees huddled and then decided that he needed to be thrown out of the game, which is I don't know, can can you rewind time like that and call and it's kinda like it's not a direct analogy, but you know, I, you know, tried to make a similar one earlier. It's like calling a holding penalty on a play that happened three plays ago. Like, you know, Kat's kinda out of the out of the bag at that point. Like it I don't know. I I I didn't like that. It was definitely a penalty. ⁓ you know, you can't have guys, you know, being that wild with their sticks. And speaking of that, Grant Deets got ⁓ DQ for head contact, which it wasn't ⁓ it technically it was head contact. It was a cross check to the face of ⁓ Coochie. He was USF was at on the power play and ⁓ Dietz was trying to hold the line and it looked like Coochie was gonna get past them. and just in a really dangerous and reckless play, had a stick up high and it was right under the face mask. And yeah, super dangerous play. Knocked Cooch on his back and looked like he was pretty shaken up. And man, it it's it's a shame that that Grant Dietz takes so many penalties and does dirty stuff like that, because that you don't you don't like seeing plays like that. I think the end of game stuff, like you talked about Devin, you know, there's a little dust up. I think that's fine, it's hockey. But stuff like that, man, it's there's no need for it. speaker-0: The game prior to this one on Friday was the M3 teams, Florida Atlantic, took on Florida Southern, and FAU got their first win in a while. Sweeped swept the moccasins eight to three, and game two had a comeback in dramatic fashion in overtime. Gavin, I'll just let you take the floor because you had the call for both. Very impressive stuff from your guy, Will Marshall, who I think the the funniest thing I heard from the weekend was that. He shut up to Boca Ice Center on Friday, forgot his skates, and the director of operations, Christina Staffaliers for Florida Atlantic, gave him an extra pair of skates she had, a size up from his ⁓ size seven, I think it was. And he still put up points. So, you know, that's that if that's not GOAT status, I don't know what is. Yeah. speaker-3: I remember last week you asked me what had to happen in this series and I told you whatever team got started first and FAU got started first in that game. Obviously Will Marshall did Will Marshall things and scored two goals in fifteen seconds. Right after that he did skate over to the bench and showed him, Hey, I've got loner skates on and I scored two goals. But ⁓ That that's Will Marshall for you. It was a little bit of a sloppy game. They didn't get their legs underneath them in that first one. Some ⁓ careless plays with the puck, which just allowed FAU to take advantage. Somehow on the score sheet, I don't know if this is true. They scored four power play goals in a row. I don't know how that happened. I don't think that's correct. Someone was just checking the box because. I don't know. Cause I I mean I was there and I didn't see four power play goals. I saw two. But and then game two. Florida Southern got off to a good start and kind of just lost their footing. Will Marshall again scored two, set up the third goal. And overtime was what you could imagine. Three on three, it was great. There was good pace. And what happened is is Florida Southern had an opportunity and took the shot and just couldn't get back in time. And Peter Petito took it, went ⁓ went down the right side and just put it right top shelf and ended the game. You know, they both had good opportunities to go and FAU just got that one and found it and put it in the back of the net. I mean, Peter Petito had a great series, had a hat trick in game one and then two goals, including a game winners. If you're FAU, you're feeling pretty good about those first two games. You were down there talking to their players, and they said they were gonna win those games, and they came out and they walked the walk and so they came out and they they're in a good position. Potentially that put them in a playoff spot when the rankings come out. speaker-0: So we'll have to see. I don't know about playoff spots because of where they're at. I think this was the fifteenth and sixteenth team place teams. They were like one apart from each other. By the time this episode comes out, I could be completely wrong because the ACHA still has not released at the time of this recording the rankings, despite them going through January eighteenth. Besides the point, fun series. And Pet Peter Petito came down from the ⁓ two team. Been a welcome sight. That was a banged up M3 team. I know they've really struggled with a lot of the new guys. I think all but five players are brand new to that team. So Peter Petito doing what he does is is great. Sam Watson finished with five goals on the weekend for Florida Atlantic. Entertaining series, and thanks to Gavin for covering that one. Kennesaw State took on Austin P and absolutely dominated. ⁓ just simply. I know we use that word