Latest / College Hockey Mouth / Episode 25: Luc Haggitt | University of Alabama M3

Transcript

Episode 25: Luc Haggitt | University of Alabama M3 · College Hockey Mouth

• speaker-0: Welcome back to College Hockey Mouth, a college hockey south series. This is episode twenty-five, and we are getting into the throes of the silly season, which playoffs are coming up, final matchups have been completed, and the man we're gonna talk to in just a moment was right in the thick of that with his team. But first, Mr. Danny Bohm, how are you doing this evening time recording? speaker-2: good. Yeah. Big chilling. Yeah. Stressful times the playoffs coming up. There's some behind the scenes stuff that I'm sure people don't really care about, but a little bit stressful but exciting at the same time. Played a round of golf over the weekend, Devin. It was actually a little bit before the Super Bowl, because I didn't give a rat's ass about the bowl this year, to be honest. I did not care. ⁓ I was basically done after the halftime show. I had like a good first eight holes where I probably parred like three or four of ⁓ and just like completely went in the toilet after that. Like I was on pace for like a solid ninety and then probably finished up between like a one ⁓ five and a one ten. I didn't I I didn't count it up because I'm afraid to but I still have the scorecard. Half decent day for golf. Starting to warm up here in the southeast. Did you watch the the Super Bowl at all, Devin, as a as a Lions fan? speaker-0: Unfortunately, I did, and my cousin has a Seahawks jersey that she sent me a long, long time ago and I couldn't find, but it has that 12th man on the back. I couldn't help but at first get the nostalgia feeling of when I was twelve and watching the Seahawks and Patriots play. That crazy one where the second interception. I was twelve years old. About maybe going on thirteen. ⁓ but this one it was yeah, a terrible watch. I I didn't enjoy it. We didn't even get the commercials. My friend had the Canadian stream up 'cause he watches on a Canadian router. So we didn't see any of the Super Bowl commercials. I heard they were really not that great anyway. So I don't know if I missed out on a lot. It was just a relaxing weekend on my side of things. speaker-2: You know what? I have to say there was one commercial that stood out and it's topical because of what's starting and what happened yesterday. The Budweiser commercial, the Clydesdale with the with the bald eagle went in the free bird was absolutely incredible. That was about the only commercial that I like actually enjoyed. And it was awesome. It gave me goosebumps, you know, 'cause got US hockey, men's hockey kicking off tomorrow, and the US gave Canada the belt yesterday, which was just fantastic. 'Cause it wasn't like a five nothing game. Like they completely out chanced them and everything. It was beautiful. But yeah, I got the Olympics going on. Little American Pride here. Got all ⁓ the original team USA from tw twenty twenty six. Little did they know. speaker-0: Well, in the spirit of the Olympics, we just had to get our own Olympian on a little bit of a different kind of Olympian though. He was an all star goaltender for the Europe trip at the start of twenty twenty six and he is currently the elder statesman for the Alabama men's division three team. Please welcome to college hockey mouth. Luke Haggett. Luke, how you doing? speaker-1: Great. Thank you guys for having me. I'm ex I'm excited to be here. speaker-0: Here. This one's also been in the works for a while. Danny told me about all your guys' adventures in Europe and he's got some cool stuff to ask you about as we have with all the people w we know went on that trip. But to start things out, tell us a bit about yourself from Spanish Fort Alabama. What got you into ⁓ playing hockey and how were you crazy enough to become a goaltender? speaker-1: So yeah, no, for me, just growing up, I ⁓ my dad's from Detroit and I just watched a whole lot of Red Wings hockey and then ⁓ the O eight Stanley Cup or not the O eight Stanley Cup, but the Wings did win that too. But ⁓ the O eight Winter Classic versus the Blackhawks, that was just an awesome game at Wrigley Field. And I just watched that and I looked at my dad, I was like, Hey dad, I w I wanna play hockey. And they they let me start skating and then Two years went by. I ultimately knew I wanted to be a goalie the whole time. I was a huge Chris Osgood fan, loved Jamie Howard. We're 30 because of Osgood. And ⁓ I ended up just, you know, wanting to play goalie. And then when I got in, I absolutely loved it. They couldn't take me out of the net. So and I was catcher in baseball too when I played baseball. So I just something about things coming at me, catch them. speaker-2: I'm used to it. speaker-0: Well, from one Detroit guy to another. And if you give me a second here, Dan, because Yeah, you're good. Try and true, I wear the Detroit hat on here. I have the Red Wings sweater. Look, you know, when you grow up and you see those teams succeed, I mean, how do you become a Wings fan f well, you just mentioned your dad. But how do you go from seeing those Wings teams and then have you ever been to like the Joe or did you get to go visit any of those ⁓ venues that were so iconic for the Red Wings growing up? speaker-1: Yeah, actually I did. I got ⁓ I saw I think two or three games at the Joe. I know I got to watch the ⁓ the Atlanta Thrashers before they ⁓ they kicked the bucket, sadly. But no. ⁓ yeah, I I'd been to the Joe to watch that and I actually sat on the glass for that game as a little kid. Came back, my hand was just all red from just sitting there pounding on the glass all game. But I Yeah, no, and then I went back and I saw sat up in the nosebleeds of where it gets rowdy up there. So I ⁓ I got to experience the joke twice and absolutely loved it. Haven't been back for Little Caesars yet, but I'm I'm I'm gonna try and get out there next year, hopefully. speaker-2: Yeah, you know what? I I don't know if I can get behind the the Red Wings hockey and the you know what, I actually don't mind, you know, those older teams, all the talent they had. And you know what? Chris Osgood really had like an up and down experience with with the Red Wings. He was kind of like he was almost an outcast at times because his he wasn't always he didn't have the greatest season sometimes and the fans were down on him, but he would always seem to rise the occasion when it mattered most, and that's why he's a legend there. Like I'm pretty sure he he does broadcasts in Detroit. But I c I can get behind being a catcher, man. I I've got bad knees to this day because of it. So ⁓ yeah, so Red Wings hockey aside. So talk to us about, you know, growing up and and youth hockey, how you got started there on your journey to Alabama. So I speaker-1: ⁓ I started playing ⁓ hockey in Wichita, Kansas, and then I played my first couple years of squirts there and then moved down to Spanish Fort as a peewee and I had to practice in Pensacola. I went up and tried out for a team in that played out of the Palm Civic Complex, the Alabama Junior Frozen Tide, and I also tried out for a team that was out of Columbus, Georgia, who plays out of Auburn's rink. ⁓ and I ended up going with The junior frozen tide, ⁓ met, you know, a couple of CHS legend legends, Greg Drevney, ⁓ Dylan. I met Drevny, met both of them, played with Dylan. Then and then it ended up being a full circle moment coming back to Alabama. ⁓ Dreb's the one that actually called me and was like, hey, come come down for ⁓ for our recruit weekend. And was like, take a look. They got me down there during ⁓ a ⁓ I think it was dead week, and I just I got on campus and it was just It was rowdy. Everybody was it was a party. No one was going to class. It was like twelve in the afternoon. And people are just walking down the streets partying. And I'm like, this is how it is this how it always is. And as a twenty year old freshman, I was like, Okay, like this is something I could you know, I'm fresh. I I've been playing suitcasing in the three for a couple of years now in, you know, Wyoming. I was like, I there's a lot of people here, a lot going on, a little bit busier, and