The Florida Ice Hockey Club has competed in the Savannah Hockey Classic since its inaugural tournament in 1999, winning the championship five separate times. This year, it came up just short.
Despite an intense third-period push by the Gators, the No. 2 Vols were able to hold on to win 6-3 on Friday. Tennessee (14-2-1) has won all three of its matchups against Florida (8-8-0) this season.
Florida’s night was characterized by sloppy play, both with and away from the puck, with multiple costly turnovers and missed chances leading to Tennessee goals. In a game where the Gators’ defense corps was completely outworked, sophomore goaltender Connor Lee stood strong, stopping 47 of the 53 shots pelted at him to keep it competitive until the last whistle.
Despite its struggles to get the puck out of its zone, Florida struck first midway through the first period. The Gators drove to the net on an uncharacteristically disjointed play by the Vols, and freshman forward Liam Lecauchois was able to catch a rebound and go bar down to open the scoring.
The Gators then tacked onto their lead when sophomore forward Keegan Lampinen, who led the team in scoring during their national championship season, skillfully dragged the puck around a Tennessee defender and into the net on a power play.
Florida's unexpected early momentum was tested when the Vols responded with a goal of their own less than 15 seconds later. Only moments later, Florida’s lead disappeared as Tennessee scored again to tie the game late in the first period, capitalizing on a missed opportunity by junior winger Jackson Choi at the other end of the ice.
The Vols never took their foot off the gas for the rest of the game, scoring three goals in the first half of the second period to go up 5-2. Tennessee completely caged the Gators in their zone, making them play catch-up as Lee was hung out to dry.
Sophomore center Mitchell Spranklin who led the charge for Tennessee. Coming into the game as the Vols’ lead scorer on the season, he ended with four points on the night, including an assist on the game-winning goal by junior winger Kyle Stober.
The third period appeared to be much of the same until the Gators finally broke through with a goal by junior winger Nicholas Ho, who was left wide open in front of the net after a strong forecheck by Florida along the boards.
While the goal provided a small spark of hope for the Gators, it was too late. Florida pulled their goalie with three minutes remaining, but a key stop by sophomore goaltender Patrick Green allowed Spranklin to shoot into the empty net, officially putting the game away for the Vols.
The Gators will compete against Georgia or Georgia Tech for third place in the classic on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia.