a lot, but I mean this is this is, you know. as big as it gets. 22 to 1 in game one, 12 to 1 in game number two. I I don't even know. I I I think Kennesaw State just walked into to Austin P and and yeah, let them see what they had in their might. So tough look for for the guys over there at Austin P. I I really like ⁓ that that team and that their jerseys and the environment they have. This was all this was all owls in this series. Liberty took on Middle Tennessee. Now this is an AAU Division Three Liberty team. Kind of odd to say that considering we wasn't wasn't too sure who was left from the AAU league. And this one is a really good team because they swept Middle Tennessee. First losses for Middle Tennessee since the very beginning of the season when they lost two straight to UNC Wilmington and ⁓ two ACHA team. Nine to seven in game one and five to three in game two. Guys, do we have any notes on this? I mean, I was pretty shocked to find out about these scores when when they came out. Yep. speaker-2: They were coughed up leads by MTSU. You know, they they held firm control of both games and wound up losing it. But to classify Liberty as in just a any other AAU D three team, I think is a little unfair. They were the top seed going into AAU D three nationals last year and were looked at as probably the favorite. You know, it's easy to say that number one seed, but ⁓ wound up getting upset before making it to the national championship game against South Carolina. And Middle Tennessee, you know, maybe it's just like a beginning of the semester thing. They have to get their two losses out of the way and then, you know, they're off to the races, you know, as you mentioned. They opened the season with two losses and then closed the fall with sixteen straight. Let's see what they do from this point on, 'cause I can't sit well with the boys. speaker-3: Yeah, I think MTSU like Dane mentioned, I mean, it was their first two games. We know they had a game last week that they were supposed to play against Indiana, got canceled 'cause of travel issues and things like that. You kinda wonder if the boys wanted that game. Probably would have helped them feel a little bit more in tune. I mean, some of these guys haven't been playing hockey for a month or two, depending on break and like they have their guys in Europe. But I think the hardest part for me is Grant Williams didn't start game one and got put in. I'm not sure if Kopec got hurt or they just decided to switch goalies, but he ended up taking two losses on the weekend because he got in the first game and only played about twenty one minutes or so. And he took the loss and then he started game two and took another loss. So, you know, it's kind of weird. You were we were we've been tracking goalie stats, looking at ⁓ and they look outrageous right now. I mean, mainly because they did play a really strong Liberty team. So we should expect MTSU to get back to what they've got going on. I mean, they've got Two pretty normal games, some CHS games this weekend, so I expect them to come out firing and really ⁓ put up some numbers this week. speaker-0: And what Danny said about losing games to start the semester, you almost are thankful that it's non conference. This for sure non conference in their four losses because they are still undefeated technically in the ranking wise. They don't have too many games left in ⁓ three and they've all but locked up their spot in the sixteen team tournament in Saint Louis. So at at this point it r it really feels like it's about management for their team and getting holding the best seed they can for what's gonna be an already impressive and and honestly gauntlet ⁓ three tournament considering what we've seen out of the Michigan schools and how they're jocking. Whoever makes it one through sixteen is is gonna look to really compete at this national. So tough ones for Middle Tennessee, but against teams that ⁓ you know, don't don't count for the rankings. Danny? Yes. speaker-2: Thank you, Mr. Sarah. An important note for MTSU because they they believed that the last game of December, or their last game of the fall semester, was going to be the Swan Song for their leading scorer, Matt Siciliano. He graduated at the end of the fall semester and was having issues getting eligibility for the spring semester. But ⁓ a little bit before they were scheduled to play Indiana, ⁓ the ACHA granted him another semester of eligibility, which is a huge win, obviously. Leading scorer You know, they have a ton of depth on on that team. They score a ton of goals. But if they lost Matt Siciliano on the stretch run, that would have been huge. So it's almost like, you know, a trade deadline acquisition. You know, it was a guy they didn't expect to have. So that that's a big piece of news for MTSU. speaker-0: Around the conference, some final scores to take note of. South Carolina, top ten in ACHA men's division three, took care of UCF five to two and three to one this weekend. Another ⁓ three matchup, Florida Gulf