it was I wanted to get in on it and ⁓ I'm glad I did end up coming to that recruit skate and then drev dragged me out here and I'm playing full circle back at Alabama. speaker-0: From our notes, it looked like you were a journeyman in the NA three HL. Read also that you were with a Billet family since you were fourteen. You know, how did those experiences shape you into the player and person you are today? speaker-1: Yeah, no. I when I was fourteen I lived with actually a kid that played ACHA at Alabama too, Finn Parkman. He me and him just carpooled back and forth when I was fourteen and then I lived in New Hampshire for my fifteens and sixteens. And I think ⁓ mainly what I've learned is you're gonna learn a lot of things from mistakes when you're out on your own. How to do my like how to do laundry, how to cook, how to just do all sorts of life things. I just had to learn just by trial and error pretty much. And of course the that's when you get to the NA three and I was a ⁓ like a six I was sixteen or seventeen when I first went to the NA three and just listening to the older guys, bunch of captains that I had, they're you know, all of the g teams I played on kind of just what shaped me in this the cultures just by being a part of all of that. It was really something cool that I really excited I got to do. Because most kids, you know, they don't leave home until they're eighteen and going to college. And I just got out a little bit sooner. And ⁓ I'm glad I did that. I'm glad my parents gave me the opportunity to do that too. Because it was it was truly just special for me, especially now being a senior. Looking back on all of it, it's kind of what we've been doing with you know, last week we had senior night. So looking back at all of it, it's pretty cool. speaker-2: Yeah. ⁓ I I see here you're a you're a student of the Shane Clifford Goalie School and you've also been an instructor there. So you've been on both sides of it. What what have those experiences been like? You know, being an instructor and also having the experience of ⁓ you know, being ⁓ kind of a mentee. Yeah. speaker-1: No, the the dog pound is what we call it. The goalie instructors at the Shane Clifford goalie school. But yeah, no, I've been ⁓ I started there just training when I was like fifteen and then I came back when I was seventeen or eighteen and kind of was for the younger camps helping out a little bit, coaching, and then for the elite camps I was actually participating. Then Cliffy brought me in to be a full time guy. ⁓ and that's actually what I'm gonna be doing after I graduate this year is I'm gonna go full ⁓ coach full time for one of the pads that Shane's got up there in Cranberry P PA. So I'm really looking forward to that. But the summers are awesome. You got a group of guys, up to twelve kids just cr crashing in a basement for a week. I gotta round up the troops, get ⁓ all out. There's a big school bus that picks them up and takes them to the camps. I'm just sitting down there like a pot and a pan, pretty much have to wake up and get them on the bus. That's exactly what it is. It's like speaker-2: Boot camp. speaker-1: Bus for figurative and legally leaves at eight AM south. Well they gotta get speaker-0: I mean I mean this has the this has the writings of G.I. Joe all over it. Like goaltenders are a special breed, but we say that from all the funky things you guys do. So like what are like the fun things that you endure at goalie camp and teach guys how to have that kind of mental fortitude you need for the position? ⁓ speaker-1: I I I think just never give up on yourself is probably the one thing, especially during goalie camps. We have a a big Russian named Artem Kulikov that will come around and he'll shoot on any random goalie and it and he'll just come in and they'll chirp or will be going around, he's running the social media with his phone, and then some kid will chirp him, he'll pick up a stick, go three for three, all of them post in and we're just all looking at him. But no, it's just all bent like mental fortitude. You gotta get back up. You're gonna get scored on. They we have incredible shooters that ⁓ like just pretty much donate their time. They get paid, but they they come out and shoot and they there's sometimes I I'm sitting there, I'm like, This is really a bad reflection on my goalie coaching because this our shooters just tearing ⁓ up, ten shots straight. And I'm like, try and get in front of one. But yeah, no, ⁓ yeah, you you just gotta I think really just get back up and keep going and f like sit down in the nitty gritty of the work and have fun while you're working hard. I run the s ⁓ the skating station in the middle ⁓ pretty much every summer and I just try and make it fun and have the kids like skating's awful. No one wants to sit there and bag skate. So I I try and make it fun, have them get some energy going, yell, g whatever I gotta do to get Get the energy, go in the middle, cheer each other on all of it. You know, if a sewing kid takes an edge and just pull on Superman's out onto the ice, you know, chap your sticks, give them a give ⁓ a little chirp and ⁓ we get we get on with it. But yeah, no, it's I love the Shankliffer Gully School. They're so good to us. speaker-2: Yeah, goalie's one of those positions where like you almost want to compare it to like a a pitcher. It's the loneliest position in the sport. And like the there's almost like no forgiveness whatsoever. So you you have to be so mentally strong. You know, hats off to you for being able to do that. No way I'd be able to. ⁓ but you were able to make an immediate impact when you got to Bama and you became starter ⁓ in your freshman year. ⁓ what was the best and you know, maybe Some of the the tougher times of ⁓ having that immediate responsibility. speaker-1: me I kinda had to learn how to be a starter again when I got to Bama. When I was suitcasing in a three, most of my roles were back up. There was a lot of when I got to Wilmer on my first stop in Wilmer, Minnesota, I I started there for a little bit and then gnull drops and stuff started to come down and the the goalie room got crowded and I I kinda got used to starting again. I came just out of sixteens I started for cyclones and then from there I kinda just took a back seat for you know, half a year until I got traded ⁓ to Gillette. And I kind of sat there until my last game. I, you know, I think forty out of forty or like forty-nine out of forty-seven. And like ended up starting in playoffs, ⁓ got swept and then COVID knocked out playoffs anyway, so it doesn't matter. But then I ⁓ yeah, no, I had to kind of just sit and wait my time. And then I think that that was what prepared me from to get to Bama. And then once I got to Bama, I just was so excited to I drev put a lot of faith in me. He was like, if you come here, you work hard. I'm gonna play you. And it was kind of nice to get that assurance from a coach because a lot of coaches will say, Hey, like, if you come along here, if you come here, sign with me, I'll play you, I'll play you, I'll play you. But they never really follow up on that back into the deal. And they just want you to they just want to get you in the building. But I think Drev kept his word to me and then I was that's where I was able to find my success was just getting that consistency. Of knowing, hey, I'm gonna play Friday night. ⁓ to start the season, I'm gonna play Friday. Nova's got Saturday. And we just kind of did that. And then once ⁓ we made that final playoff push, he's like, All right, I'm taking the leash off. It's gonna be you until there's nothing left. So I think just finding that consistency and and starting again was really what helped me get through that that freshman year and then propelled me through all four years now. speaker-2: It's gotta mean more coming from Drev since he has a professional experience as a goalie played in the O and putting that confidence in you immediately, ⁓ to be the starter. speaker-1: Yeah, no, it it meant a lot. ⁓ Drev's played a ton and all over the place and he really did. He knew how to to manage his goalies and knew how to bring out the most of us. If I wasn't if I didn't have my best game, he'd he'd call on me