Now ranked as the top team in the ACHA Men’s Division II for the Southeast region, the FGCU club hockey team swept its doubleheader weekend against Sacred Heart University on Nov. 22- 23 to solidify its ranking.
The Eagles controlled the first period, scoring three goals while goaltender Mason Decaire kept the Pioneers off the scoreboard. The first goal was secured by captain forward Jack Cohen on a power play due to Micheal Cardoza serving a 15-minute penalty off of a game misconduct penalty.
Forwards Shayne Tomlinson and James Tilley closed off the first period with a goal apiece.
Forward Christos Caminis acquired Sacred Heart’s sole goal of the game just over three minutes into the second period on a power play. FGCU defenseman Shane Romback earned his second goal of the season at the 7:16 mark. Eagles’ forward Shane Murphy followed Romback’s goal and added another tally to the score. With 1:40 remaining in the second, FGCU forward Jordan Comilla took advantage of a power play, ending the period 6-1.
Tomlinson added another goal early in the third period. Eagles’ defenseman Andrew Jensen put one in the net less than a minute later. Forward for FGCU, Adam Beauvais scored bringing his season total to 10 goals. With Romback in the penalty box, Murphy earned a short-handed goal in the game’s final minute. This reflected a 10-1 win for the Eagles.
Seven goals were scored in the first period on Saturday, Nov. 23, which set the tone for the high-scoring game.
The Eagles opened the night with a goal from Tomlinson. The Pioneers followed by scoring on a power play with defenseman Dylan Stiles. Eagles’ forward Jaiz Barner put the puck in the net on a power play, as a result of a slashing penalty by Jackie Murphy. FGCU’s defenseman Aiden McCarthy scored shortly after. Stiles, again, on a power play earned the second and final goal of the night for the Pioneers. Less than a minute later, Barner added another goal for the Eagles. Tilley scored the final goal of the period. The teams headed to the lockers 5-2.
Eagles’ forward Thomas Zebley scored his first goal of the season. Cohen capitalized on a power play followed by Beauvais to bring the score to 8-2. This goal was Beauvais’ eleventh goal of the season, in which he has played eleven games so far.
“He [Beauvais] doesn’t need much time with the puck on his stick to make an impact on the game. But what makes him special is that he’s not just out there scoring goals. He’s out there finishing hits. He’s out there doing things the right way defensively, but when he gets the puck on his stick in the scoring area more often than not, it’s going in,” FGCU coach Eric Mabie said.
With the 8-2 on the scoreboard, the tension between the teams rose. The third period had a total of 15 penalties from both teams.
“There’s a fine line between penalties that are a part of the game and penalties that are just crossing the line and being done for no reason. So in this situation, as the game was getting out of hand on the scoreboard, the opposition was getting quite engaged and mixing things up a bit and trying to draw us into a couple of things,” Mabie said. “At the end of the day, we’re trying to win hockey games.”
Quick into the third, Eagles’ forward David Walsh scored. Only 27 seconds later, Tilley put the puck back into the net, scoring his tenth goal of the season. The onslaught of goals continued as Cohen and Walsh scored on the following two power plays to close out a dominant 12-2 win.
These two wins put FGCU at 12-4 overall this season. The Eagles have an off week as they prepare to take on the University of Massachusetts-Amherst the weekend of Dec. 6 and Dec. 7.
“I don’t think that putting pucks in the net is a problem for us. I, also, don’t think defending is a problem, but defending, at the end of the day, is what’s going to really pay off on a stretch, and that’s what we’re focused on,” Mabie said.