Coast shuts out Akron seven to nothing and ten to nothing. Blinders for BJ Ricardi and Justin Garstecki and net. Good to see for the Ice Eagle Boys. Jacksonville and USF in this ACDC weekend. Tough one for the the Bulls here. They were without their goaltenders, had first timers in net for them. They fall 14-4 and 9-4, respectively, against a number two Jacksonville squad in ACDC. Florida ACDC took on Florida Tech and the Gators swept this one five to three and three to one. They hold sole place of the number one seed in ACDC College Hockey South. On the woman's side, Florida took care of Miami handily. Nineteen to two and fourteen to one wins for the Gators. Congrats to Marissa Bonia. We talked to last weekend on the pod for their efforts. Auburn and Alabama in the Iron Cup. Head coach Jack Rosenhammer and the Auburn Tigers put up a fight, but Alabama once again takes this series six to two and five to two. Alabama keeps rolling. With just one loss in CHS and overall and South Carolina and Georgia on the woman's side with a entertaining series. South Carolina though gets the two wins over Georgia, five to two and two nothing to wrap up some of our final scores. Three stars of the week. I am prefaced to say that, and jokingly in our group chat, that KSU guys should have been banned from the score sheet this weekend. For the win they had over Austin P. When you win by that much, I don't know if if it's even legal, but ⁓ Chris Scott from Kennesaw State is our first star, seven goals, two Apples, nine points overall in those two games. Second star Jackson Newendike Florida Atlantic ⁓ two had a five goal weekend. We talked about his performance earlier against USF ⁓ three. And finally, McKenzie Cronin from the South Carolina women's team with a perfect two in our record, one point. ⁓ goals against average point nine six two save percentage with one of those games, a shutout in net. speaker-2: Hell yeah. Great great stuff from from last week. Anyone have any notes on those quick little recaps? I think the one thing I I would say, Alabama women's clinches a spot in the playoffs officially now with those two wins over Auburn. Congratulations to them. They'll have a chance to defend their conference championship from last year. And South Carolina and and Florida Gulf Coast kind of almost mirroring each other with h how they play. You know, they're they're starting to heat up. I think that would be a super interesting playoff matchup if I say so. It might echo to overtime zero to zero. speaker-0: I was gonna say what so you wanna see like nineteen ninety six, ninety seven NHL hockey where it slug fast. speaker-2: Clutch and hold baby. Yeah, clutch and hold. Defensive trap hockey. speaker-0: If I'm watching that, I'm gonna take the under on shots. And by under, I mean like twenty five overall. I don't think either team wants yeah, wants the other to get to the front of the net. But I I mean, we could see. Florida Golf Coast is finding their stride at the right time and South Carolina, even though they haven't played as many games, they've just been rolling. They're they're very much in contention. I believe they're eligible for nationals. And if they get there that they'd be a pretty scary team to play. To face for anybody, seeing what we've we've known out of them. Obviously, conference champions last year ⁓ for CHS when it was AAU men's division three. Flipping sides of the coin to an upcoming week that is is jam packed. We've got a full sheet here. We're gonna do our best to get through it in one piece, but I know along the way, guys, we'll have a lot of talking points. First up, we've got ⁓ we've got some news, right? We announced the is it the Florida showcase going on? speaker-2: Gasparilla. speaker-0: Yeah. You know, ⁓ Gavin, Gavin, I think you're you're really involved this. So do you want to talk about what's going on in in the the Gasparilla Tampa region for the woman's side? speaker-3: Yeah, you've got a couple matchups coming up at Nest Hockey Academy. So a great rink. In fact, I was just out there not too long ago for Saint Leo. So yeah, Gasparilla Classic, Thursday. You're gonna have Tampa versus USF. Danny said it, a pinnacle, Tampa Gasparilla rivalry matchup. And then on Saturday, Auburn versus Clemson, and then Clemson versus Florida. So another back to back for Clemson. They started their season that way and they showed that it doesn't really matter to them if they're ⁓ playing back to backs. And then you got on Sunday, Miami versus Auburn, Tampa versus Clemson, and then USF versus Miami. So a lot of ⁓ Southern schools competing. It's gonna be a fun weekend. ⁓ we're gonna have it live streamed. So it's it's gonna be awesome. speaker-0: More on that in next week's episode. ⁓ you know, I we can put it in the pot. I I put you on the spot there. So good job finding the notes on it. I it was it was put on the spot, you know. Savannah Prefontaine texted me this last weekend and and asked me who, you know, could ⁓ could find out about broadcast information and