to have a like in the middle of the game in between intermissions, like, Hey, I need more out of you. Come on, shut the door some and he kind of challenged me to be a better goalie as well. speaker-0: Throughout so much of the ten years in your your years at Alabama, you've seen three different leagues CHF, College Hockey Federation, AAU, all the way back to ACHA. Do you have a game or a moment that stands out among all of the teams that you've seen during your time here? speaker-1: I could probably give you one in each league that's kind of been a unicorn. ⁓ but one for me was my freshman year HF Nationals, the two to two tie for South Carolina in pool play. Just absolutely turned that tournament on its head. No one expected us to play with South Carolina, and then we tied them and then we ended up making it out of that group and playing Niagara. But I think just to be have that opportunity and like get into that game it went to OT and me and the other goalie we both saved like 45 bucks apiece. It was one of the craziest games I've ever been a part of. And just to have that go to a tie was weird. And then it ended up coming down to goals against in that whole series. And that was that was a really cool way to advance, but it was probably one of the craziest things I've ever been a part of as a team or hockey in general. speaker-0: So in that way you are the reason that your team advanced, no? speaker-1: I if you want to put it that way, I mean I'm not gonna I'm not gonna say no. I'm gonna I'll take I'll take the cookies. But ⁓ no, ⁓ giving up gave up one goal to liberty and then the Fordham game, I was fully expecting to come in there and we knew we were going ⁓ hopefully beat Fordham. I don't wanna say it was a for sure give me game, but like Fordham was down, they got they got ravaged with injuries at nationals, they ran through a sickness. They they said that they might only be playing with you know, ten guys and I was I was getting ready, just lock in, you know, ten sh I'm gonna get maybe ten to twenty shots, make sure all ten I get in front of everything and just don't give up a rebound. Because in that tournament every goal mattered. Especially when we played Liberty in that second game and it was the featured game of the night. There was a couple really tough situations to be in in that game. And then to only come out of that game with one goal is big for me and my defense in that Just we locked it down that game. So yeah, it was it was an interesting week for sure. speaker-2: It seems like like goalies have have the memories of elephants. Like I I bring up these like stuff that happened from last week's series to some players and they're like, What what what? Did I score something? Cool, I guess. But goalies, it's just like they know every s situation. They knew the time on the clock. Players on the ice. Yeah. ⁓ but this season w was a little bit more difficult at the start. You guys you guys kinda struggled out of the gate. But you're you guys are catching on. And it's, you know, something that we've noticed. You guys are already locked in for playoffs and I think it's a a matchup that's gonna be tough for anybody in in the first round. What do you think has been the key for you guys turning this season around? speaker-1: I think our key is to s just stop shooting ourselves in the foot. I think w at the start of the year, ⁓ we played, you know, we played MTSU four times out of the gate, who knew they were gonna be such a tough draw. They you know, they came out and just they they were red hot off the jump and we were hurting ourselves by taking, you know, fourteen penalties a game. It's like we're s spending half the game on the kill, you know, it's We we played mm NTSU the second game. I remember at their barn, but and it was insane because we lost seven to six and we gave up five hour play goals. ⁓ and we just we c we can't we couldn't do that anymore. And, you know, when we found success in our games, we stopped taking penalties. We're you know, we keep a level head, don't take retaliation penalties, good things happen. And we've we seem to play really well five on five. It's just when you get down to that mana Down under the man advantage. It's a tough way to come out, especially if you got, you know, like it's twenty minutes of penalties a night. speaker-0: Yeah, and Danny alluded to it four and two in your last six games after you started one and eight. That's a really impressive ⁓ bout. And you guys have a chance now at winning a conference title, you know. ⁓ I want to go back to Europe and that trip that you guys embarked on. You, Rocco Bruno and the Nets, Kyle Meyer, you know, what was it like being around those two guys? ⁓ you know, and and the team as a whole as you guys ⁓ went over there. speaker-1: Rocco and and Kyle, though those those are my guys right there. I I love both of them. I enjoy just being around both of them for you know that week. You you learn so much from just the little time you're around ⁓ You pick up little stuff, you see stuff they do. It's like, okay, you see why these guys are successful, not even not only just by the way they handle themselves on the ice, but just off the ice great people, great humans. Just, you know, they're They kind of, you know, it it was my first time overseas at all. Kyle's kind of helping me out a little bit, especially in that first game, that thriller. Yeah, no. I I definitely leaned on both of ⁓ for a little bit of support, a little bit of, you know, wisdom when it came to overseas play and especially the wider rank. It was I had definitely had to ask a little bit about that. Yeah. speaker-2: You were you were probably in the two wildest periods of that whole trip. ⁓ the last period against Amiens, where you know, stuff it kind of went haywire. I'm pretty sure like three or four guys got kicked out. But then also in the first game against Ruan, where you were in the third period, but that overtime was nuts. And then you were you were like a reverse TJ Oshi. You know, you were our goalie going ten rounds in the shootout. What was that experienced? You re thrown into the fire immediately in that game in Ruan. speaker-1: That Ruan game was it's gonna end up being one of my like top hockey memories of all time. Just g going in and I was like, we were up three to two. And I was like, at first I was like, all right, just don't blow it. Just don't blow the don't blow the lead. ⁓ that gets tossed out of the window ten minutes in. ⁓ kind of had to just battle through. ⁓ and then we got to the to the ⁓ OT and then They get a penalty, we get a penalty, and it's just like, what is going on right now? And then I was just like, All right, let's just make it to a shootout and then, you know, let's take our chances there. I like our guys. I like me in a shootout. And I was just I felt like we could have got ⁓ there with how that w game was going. I was hoping it did that instead of, you know, anything fluky. But no, that was an awesome game. I'm gonna plug this sorry. speaker-0: Doing this fine we're up one ⁓ speaker-1: Percent. speaker-2: Perfect. speaker-1: Phones at one percent. speaker-0: Good luck with that, Gav. That would have been wild. You know, that that's that's an elephant in the room, no pun intended. I had to do it. I had to find some dude. Dave said it. I mean it's is that we thought this was your house. You don't like just have a giant elephant poster, do you? speaker-2: Painting. speaker-1: I wish I had a giant elephant oil painting in the background. My phone started to hit No, I w I wish I had a giant elephant. Maybe that's gonna be like I'm gonna ask for that for my graduation gift. Is just an elephant oil painting. Because it d yeah. speaker-0: That's like the good luck charm. That's like that's like your personality, you know? speaker-1: ⁓ yeah, it it would be it'd be awesome to get to get one of those. Did that work? speaker-0: Are you a are you an art guy? Do you like to collect collect souvenirs and stuff? speaker-1: So I don't collect art. I collect two things. I collect Funko Puffs and I collect trading cards. So I th those are my two niches for collections. My brother got me into f some Funko's and then I've I've always collected cards