The Florida Ice Hockey Club is on the podium at the Savannah Hockey Classic.
After being down by two goals late in the second period, the Gators (9-8-0) rallied to beat the Division II Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 5-3 and clinch third place in the tournament.
The Gators entered the game as clear favorites against a floundering Georgia Tech (4-11-1) that had already been shut out 9-0 the night before. However, it was Florida that found itself in a multi-goal hole early in the second period.
Even though the Gators dominated time of possession and got plenty of shots on goal, none of them were quality chances. The Yellow Jackets flocked goaltender Brendan Germano, preventing the Gators from establishing a clear shooting lane.
When Georgia Tech did have the puck, the Gators gave the Yellow Jackets too much space. Players were left unchallenged as they broke through the neutral zone. In the end, two costly offensive zone penalties allowed Georgia Tech defenseman Joshua Li and forward Cullen Dorcas to score back-to-back power play goals.
Florida finally broke through on its 32nd shot of the game late in the second period. After skating the puck in cleanly, junior winger Nicholas Ho was able to knock in a backhand feed from freshman forward Liam Lecauchois, giving the Gators a much-needed first goal.
Less than a minute later, a scrambling play by Georgia Tech allowed UF sophomore winger Michael McCoy to strip the puck from the Yellow Jackets and wrap it around Germano to tie the game up.
From there, the Yellow Jackets were reeling, and the Gators sensed their vulnerability. Another turnover by Georgia Tech in the offensive zone left the puck on sophomore forward Keegan Lampinen’s stick, and he immediately took advantage. Lampinen slipped it in the five-hole, giving the Gators a 3-2 lead and their third goal in just as many minutes.
The Gators fully took over from there. Though Florida looked sloppy in its own zone at times, the Yellow Jackets were never able to fully take advantage. After a failed 3-on-1 attempt by Georgia Tech, junior forward Maxim Thellab took it the other way and shot it past Germano to extend Florida’s lead to 4-2.
The game was sealed after the Yellow Jackets turned it over on a failed clear attempt, feeding the puck straight to sophomore winger Michael Katz who sniped it up and in.
Though Georgia Tech managed to get a goal back due to a careless play in the Gators’ defensive zone, it didn’t make much of a difference. Third place belonged to the Gators.
It’s Florida’s fourth straight year finishing on the podium at the Savannah Hockey Classic. The Gators previously won the tournament in 2022 and 2023 and came in second place in 2024.
Next Friday, the Gators will travel to Clearwater to take on the University of Tampa at Clearwater Ice Arena. That game is set to start at 8:30 p.m.
Contact Daniela Ortiz at danioriz90190@gmail.com. Follow her on X @danielaortizUF.