everybody's kind of pulling together. Gavin, I know you've been in close contacts. Appreciate you for your efforts. We look forward to that and talking about it more in in episode twenty three. Keeping it rolling here on on the ⁓ two side, we've got a really, really interesting matchup. Farmingdale State hosts Florida Atlantic. Now, these are now ⁓ two teams, but Danny, these are two teams that you know you you mentioned before the pod that have never met. Florida Atlantic fans might be used to seeing Farmingdale State from the AAU men's division two side, but that's a different team. They have not faced what used to be this AAU Division One powerhouse and the stakes couldn't be any higher for Florida Atlantic that's trying to get into the southeast regional. Yes. speaker-2: And this was a series that was scheduled pretty late in the game. So with all the movement that was going on with the different leagues, Florida Atlantic had a mainly ⁓ three schedule, a lot of ⁓ three opponents on their ⁓ on their calendar. And with, you know, the how the rankings are applied, ⁓ with those games not really being factored in at all, they were scrambling to find ⁓ two teams to fill out their schedule and this was one they're able to to get on there, which is Super fun. Farmingdale's had a had strong season and you know, they get a a trio of games up there and Long Island. You know, they're they're ⁓ tried and true program. You know, they do a really good job on social media. They have like a whole strength and conditioning program from what I understand. They got a whole staff too. So yeah, th this will be interesting. Looking forward to seeing how this one plays out. speaker-0: Now Farmingdale State is coming off playing some M1 teams in Stony Brook and Lehigh. Remember, Farmingdale State, if you haven't heard the news yet, is going to be a men's division one team in ACHA next year. This Farmingdale State team. So they're playing some of these tune ups against teams. I believe they lost to Stony Brook and Lehigh, but they were very close. Their best wins this year, they had a split against Binghamton, who's number five in the Northeast region. They had a win and a shootout loss down in Clearwater Ice Arena against Tampa. And the game number two, they won. They did it in convincing fashion, six to two. You know, their their top six is very good. They're all averaging a point per game, 20 points overall. John Crodell leads that group with twelve goals, sixteen apples, twenty-eight points overall. It feels like for FAU, you know, Danny, you talked a little bit about you're not really sure about this float Atlantic team as much as as last year. They have guys that did well against Farmingdale State at at nationals a year ago, but not like what they've seen against the talent that this Farmingdale State team has. speaker-2: Yeah. The the depth has been still I would still question their depth offensively. ⁓ you look at the score sheets from their wins recently and ⁓ it's a lot of the same names. You know, you see the Newendykes, the Beijers and Biller. ⁓ you know, you'd like to see if you know if they're gonna have success ⁓ against these better teams, you know, you're gonna have to see guys like Giorgiano and and Cucja and ⁓ you know, probably Ronan Keenan pitch in a little bit, maybe some offense from the back end. Otherwise they're gonna have to become more of a a defensive stalwart, and that just hasn't been the case so far this year. You know, they got the guy in net who can hold it down for ⁓ but as a run and gun team, they're a little bit too hop heavy moving along. speaker-0: So FAU, who is number thirteen in the Southeast region at the time of this recording, if they can get two wins, even one against a number two Northeast team in Farmingdale State, it would do wonders for them in the rankings. We said it all year long, but we're gonna remind it again. Top sixteen teams go to regionals. There is no more auto bid to nationals. So every team has to win their way. Now Farmingdale State is pretty much a lock, but Florida Atlantic is on the border. You'd have to think a number two team would count big time for them, not just strength of schedule, but in game performance. Games one and two will be at Northwell Health Ice Center at 9 15 PM Eastern on Friday and 8 30 p.m. on Saturday. Sunday's game will be during the hockey day in Long Beach. This is at Long Beach Municipal Ice Arena. Why that's important. That is the main rank sheet at Long Beach. It's got good seating. It's where Long Island Sports Network, who formerly broadcasted AAU nationals is out of. So this is a big day and a big opportunity for FAU on this stage. speaker-2: Yeah, Devin, you know Anthony Campania. He's he's from the Long Island area, no? Alright, so that'll that'll be ⁓ a cool one for him. I'm sure he'll have the fam out watching at least one of those games. ⁓ so you know, you'll get a little ⁓ FAU support up there in Long Island. speaker-0: I also wonder if Rocco's going to bring his grandparents. I