since I was a little kid. I just love collecting football. I collect hockey and baseball too, but mainly now it's just football and hockey. speaker-2: Yeah, so anyway, Devin, I I I want to ⁓ clarify because you know we kinda alluded to it vaguely, but Hags was in the net for the shootout against Rouen and I I think it was ten rounds and he and he stopped seven of the guys. And ⁓ I think after three rounds they were they started using the same guys over and over again, which was you know, I guess they were allowed to. You know, we cycled through the whole roster, but ⁓ they kept putting out the same horses who were nasty by the way. I think it was like number eight on their team. That was like six four or something. That was that was that was pretty good. But yeah, literally TJ Ushi, but a net. So shout out to Hags. He he was awesome. He got player of the game. ⁓ and then we headed to the bar after. Had a couple of those enormous like goblets of of beer that they had at at the rink. It was awesome. speaker-1: The they were huge. speaker-2: Enormous. speaker-1: Like th they were massive. And I you know what I should have done? I should have bought one of ⁓ to take home just to have a goblet like that. speaker-0: Are you are you are you calling this a cauldron? Is that what you're trying to say? Holy cow. When I was in school, we had this drink called the fish bowl. And it was like ⁓ one of those like little goldfish tanks you would hold someone in. Or hold someone, hold a fish in. So that's what I'm picturing when you're saying ⁓ you know, a goblet here. ⁓ good stuff. You are twenty one by the way, so we're allowed to talk about beer. Allowed to we're allowed to mention it. speaker-2: It basically was. ⁓ if you can't have a chilly one a af after the game with with the fellas, I mean what are you doing? That's practically why we were over there. speaker-0: Did Rocco try and lure you to the nightclubs? speaker-1: Rocco tried to I me Rocco went out one night and it w it was it was a fun time. Rocco can get after it. The the nights I wanted to go out and get after it, guys were like, ⁓ we gotta travel the next day. I was like I'll s like as Danny knows, I I had a a very premier sleeping spot on the bus Yeah. Yeah, no, I had ⁓ Hotel California. speaker-2: To bring this up. speaker-1: Is what I like to call it down there. When we loaded all the bags into the bus, I just had kind of a sleeper. Me and Chunch down there just you know, d we were just shooting the shit, sitting down there, you know, chilling out, guys being guys down under the bus is then speaker-2: It was sweet. Yeah. So on that to it was definitely on the ⁓ the bus to Strasbourg where that it was supposed to be five hours, it ended up being like thirteen. Yeah. Hags and and chunch would just disappear for for hours at a time. I think it just became a thing. Like that that that became your spot. speaker-1: Yeah, no, I ⁓ I would find a seat and ⁓ it was normally next to Kra to Kravis. I just chill next to Kravis and be like, you know, you know, I'm gonna sit here for like five, ten minutes. Once this bus gets going, going downstairs, going to take a nap. We're gonna be on the road for a little bit, you know, wake me up and we're there. speaker-2: See, like I I thought it was there there's like a there was a secret compartment, ⁓ like right next to the like right behind the stairs that were under the seats. I thought someone was gone in there. And it was almost like you could sleep in there. Like Loki, I I thought about it a few times because of the long bus rides and the fact we were getting up at five in the morning with ⁓ Igor rattling around up there at the wheel. I don't think everyone went in there. speaker-1: Yeah, no. Go ahead. speaker-0: So Danny ⁓ I was gonna say, like, Danny has this thing on the pod we do. It's called Chunchikov Island. And I couldn't get out of my mind the the the you like burrowing in with Chunchikov and just like hearing about h his his ⁓ travels around you know that Middle Tennessee group. Was there anything like that, like ⁓ like just you guys, like you're saying, or was there anybody else that was part of this little calamity at the back? speaker-1: It w it you know, I I could say I I it was me and there was a hags in ch ⁓ in Chunch Island going on down there. It like it it looked like an MTSU power play, you know, and there's me and then there's Chunch right next to me. But no, it that's me me and him just sat down there. I talked to Chunch a lot during the trip. ⁓ of a guy, hell of a player. I always sit there, he's screening me all t I was talking to him in his ear every single game. speaker-2: Basically, yeah. speaker-1: Because you know where to find Chunch, he's right around the blue paint. speaker-2: He got he got ⁓ he got he got thrown out of that last game. ⁓ it was legendary though. He he was he was ⁓ I think he did the Hulk Hogan to his ear as he was g as he was getting escorted off the ice. It was incredible. speaker-0: I mean, this has been so much fun to to hear about your adventures and ⁓ being a senior, getting to have an opportunity at a championship, you know, what do you kind of preach to a a young Alabama group and where do you guys anticipate your style of play needing to be to to get far and accomplish the goals that you guys want? Yeah. speaker-1: For us, I think for me this year, it's changed a little bit. Just the way I've played and viewed the game, both ⁓ coming from juniors into college hockey. ⁓ my perspective shifted a little bit. This year it's been kind of just enjoy enjoy the moment. And that's kind of what I've preached to the guys. You know, you come in, you're a freshman, you think it's great, and then that it's gone. All of it's like it it went by so incredibly fast. So I think just for them, like be grounded, say like The group, like you're never gonna have this group again. Every year that I've had, there's been guys that come in you got the group coming in, you always have the group coming out. And it's just it makes each and every one of those teams so special to be a part of. And that's just kind of what I've tried to preach to them, just enjoy it while it's there. ⁓ because it is you know, it does go fast. speaker-2: Okay, Devin, I I remember what I was gonna ask because you you you brought up Chunch and ⁓ it made me think of the songs that you guys had to do. And ⁓ I I remember I remember you and Chunch had probably had the two best performances. I don't remember what your song was though. Do you remember what you did? speaker-1: Mine was I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys. speaker-2: Yeah, yeah. It was actually pretty decent, I won't lie. speaker-1: No, I've ⁓ I've had my fair share of rookie idols that I've had to be a part of. So when the when I heard we were doing a rookie idol, I like, All right, I'll I'll step up to the plate, get out the way. I don't want Rocco putting my ⁓ my number up on Facebook Marketplace for free tires in the in the Tuscaloosa area. So I ⁓ I figured I'd get up there and sing early and set the tone for the whole for the whole ⁓ rookie idol. speaker-2: Yeah, so Devin, they're basically going down the roster, I think it was in numerical order. So Chunch was one of the last guys to go 'cause he was he's eighty-nine or eighty-eight, something like that. ⁓ so when Rocco called up Chunch, ⁓ you know, I I sat around the same areas like the MT guys the entire ⁓ bus rides. You know, JJ was like, ⁓ you gotta watch this, like this this is gonna be good when Chunch got called up there. He did Thunderstruck and absolutely screamed into the microphone. Absolutely screen. Yeah. Dude, it was incredible. And I I think the bus driver was turning his microphone off because he got sick of hearing him yelling into the microphone. speaker-0: Yeah, there's about struck. If you're gonna do it, you gotta go big. So I'm I'm happy that you did it the right the right way. And it sounds like you did as well, 'cause the Backstreet Boys only have one tone and it's just their calamity of five people and you did it in one. Good stuff. ⁓ thanks so much for for coming on, Luke. You know, what's kind of ⁓ if you had to give a a one sentence pitch to people out there for Alabama hockey ⁓ three that speaker-1: Definitely come down, take a look at the school, get to know the guys for a week during the recruit skate. Our guys can get after it. It's a family environment. ⁓ or n like all the boys are our boys, like we all like all just ate and had a Super Bowl party together. We're always doing stuff and it's just the boys love each other. Everyone has each other's back down here and there's no place like Bama. So I would just say come check it out for yourself. speaker-0: Awesome. Well, thanks for your time, Luke. What a pleasure. And ⁓ you're a beauty. Good luck and we'll see you at playoffs. speaker-1: All right, thank you guys. I appreciate y'all having me on. speaker-0: Thanks to Luke Haggett for joining us, an absolute beauty, and the leader of an Alabama team that is getting ready for Kodch Hockey South playoffs in now two weeks' time. It is right around the corner. And some important games happened this past weekend, especially in the M3 and women's side of things. But ⁓ our game of the week, South Carolina versus Middle Tennessee. Boy, first time in a long time that we've seen them really go on against an M3 team tough. South Carolina had The winner with three power play goals on Friday. Now, Danny, South Carolina, you've credited them all year. Joey Broshew, one of the best coach teams, dude Dirt off a great goaltender. They play one of the most complete games we've seen from all year. speaker-2: Yeah, Devin, we were on ⁓ you know, ⁓ traveling back to last season, you, myself, and Charlie Seraphian were on the D three side of things for playoffs, and we got to see South Carolina's entire run through that division, and the way they boxed teams in defensively and kind of overwhelmed them, it looked pretty similar on Friday against middle Tennessee State. It was a little bit, you know, it's obviously more impressive here because of how high potent and just like unstoppable. Middle Tennessee State has been offensively. And so they took that 3 1 lead and it looked like, you know, you know, here comes another tour de force performance from from the South Carolina group. They ended up coughing up the lead, but you know what? Good teams defending national champion. They they found the the winner late. ⁓ and man, that's gotta be the probably the best win in ACHA ⁓ three so far this year, winning on the road against number one. speaker-0: Yeah, Middle Tennessee took game two, seven to four, and it was still more of the same. I feel like I heard on the broadcast and a and a great job by ⁓ you know, penalty box radio and all the people involved. Just a five man unit, like breakout to four check. They have active sticks, they clog lanes. I really think if they go to nationals and try and play the pool play like they did against Middle Tennessee, they're gonna be in the conversation. They're gonna be there on the last day with a chance to go to the semifinal. Because you don't see a lot of teams like this that just stay sound in the defensive zone. You talk about it all the time. Well, we gotta be good in the corners, we gotta win battles. They do that and then they back it up and do it again. And I feel like there's not many moments where you feel like they are being outmatched. Really fun game of the week. And I'm so glad that ⁓ everybody had a chance to view it there. And ⁓ big shout outs to Mason Holmes who, you know, had a had a really funky goal with about twelve minutes left. South Carolina with Billy Broshew are gonna be in the conversation and ⁓ the split series. We also had South Carolina on the women's side take on Clemson and the Gamecocks. A really, really exciting Palmetto Cup. I mean, we did not expect this game to be as close as it was, but thanks to a Clemson near comeback complete, it turned out to be a good one. speaker-2: God, yeah. I mean you would have talked about two game of the weeks delivering. ⁓ just insane. And then they they kind of followed a similar form a similar formula, ⁓ in terms of, you know, Carolina taking an early lead on the road. They coughed it up, game was tied, and then they had to score a late winner. ⁓ it was a little bit more dramatic in the Clemson game 'cause they were at five to one. ⁓ man, after a disappointing week at at that Gasparilla for Nina Molina, you know. She was absolutely dominant. I mean, it was it was really eye-popping to see the way she played and affected every single shift she was out there. And I think if that's the Nina Molina that shows up in the playoffs, Clemson's gonna have the chance to win the entire thing. No doubt in my mind. As we'll cover in the the next game they played that weekend. But South Carolina takes the first ever women's poll medal cup. I know that means so much to that team. You know, they've got some some girls that have been there since the very beginning and this is the first time playing Clemson. So ⁓ had to mean so so much. And they did it on the road in Clemson's barn. So yeah, what a couple of game of the weeks though, Devon. speaker-0: And Nina Molina earned one of the three stars of the week with that performance, ⁓ and then some because they beat Bama nine to four on the next night with five goals from Nina. Salarino also had a goal and two and assists, a couple of others in there for Clemson and and nice for them to get back on track. They had a really rough Gaspar to showcase. You never want to lose to your rivals in that way. And ⁓ you know, it's just one of those deals like they're Still in the mix, right there with teams that could, you know, make noise. And anybody right now is trying to do whatever they can to compete with Tampa. So that'll be something we follow into playoffs. On the men's side, Clemson took on Alabama. We just talked to the aforementioned Luke Haggad was a net for the Tides win in game two, seven to four. Clemson took game one after the Alabama and Auburn ⁓ one slash ⁓ two Iron Cup. Will Ralston scored a hat trick in game number one. didn't find a score sheet for game two. And just from the clips that I could see, Alabama, the second game looked like they they woke up especially late. And I think Clemson has this tendency to to start really well and then they don't really finish. So that's maybe something that you're gonna have to watch from, you know, both sides. And you know, the reason I mentioned that is is seeing them play FAU earlier this year. I mean, they almost had a incredible comeback against Clemson. So split series there on the men's three side. Woman's still rolling was Bama versus South Carolina. And Bama had a eight to seven overtime thriller. What is it about the women's games that was just so amped up this week? speaker-2: No clue. I mean, I I I think knowing that the playoffs are on the horizon, the desperation seemed to kick up for each of the teams. You know, that we saw in that little round robin of sorts with the Clemson, Bama, South Carolina. ⁓ but yeah, I mean it had to be exhausting for South Carolina because South Carolina played that morning against Alabama, eight to seven, roller coaster of emotions. Then they went on the road to play Clemson. And the emotions had to be high. So, you know, I'm I'm sure the adrenaline was pumping the first part of that game, but man, I'm sure they slept well after that that ⁓ that night because the the roller coaster, you know, eight to seven. God, and then you go up five to one and then almost blow it, but still end up with a win. My God. Yeah. But it's it's gonna be fun, Devin. The this ⁓ women's playoff scene. speaker-0: Whoever gets to cover that playoff game, I hope you call South Carolina battle tested because that's the only way I can think of them at this point after this weekend. And Claire Carson had the overtime winner. Our Gavin Coker, who's editing this episode, wrote in the notes, the podcast bump is back. speaker-2: Never left. speaker-0: It never left. I like to see it for Claire Carson because while she's not scoring as much as past years, she's still developing into a real leader on that Alabama team. But the woman's side, it it never stopped. Tampa played Florida this weekend. It really competitive games. Tampa remains unbeaten and which is crazy of a stat. Tampa has remained undefeated for each of the last