Hockey

Nathan Pelligra was standing on the sidelines of a grassy field when he realized he didn’t want to be there. His lacrosse coach was chastising him for taking a swing at an opposing player after the guy kept hitting him in the head with his stick. “He goes, ‘What are you doing? This isn’t hockey!’ And, I kind of took a look around and realized, like, ‘Yeah, you’re right, so why am I playing this?’” Nathan said. He went on to play for the Buffalo Junior Sabres in their 2012-13 season, which saw them named the Ontario Junior Hockey...

The FGCU DII men’s hockey team took on the Sacred Heart Pioneers Friday, Nov. 18 and Saturday, Nov. 19 in a back-to-back weekend home stand before the Thanksgiving break, picking up their 10th and 11th wins of the season. The Eagles remained unbeaten with their 5-1 victory in the first matchup where goalie Tyler Tracy saved 23 of 24 shots on the night. Pioneers goalie Brandon Rozzi was busy in net, as he got the loss saving 45 of 50 shots. Game two saw Tyler Tracy picking up the win after coming in for Bradley Rambhajan after he left...

The Eagles traveled up to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they tied twice and won once on their back-to-back-to-back three-game series against Davenport University, improving the Eagles’ record to 9-0-2 on the season. This series was an interesting one, as the Eagles faced the DII squad on the first two nights and facedthe DI squad on the third straight night. The Eagles took a tie against the Davenport DII squad in a 3-3 contest. The Eagles fell into a 2-0 hole in the first period. They would answer to the adversity with three straight goals in the second period, not...

The FGCU DII men’s hockey team defeated the Miami RedHawks 2-1 in the most defensive game for the Eagles thus far Friday night. Through the first six games, the Eagles were averaging over nine goals a game and hadn’t scored under seven in any game thus far. One thing that did hold true for the Eagles was their dominant physical defense that didn’t buckle under the pressure in the final minutes against a ruthless Miami forecheck. RedHawks goaltender Jake Gerdes collected his first loss of the season in a tough one against the Eagles while Tyler Tracy was stellar...

The defending ACHA Champion FGCU DII men’s hockey team is undefeated through six games played this season, and it’s not gone unnoticed. The Eagles were ranked No. 1 in the southeast region in the first DII ACHA poll. The Eagles were given a rating of 90.44 out of 100 by the ACHA. The only team that ranked better out of four regions was Davenport University, in the central division, with a 90.63 rating. The Eagles have a potent offense, scoring an average of 9.3 goals a game. Their offense is evenly distributed throughout their lineup with Michael Chemello, David...

The FGCU DII men’s hockey team took on the DI SUNY Cortland Red Dragons for the second straight night in another high-scoring battle. The Eagles would rally for their sixth straight win in a 12-3 victory. Coming into the game, the Eagles were averaging nine goals a game. Eagles goalie Bradley Rambhajan took his third win of the season, allowing one goal before being relieved for the last 13 minutes of the third by AJ Brink. Hunter Anderson would take the loss after allowing 12 goals before being pulled for Elliot Messmer with 3:23 remaining in the game. The Eagles picked up right where...

The FGCU DII men’s hockey team picked up an 8-0 victory Friday over the DI SUNY Cortland Red Dragons. Coming into the game, the Eagles had won their last four games, never scoring less than seven goals. The Red Dragons came into the game with a 3-2-1 record. FGCU’s Bradley Rambhajan picked up his second shutout on the year and third win. “There’s a lot of communication and shot blocking on defense right now,” Rambhajan said. “And, on the shots that do get through, they’re able to give me a clear lane to see, so it’s a lot easier...

The FGCU DII men’s hockey team extended its win streak to four with a 9-1 win over Holy Cross in front of a packed house Saturday night. This was a special night for the Eagles in numerous ways; it was the second game of Eagle Family Weekend as well as the ACHA National Championship ring ceremony. Eleven players on the current roster accepted their rings prior to the game. FGCU’s goaltender picked up his second win of the season, saving 21 of 22 shots. While Holy Cross netminder William Huntress collected a loss while being peppered with a total...

The FGCU DII men’s hockey team put on an offensive clinic against Holy Cross in its third game of the season, taking a 13-1 victory. Michael Chemello put up a goal and five assists in a six-point night, while Josh Koerner netted a hat trick and registered two assists. The Eagles’ goaltender, Tyler Tracy, picked up his second win of the season, allowing one goal on 13 shots. The Eagles wasted no time running up the score, as they took a commanding seven-goal lead in the first period. FGCU was constantly attacking through the first 10 minutes, never out...

In the second game of a back-to-back series against Merrimack College, the FGCU DII men’s hockey team held down the Nest with a 7-0 victory Saturday night. The Eagles soared in this one with at least two goals each period, including a three-goal third period to finish up the night. Offense wasn’t the only thing working for the Eagles, as goalie Bradley Rambhajan picked up a shutout in his first game of the year. FGCU took no time at all to start the scoring just 2:03 into the first period with Nathan Pelligra picking up right where he left off Friday, scoring the opening goal to...