think I heard a story from him, and I think he explained this in one of the first episodes that they went to Philadelphia for AAU Nationals and he brought the whole team to his grandparents' house and they had a giant lunch or dinner with the with the family. So I wonder if those people make the trip out here to ⁓ a New York area that's that's known for hockey a and known for how good of a program Farmingdale State is. Of course, like you said, you can catch all those games on the Long Island. Sports Network. Free on YouTube. M2 rolls on with Florida, number 16 in the Southeast, taking on number 17 in the Northeast, Boston College. Two teams that are on the border of their respective regional tournaments. They'll play a single game at Community First Igloo. This is part of Boston College's trip to Florida. They'll take on Tampa as well. The Eagles are really impressive, the last 10, 8 1 and 1. They've won seven straight. Last time they lost, they they Got trounced by Fairfield seven to three. But Florida had a strong performance at the Savannah hockey classic, big time for them. They don't have too many games left on the schedule. Yeah. speaker-2: Cool. Congratulations to Florida. Don't have much to say about this man of hockey classic. Yeah, good good stuff, Florida. Nice uniforms. You know, a couple of cool videos came out on socials. Go Gators. They didn't get it done against Carolina. It is what it is. Keep it rolling, boys. speaker-0: Savannah hockey classic, yeah, a little bit of a a switch over this year. Used to be a CHS event. I'm proud of Florida though for holding it down against one, a really strong Tennessee team, and then South Carolina had their way, made it interesting a little bit later. Keegan Lampin and then Jack Fortescue were some of the the bright spots for them, potting goals in that first game against Tennessee. Gators wound up being the runner up in this year's Savannah Classic. And ⁓ yeah, the sharp, sharp looking ⁓ blue tarps for the boys. Said a moment ago, the Gators I don't have many games left. Only three left that will count for their rankings. They are right on the cut line on there for regionals. Sort of a must-win. On the ⁓ three side, Tampa hosts Florida Atlantic, who got those big wins against your Florida Southern Moccasins, Gavin. Tampa really controlled Florida Atlantic in November. Huge scores, huge wins. I think one was like fifteen to four. So is there any chance that this M3 Fort Atlantic team makes this a series? speaker-3: ⁓ you know, I think they if they can ride the momentum that they're coming off of, you know, Drew Renzi, Sam Watson, Peter Petito really got going, Sam Carrazo. They've got the weapons to get it going. It's just one about playing Tampa's game. Tampa plays a brutal physical game and you have to be able to withstand that, not end up in the box. We were talking off air about Reagan Lyon. We talked about him in Paris, the kind of guy he is, the player he is. So you gotta you gotta be able to withstand that if FAU wants a chance in this game. I mean, this is this is a huge, huge series coming off of two big wins to start their semester. speaker-0: I'll say this, if Florida Atlantic finds a way to keep it close, they're on the way outside looking in. I I don't know, way outside. They're they're a couple of double digit ranks away from getting into Kalachaki South playoffs. It's a big one though. If if you're Florida Atlantic, you gotta circle this one and and bring everything you got 'cause this is pretty much their series on the line or season on the line against number eight, Tampa, in men's division three. speaker-2: I think what what we should say about the rest of these games, Devin, because a lot of these teams are playing their first action since the end of the fall semester. And we almost want to say, and we have mentioned it already, that you want to give them grace for the fact that they haven't played games in a while, but you don't have that grace because there aren't too many more ranking periods before things are set in stone and teams are being named to regionals or nationals. So you kind of just have to hit the ground running. Otherwise you're gonna be on the outside looking in. So absolutely FAU has to win those games. And they're I think making nationals isn't even in question at this point. It's not gonna happen. But if they want to make the playoffs, they're going to have to win at least one of these games or and keep the other one close. speaker-0: That leads me into my next point with ⁓ two Tampa facing off with Boston College, part of that road trip aforementioned. This Spartan group hasn't played a game since November twenty second. Boston College will already have had a game under their belt against the Gators. So you've got to think that Tampa they had guys over in Europe, their coach, all of that stuff, they've got to not have as much rust. I think Boston College has an argument as being a sneaky upset and and Tampa needs every bit of ranking they can get when we get to this this