three seasons. Just, I mean, Danny, like. What do you you know, if you're Florida, like they competed well, but I mean, what is it about this Tampa team that's just different? speaker-2: It's just depth, Devin, and also j just the experience of it. I mean so they've lost one game to a CHS opponent in their three seasons, and it was in the CHS championship game last year to Alabama. But other than that, they've beaten everybody. Beaten everybody they've played. And I think the stat is twenty nine the regular season in their three. ⁓ I think Habib ⁓ Normagamedov, if you know who that is, Devin. Old Habib ⁓ went twenty nine and ⁓ in his MMA career. That that's what it made me think of. I mean they kind of smother you the same way that Habib does. But yeah, this was this was the one that I was really, really ⁓ curious to see. ⁓ you know, I kinda wish there was a stream for this one, ⁓ because of how good Florida looked at Gasparilla and Tampa did Tampa things. They were up five to nothing going into the third period. Yeah, that was that made me scratch my head a little bit 'cause I I thought Florida was gonna it would give them a really good game. Who knows though, you know, ⁓ it could have been an off day. speaker-0: believe Olivia Park played in that game. And if at the time of this recording, which is Wednesday, you watch the Olympics, Italy just had this incredible game with the Swedes and were in it to the going to the thirds, tied at two. So Tampa wins one of these games five to two, and I wonder if Olivia Park had something to do with that. And Florida having a competitive one, but congrats to Tampa, number one city into this playoff, and like you mentioned, just undefeated in regular season and just one loss to Alabama the championship ⁓ a little bit ago. Tampa, still with the ⁓ two team, was wrapping up some important work before the final regional ranking. And they had the three games set with Florida Atlantic ⁓ two at Clearwater Ice Arena. I don't know about you, but I think everybody was expecting Tampa to have their way in this after they dominated FAU in the early part of the regular season at Florida Atlantic. They won all three games. Two of those by large margins. Florida Atlantic, game one, lost five to two, and Alex Moeller, Danny Griffin, Jacob Penetrante added two goals. It looked like the Tampa we know and saw, but this disqualification list got really long. I don't even know if I can name all the players on here quickly enough. There's like six or seven for FAU. There's what I count four for Tampa. Lived up to the hype, at least in the the the scrappiness of of ⁓ rivalry like that. speaker-2: Yeah, the the final count, I believe, was two hundred and fifty-four combined penalty minutes, which is easily the most I think there was a game between Alabama and KSU that was up there. Definitely over I think it was in the hundred and fifty range, but two hundred and fifty-four is ridiculous. So it's safe to say that rivalry is alive and well. You know, I and I I guess we can say this now because it doesn't take the shine off of ⁓ you know, our preview because you know the games are over now. But ⁓ both of the dirty work for the for these two teams had already been done at this point. I mean, you we'll talk about the regionals, but ultimately you don't really know if this would have affected that too too much. I mean, obviously seating, you know, if FAU got swept again. But ultimately both were on their way to Cincinnati. It was more for me, just in my perspective, you know, I just hope both teams stay healthy. ⁓ 'cause they have some seriously important games coming up. You have regionals, then CHS playoffs, and then after that. you know, potential trip to nationals. So and that's one thing, you know, game three, we had some game misconducts on the Tampa side, but also a DQ for Alex Moeller, which is noteworthy because he's gonna miss the first game at regionals. They don't have a game until a game scheduled in between until regionals. So as of right now, he's gonna miss that first game, which is significant because he's their leading scorer. speaker-0: Huge. And that's gonna be in what we're talking about coming up. Finishing up this weekend, it was Florida Atlantic with a dramatic overtime winner, four to three in game two. And game three, FAU won ten to four on the backs of a I think it was six period second or six goal second period, excuse me. ⁓ most of those on the power play. Brady Bajer, Jackson Newendike, Aaron Lentz, Jason Seafeld had two goals each in their names. And I just think right now it's setting up a a bloodbath for the energy going into regionals. On the M3 side, USF and Tampa wrapped up the battle for the Bay and USF gets the series with this one. I mean, they swept this weekend 10 to 4 game number one. Grant Dietz doing Grant Dietz things. Maxwell Mudge with two goals himself, Duhaim all for the score sheet and game two is more the same. Nine to three, much more dispersed scrolling scoring. You know, for Joe Rhodes, it's a little bit debated about how they've been able to do what they're doing, Danny. If you're a USF fan, it's not just two guys, not just their top line. They have found the way to get more depth, and that's just what they need, getting ready for nationals. speaker-2: For sure. And that's what the the teams above and there there's not many because they've been in at the very least the top ten, most of the time the top five in the rankings, the teams above them have depth. You know, it's not just one guy, it's multiple. And that'll be important, you know. And I think the most important thing though for them is that man who finished with forty goals this season, forty with a four and a zero following it, he's gotta stay out of the penalty box. I mean For Christ's sake, stay out of the box and you're gonna you're gonna give the team a chance to win. ⁓ but you know, shout out to Coach Rhodes. He won coach of the year last year and you know, has done another great job this year. speaker-0: Now, we talked about USF here. Tampa was right on the cusp of the national picture. I believe they right now sit at number eight. With a loss like this though, and the next one I'm seeing, they are right now at number fourteen. Now that's through J ⁓ February first, but there's two more rankings left before the final, or one before the final on February fifteenth, and then March first. So if we're reading this right, this game is gonna count against Tampa. I really hope they still make it. They've been a really solid team all year, and they looked really good up until this USF series. It'd be a shame to not see them make it, but you know, for for conference bias sake, let's hope they squeak in there at ⁓ you know the the the cut line, which is the top sixteen go. And there's some auto bids in there from other conferences to keep in mind in men's three. Also an ⁓ three. On the conference side of things, and really important to both sides, we said last week, what is gonna be the last thing that makes it? Kennesaw State was there, Vanderbilt, Lynn, Miami. Well, Miami and Lynn had a Donny Brook of a series. I mean, fights all over the place, just madhousing, but it's Lynn who comes out with a a stamp on their name. Four to one and eight to one wins. Towns Haley, Mark Andre, you name it. They had scoring everywhere. Really good broadcast, by the way, from some Sam Gell fan and ⁓ the Lynn production over there. I think Lynn right now has an argument based on what just happened to Embry Riddle this weekend. speaker-2: think it's still gonna be tough, but I mean they did what they had to. ⁓ you know, wanted to go back to our our interview with Luke Haggett, our conversation with him. Gotta have the goalie mindset at this point. You know, if you gave up six goals, make sure they don't make sure you don't give up a seventh. And for Lynn you just have to win the games that are left on the schedule. They want them in resounding fashion. ⁓ now whether or not they can squeak in, I I think they still have an uphill battle. I think what we have right now, ⁓ and say for Miami because I think Their position is in trouble. I think w what we have right now in the field will probably hold up. speaker-0: Yeah, and and