The FGCU Division II club hockey team entered with a 6-1 record as they welcomed the 7-4 Bowling Green Falcons for a doubleheader on Oct. 27 and 28.
The Eagles came off of a weekend doubleheader against the Maine Black Bears, winning both games in dominating fashion. They looked to carry this momentum into their two games against the Falcons.
Once the initial faceoff got the game underway, the Eagles were immediately on the attack. They scored two goals in the first two minutes of the game. Sophomore Andrew Castello scored the first goal, followed by junior Shayne Tomlinson for the second.
Immediately taking a 2-0 lead, FGCU set the mood for what was to come over the rest of the game.
The first period of dominance continued for the Eagles as they scored three more goals before heading into the intermission. Senior Wyatt Engelmann, junior Carson Engelmann, senior Spence Van Tiem and Tomlinson scored a goal each, putting the Eagles up 6-0.
As the second period started, the Falcons struck first. This goal ended up being their only one of the weekend.
FGCU rallied back through aggression, scoring three goals and racking up two penalties to regain control of the period on their terms. These goals were scored by sophomore Brady Carlock as well as Castello and Van Tiem again.
When the third period got underway, the game was said and done. The Eagles had a 9-1 lead over the Falcons at that point.
This lead was then extended with four more goals to end the game with a 13-1 FGCU win. Van Tiem got himself on the board once again to start the third period. Then, sophomore Jake Court scored, followed by Tomlinson and Castello. In the game, Castello, Tomlinson and Van Tiem all earned hat tricks.
Heading into the second game, Bowling Green looked to turn their first game struggles around. As the first period faceoff began, FGCU just repeated their performance from the night before.
The Eagles started the first period with two goals in six minutes, the first by Wyatt Engelmann, then from Van Tiem. This goal pushed Van Tiem into the lead for goal scoring for the team this season with nine goals.
Period one ended with the Eagles up 3-0, with this lead only growing in the next two periods.
The game proceeded to turn into another blowout win for the Eagles. FGCU went on to score four goals in the second period and three goals in the third period, turning that into a 9-0 win over Bowling Green and sweeping both games over the weekend.
FGCU continues their winning streak and improves their record to 8-1 on the season thus far. The Eagles continue ACHA Division II competition versus the University of Delaware on Nov. 3 and 4.