regional where Southeast it's gonna be a gauntlet. You know, all those TSCHL teams like Ohio, Indiana, Ohio State are rolling. So interesting one there. You can catch that on Black Dog hockey from Clearwater Ice Arena. Number two in the Southeast, South Carolina, and number 10 Clemson from M3. Danny wrote in all caps, it's about time that these two teams played again. Now the ⁓ three South Carolina and Clemson game was canceled, but last time these two sides played, the ⁓ two Game Cox won seven to nothing in October. Clemson just split with Tennessee in our game of the week. So Danny, the floor is yours. speaker-2: Well I have to give credit where credit is due. That was not me who wrote that in the show notes. That w that was Gavin. Because person personally, ⁓ and this may be a controversial opinion, I don't really see the value in this game. I understand it's a tradition and you know it's Palmetto Cup and it dates back a long time. You know, Clemson's gotta play ⁓ three teams. You know, what this doesn't really mean a whole lot. And I I guess on paper it doesn't mean a whole lot. It means a ton to these guys. And the South Carolina Clemson matchup is something that, you know, it goes without saying. But, you know, I'd much rather this game be between the ⁓ three Game Cox and Clemson. I think that would, you know, tickle my pickle a little bit more. But, you know, it's it's in ⁓ Bon Sakur Arena in Greenville, which is a a cool venue for for a hockey game. You know, I've been been there in the past for one of those and ⁓ it was a really good turnout. I would assume it would be the same because it it didn't happen last year, unfortunately. But ⁓ yeah, you know, that that's my piece. It's might be controversial, probably not a shared opinion, but you know, who cares? speaker-0: Whatever. I care more about if we're gonna see a line brawl. I don't wanna see guys get suspended. I don't want to see anybody get hurt. Every time I've gone to the internet and and looked up research on this matchup, this ⁓ two South Carolina team and this Clemson team, there's always something that happens, post whistle. Always, whether it's at the end of the game, at the start, these two teams just hate each other. Both fan bases obviously don't like each other. I don't care what the final score is. I really hope that we we see some of that old Fashioned ⁓ grittiness and two teams that just, you know, bang it out in the gl the glass and I hope the tougher side is. speaker-2: I hope we see that we haven't got much chippiness. We haven't seen much chippiness on the women's side so far this year, maybe a game or two. But man, what a the there couldn't be a better game to get that started. You know, we get closer to the playoffs, which by the way, boys, are is only like a month out, which is crazy. We're we're coming in hot on playoff season. But yeah, I don't know, I'd love a little scrappiness, love a little ⁓ gamesmanship post whistle. speaker-0: Number 24, Florida Gulf Coast travels up to Miami of Ohio, not the hurricanes from Coral Gables. This is in Oxford, Ohio. January 23rd to 25th, take on Aquinas College, Purdue, and number 15 GVSU. Fun little side note a couple years ago, I had the chance to travel to this showcase with Central Michigan, and they play out of Gog and Ice Arena, state of the art building. It's like a cathedral. You go into the main barn. for that the NCAA team plays on and you can hear your echo for a good three or four seconds. It's one of my personal favorite arenas. Very happy that Florida Golf Coast got asked to be part of this. I hope the boys really enjoy it because that facility is state of the art in ⁓ college hockey. Getting to our news of the week, and and really if you've followed these teams, it's it's been ⁓ apparent they could have have this happen for a while. But Vanderbilt is gonna play MTSU at the home of the Nashville Predators, Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville Sunday, right, guys? I believe I I have the read right here. So let let's let's lay the floor out, regardless of where the teams are at. This has gotta be as cool as it gets to play in a an NHL barn. speaker-2: Yes, it is Sunday. This is the second of three arena games this this weekend. This is the the only one that's gonna be in a a primary NHL barn, which is really cool for these guys. ⁓ we'll get to the third one in a bit. But yeah, two Nashville area teams. Vandy kept it close in the past, the the two previous games and MTSU coming off some losses, you know, that were technically exhibitions, and they'll wanna get back into the win column, especially in this one, because it's a super cool stage and circumstances. speaker-0: Producer Gavin keeping us keeping us awake here at the the wee hours. We're getting down to the end of this recording now. And for this game, there is a ticket entry. You can find those at MTSU icehockey.com or head to the link in the Instagram bio, MTSU Ice Hockey. Believe they're not too expensive and your admission will, I believe, support