I'm speaking a little bit of ⁓ what do you call it? Optimus, like super optimist. And what I'm referring to is they dropped a game to the Moccasins, Florida Southern, this weekend. I don't think it would affect them too badly though, because they did win eight to two the next night. Now, what we're what we're looking at here is U ⁓ UCF at number fifty three, Anassaw State at number fifty eight, tied or I guess one above Miami at fifty nine. Then it's Vanderbilt. below the cut line at sixty one and Lynn at seventy one. This is national ranking. If you've been following us all year, we've been speaking about this this, you know, list that some teams really don't have control of. I mean, you don't know what it's gonna be week to week, Danny. And ⁓ I credit Lynn for fighting in this game and and making something of it. And ⁓ Mason Morey as well for for two goals and A host of others, Funny Nights. If nothing else, we'll finish the year with a really good result in the ⁓ three side. And we'll have some more games to preview coming up that are important for that cut line conversation. Let's talk about just for a moment the ⁓ two regional bracket, which we got the news on Tuesday. The final teams for the Southeast region announced, and all three college hockey South teams are in that field. That'll play in Cincinnati, as you mentioned. Thumbs up, double thumbs up. Now Tampa state at number two desp Three. Well I've got one and you've got two. So that means speaker-2: There we go, we got we got ⁓ covered, all three teams. speaker-0: All three covered. I mean, they covered what they had to. Florida really locked it down. Wins over Boston College. Wins over Tampa. The Spartans stayed at number two despite dropping three of their last four games, including the Florida Atlantic and and those Gators. Now they're gonna play number fifteen Georgia on Saturday, February twenty first at nine A.M. Eastern from the Queen's City Sportsplex. I mean, we'll get to kind of the previews a little bit in a moment. So, you know, ⁓ I'll ⁓ I'll just rip through these kind of But Georgia's a really good team. You cannot sleep on a scrappy Bulldog squad. FAU at number four moved up big time. They were kind of around that eight-nine range, and we saw them jump five spots. They'll take on the runners up in the TSCHL, Miami, Ohio on that Saturday at three PM Eastern, same venue. And number 12, Florida will face Ohio State. Who right now is having their best years of program in history at twenty one two one and ⁓ That's the last game of the day at six PM Eastern. You know, Danny, we were all a little nervous about Florida, but is it a sense of relief to at least have all teams with a chance? You have to win two games to go to national. speaker-2: Yeah. You know, y all you gotta do is get in the dance, right? Hockey's a weird sport. More than probably I I I think maybe baseball is another one where it's just like you just gotta get in and, you know, crazy things happen. It's it's one game. But you know what? I I don't even think of any of these teams as underdogs, especially Florida, considering how they played the semester. Yeah, I think their rankings a little deceiving. You know, I won't lie to you, I don't know much about Ohio State as a team. ⁓ no, if they're ⁓ Twenty one, two, and one, though, I would consider them a pretty decent squad. You know, they're gonna be super confident and they've won twenty one of twenty four games. Yeah, so I don't know. I I'm excited to see how everything pans out. ⁓ everyone's got a chance though. speaker-0: And all you need is a little bit of hope. Interesting enough, it's an all TSCHL and college hockey south matchups there. We'll break it down more in next week's episode with the preview officially. Put the NUC speaker-2: Duke's ⁓ T C H L or whatever it is. speaker-1: It's speaker-0: You you need it because they are a really good conference. They've produced the last couple of national champions in ⁓ two. It's arguably one of the hardest trophies to win among the five in ACH, let alone get through regional. But ⁓ when you see this next Friday, we'll ⁓ have that for you the day before this all gets underway. Mentioned last week that the women's field is set it's Tampa, Florida, USF from the south, Alabama, South Carolina, Clemson, Auburn, and Georgia from the north. Women's division at this point jockeying for position. Go ahead. Yeah, this is ⁓ this is this is breaking stuff. Danny, give us all the first round games that are gonna happen at playoffs. speaker-2: Okay, so now we can talk about the official officially set locked in matchups on the women's side. Starting off with the number one seed Tampa Spartans playing Georgia, the eight seed. Then on the same side of the bracket, the four seed Florida first year against the five seed Clemson first year, which would be a rematch from Gasparilla a few weeks weeks ago. Then three versus six matchups, South Carolina against South Florida. Very interesting. A lot of offense, I would presume. And then, and then Devin. Wow. It's almost like they ⁓ you know, we wrote this into the script. Two versus seven, Alabama versus Auburn. I think they might be rivals. I don't know. I can't confirm this. Maybe we should ask tags, but I think they're rivals, and ⁓ that wraps up the first round matchups. ⁓ some interesting ones. Yeah, but hey, you know, we got first round matchups at least for one of our divisions. I'm excited. Let's go. Playoffs. I'm looking at the playoffs logo and it's just making me All warm in the chest because I know it's around the corner. speaker-0: I but we can save it for the playoff preview, but I'll just say right off the bat, I want to see ⁓ Florida and Clemson game go the distance. Florida came out of nowhere this year. We we were like, Well, they're a new program, relatively speaking, and you always want to see them do well, but you're not expecting it, and they have already said no, like we're gonna Try our best to get to the end of this. We're gonna be one of the teams that you're looking at. I think Clemson had a bad taste in their mouth in the last few weeks. And I feel like Nina Molina wants to explode for more. Nina Molina and Ms. Marissa Bunilla, somebody from the pod's gotta get the edge. I'd just say for now that's what I'm looking forward to. So cool though. We have our first playoff field set. That makes the scheduling a lot easier for Danny and I behind the scenes, which is ⁓ trust me, you don't want to know. There's lot going on, but we'll we'll find a way to get there. In M3, we still have Four spots technically open, but we'll find out the X's and O's and the solidification of that field very soon. And we mentioned to you kind of the nationals field, and we'll give you that update here on the current standings. At the last time we talked to you, Middle Tennessee was the number one team of the country. That's still true. Now with a loss to South Carolina, though, that will certainly help the Game Cox, who are right now number seven. And then you see USF just above them at number six, followed up. By Tampa at 14. And that is the top ⁓ 16 set of teams. So you've got four in there. Clemson is going to be ineligible for nationals, but they are at fifteen. And then Florida Golf Coast is at number twenty. And Danny, you and I have talked about what does Florida Golf Coast have to do to get in. I feel like they've done all they can at this point. They've always been on the cut line border for getting in, but without a conference tournament, and maybe they can still do it. Maybe they can. Go the distance and and lock themselves in. But for an at-large bid, this might be just it for them. Very close though at number twenty. And ⁓ we mentioned to you the standings, and so you can go on the Instagram and the website at college hockey south.com to see the full list of M3 standings there and get your fill on where we are at heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. Well, ACDC also was set in Florida has the number one seed, Jacksonville number two. Ember Riddle and Florida Tech are gonna duke it out for the number three seed between them respectively. And then at five USF and six Florida State. So, Danny, enough yapping of me. Why don't we turn it over to some of our game previews? speaker-2: Indeed, our game of the week, and this one I'm excited about, because we don't give the ACDC teams enough shine, in my opinion. And this one carries weight, the three and four seeds, dukein out. Florida Tech traveling to the Daytona Ice Arena to take on the Ice Eagles of Embry Riddle. Haven't had a Florida Tech game of the week yet this year, so I'm excited to see ⁓ how they do. ⁓ so we'll we'll find out what that playoff bracket will look like by I believe I think so if Ember Riddle wins in regulation, then they're locked into the third seed in that game of the week. If they win in regulation, they're number three. They'll face Florida State. I believe Florida Tech would have to, since they're behind by one point, do that math in your head. I'm not prepared to do that right now. I apologize. If you want to do it, Devin, be my guess, but I don't have the mental capacity right now. speaker-0: I'm good. I I'm right there. I'm right there with you. I I mean, full disclosure to the the people listening, I'm kind of on fumes. It's been a long week, but we're still punching and I I feel like I gained momentum and gained energy talking about this. So if you're Florida Tech, do you almost want to play USF instead of Florida State? Because Florida State looked pretty good out there at the ⁓ Savannah Classic. speaker-2: That's what I was thinking. I mean, look, no one ever is gonna lay down in a game. That's just not gonna happen. ⁓ at least so I would think. But at the same time, you know what? Like, I wanna play the best teams. Forget that. You know what? Like give me Florida State. I don't care. If if I'm on the team, give me Florida State. So what? We'll beat him. ⁓ but yeah, certainly a ⁓ a little bit of a ⁓ wolf in sheep's clothing as a number six seed. But yeah, so That's our game of the week. I'm excited about that. Not excited about the nine forty five start time on Friday. ⁓ had a couple of late ones. Our two game of the weeks were not great for my bedtime. Anyways, moving along, ⁓ Alabama against High Point on the women's side. ⁓ they were previously scheduled, but I think believe that was the ice storm, one of the several winter calamities that happened. ⁓ they have that rescheduled. So nice little tune up for Alabama before they try to repeat as conference champions. And then we move on to the battle for Boca, which it has such importance now after Lynn really gave the belt to Miami. Who knows? They they could be on the cusp of getting into the playoff picture. They play FAU M3 who's had a up and down season, but I've looked at their scores from this semester and you know what? They're not really getting stomped the way they were in the fall and they've got they definitely have the talent. Like Sam Watson's unbelievable. Peter Petito. ⁓ my goodness, who's the who's the other forward that that does it, Devin? speaker-0: Well, right now it's Peter. ⁓ well, yeah. Yeah, I can't believe I I've also also sorry to Drew if you know you listen to this 'cause I interviewed that guy and he's a locker room glue guy. He you know what he did? When they played Florida Southern, he he sent me a text at like one in the morning and he in all caps and it says, We will not lose. And I think they're gonna need that kind of energy against Lynn because right now, if you're the fighting knights, you have everything to play for. speaker-2: Brendan. speaker-0: With an FAU team that let's be honest, they're not gonna make playoffs. They're way too far out of the picture. But you're at home at Boca Ice Center, so who knows? That'll be get to play spoiler. You get to play spoiler. You get to do it a against your rivals. And every time Lynn has a rivalry game, it it leads to about four or five post whistle scuffles. I'd have to expect we're gonna see the same thing. So, you know, if if you wanna see that, turn in Owl T V on Friday, six thirty PM Eastern. Now, Kennesaw State in South Carolina, I think has the lot of mustard, maybe the most mustard for me among M3 matchups here. If Kennesaw State comes in here and competes against South Carolina, do you anticipate them being more than I guess a first round win possibly? Or you know what what can we expect out of this one? speaker-2: Well, and I we talked about this, I mentioned it briefly with with Christian Sousa. Last year Carolina went undefeated, super, super impressive. And the one team that I saw on their schedule that gave them a hard time was Kennesaw State. Like they've they were they were somehow able to break down the defensive walls that South Carolina put up. And then South Carolina or Kennesaw State gave them one of their first losses this year, one of their very few. So and they've got momentum. They're playing good hockey. They've beaten up Georgia Tech a couple of times, which was, you know, eyebrow raising. speaker-0: I love this sentiment that I think Kennesaw State is a it's a gritty team that I mean Christian Sousa, one of their leaders, they have the talent on the top end to do it. You just have to keep up with South Carolina long enough to make it a game. For you know, South Carolina, you do not want to have a slip up. Everything matters in momentum wise. So I feel like it's an important game regardless for them, if even if they're solidified. And you still gotta earn your way to nationals. You don't wanna leave any outliers that could potentially bump you out of being the top sixteen teams. ⁓ three there. Food for thought in this ⁓ Well, are we really at the final week? We've got some games next week, Danny, but this really feels like kind of it for a lot of all intents and purposes. We've got some speaker-2: games so not this coming weekend but the one after but the one after that that will have ⁓ regionals that will take center stage obviously but you know we've got some games outside of that that don't have too much impact outside of just pride I know there's a second Carolina and Clemson women's game which I'm very excited to to see. I might have a member of the Carolina women's team on the podcast next week which will be fun to talk about. But yeah ⁓ that we're we're around in that corner, Devin. We really are we're we're heading towards home. speaker-0: And home being Kanachaki South playoffs again, February twenty-sixth through March first at the Panthers Ice Den, South Florida. It's right here, Danny. And ⁓ I really hope we get a good turnout from the viewers. I think if you're a parent, supporter, anybody that listens to us, you're gonna want to be there at least one of these days. It's going to be a great time. The connections you'll make are priceless. And I just think it's gonna be good hockey. I think everybody can expect the ⁓ three teams to to battle. And to our understanding, I mean, it seems like that tournament is going to matter for for rankings, because the last rank is on March first. So you really have stuff to think about and ⁓ the best speaker-2: Florida Gulf Coast, Devin, we we talked about this came up in a group chat. You mentioned last year they were in a pretty similar position, just like just outside of the field and they were just done. The season was over because they're an independent. Now this year they've got a chance to play teams that are in the top sixteen, whether it's Clemson or not. You know, Clemson's not eligible. But there's five what, five that we have in the top sixteen that they can play and beat. Like that's huge, hugely important. So Gulf Coast has to be looking their chops. They've got a second lease on life, find their way to nationals where they might be going with their M2 team. speaker-0: It's probably the rarest thing you'll say, like you wanna play the best, but you really wanna play a USF, a Middle Tennessee, a Tampa, and earn your way there. Just food for thought, and we've got a lot of it. And thank you all for listening with us. It's been such a fun ride up to this point. We're gonna keep it going. This is the most important time, and we'll talk to y'all next week again. But for now, this has been episode twenty-five of College Hockey Mouth, a college hockey cell series, a sit down with Luke Haggett. For Danny Ball, I'm Devin Sarah. Talk to you soon. Have a great weekend.