one of the clubs. I mean, getting to go to downtown Nashville. I've been there. Absolutely one of my favorite places on earth. It is right on the boulevard. It is right downtown. I mean, if people get word of this, it would be cool to see ⁓ people pack the barn and bridge stone. So fun one on Sunday at six PM Central Time and seven PM Eastern. So without further ado, let's get to our final game preview. Chop chop indeed. Jacksonville and Florida are gonna play each other at the Vistar Veterans Memorial Arena. Note about notable about that. It's the home of the Jacksonville Iceman, head coach Derek Lodermeyer, former player for the ECHL team up there in Jacksonville. Great for both programs. Now, this is a sneaky, good game. These are the one and two teams in ACDC. And Jacksonville has a chance to get the one seed. If they can beat Florida in this one, they have a game in hand on the Gators, who only have one more before playoffs against. USF, one more that'll count anyway. And Jacksonville has a series left with the Embry Riddle Eagles. So, you know, stuff to think about, food for thought. And you can catch that on Saturday at 2 p.m. Eastern up in the northeastern part of Florida. So boys, we ran through it. Now, I don't mean to put you on the spot because I know we're not great with this. I'm not great with this. I'm a bad host in this regard. So preface with me. I want to know what you guys. ⁓ saw this week as maybe your your cool stories. It doesn't even have to be CHS related hockey or college hockey ⁓ in general. Like what's what's a cool thing that you saw this weekend that ⁓ that comes to mind for you? speaker-2: Well, I saw Jonathan Taves return return to Chicago. That that was something I've been looking forward to for a long time. You know, for new hockey fans, Jonathan Taves was the captain for over a decade in Chicago, won three Stanley Cups, and was more than just a captain. He was a a tremendous leader, widely respected across the entire sport of hockey and just meant so much to the city of Chicago. ⁓ and it was evident they you know, they gave him a standing ⁓ that was like three to four minutes. Which doesn't sound like much, and then you watch it and it's like, wow, they've really you know, th this guy really meant a lot. And it meant a lot to me to see that. And yeah, it's it's it's it was a little bittersweet, you know, to see him in a different uniform. But I'm glad to see you got that recognition and, you know, it was a cool thing for the sport of hockey. speaker-0: Okay. speaker-3: Yeah, and you know, FAU Florida Southern played each other. But something I found out over the weekend is ⁓ Hunter Rice and Sam ⁓ Carrazz played together in juniors. So after the second game at Lakeland Ice Arena, they did a little jersey swap. You know, obviously you can't swap jerseys, you gotta keep your jersey. But they took a little cool picture and so it was just cool. You know, there were some stories that maybe I didn't know. I like I said, I mean, I ⁓ went to Boca with the team. So just getting to hear some of the stories from some of the guys and realize that There's a lot more connections. Every time I ⁓ talk to players, I just learn hockey so much smaller than what you think. I mean Sam Watts and Will Marshall. But yeah, I mean the the jersey swap was just probably like the coolest thing. You know, both teams fought really hard in that series and for it to just end with a jersey swap I just I just thought that was really speaker-2: And you mentioned it there, Gavin. Will Marshall Marshall and Sam Watson both from went to Cul Culver Military Academy, who posted something about the the two players representing CHS over in Europe. So definitely cool. speaker-0: I wanna give a a special shout out to Clemson's Amanda Regina for her first ever Clemson goal. Got to wear the the the paw print chain. I really like that. I hope that's a team tradition, whoever gets that. I I'm a big fan of just everything related to this program. I I know ⁓ you know, the the woman's side we don't get as much news about compared to how much we, you know, talk about ⁓ three and even ⁓ two. But ⁓ I mean this is one of the coolest rising stories in in in college hockey. I am ecstatic like you are for this game of the week. I wonder where our friend over at Trailer Park Sports Network will be if he's gonna follow this one too. It's our game of the week. It's the Paul Medal Cup, South Carolina at Clemson on Saturday at ten o'clock PM Eastern time. Stay up late for it. I'll be up late. But ⁓ it's like a UFC card. Let's have ourselves a week ⁓ absolutely. Right? speaker-2: Let's do it. speaker-0: Maybe Danny's wishes will come true and ⁓ we'll we'll see a Donny Brook for the first time in the ⁓ on the woman's side. speaker-2: Alright, good episode, fellas. Devin, send send us home, baby. speaker-0: With pleasure. That's what I was looking for there. This has been episode twenty two of College Hockey Mouth, a College Hockey South series. Good luck in your games and we'll talk to you soon.