The FGCU DII club hockey team swept the Miami University RedHawks on Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1, to remain at the top of the ACHA Southeast standings, with 6-4, and 4-0 victories, respectively.

The Eagles traveled to Oxford, Ohio, from Jan. 24 to 26 to play Lindenwood University, Miami University, and Liberty University. Over that weekend, FGCU lost to Lindenwood (4-7) and Miami University (4-8). However, they secured one win over Liberty (6-3). The Eagles eyed redemption in front of their home crowd.

Seconds after the puck drop, forward James Tilley put up the first goal of Friday’s game for the Eagles. 

“I think it’s good just to get in [the goal] and make sure you’re ready to go when the game starts,” FGCU coach Eric Mabie said. “We definitely made it a point to try to make sure we started on time here. And I think we accomplished that.”

The remainder of period one was a battle to score. With just over two minutes left on the clock, FGCU forward Jake Court was the sole player to do so. He gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead to exit the period.   

Tilley scored his second goal in the fourth minute of the second period. After this goal, the RedHawks began a second-period charge with back-to-back goals. Forward Connor Fryberger netted a goal in the 11th  minute. Forward Luke Miller took advantage of a power play to end the period down by one, 3-2. 

FGCU kicked off the third period with three successive goals. Forward Shayne Tomlinson obtained a goal for the Eagles 44 seconds after the start of the third period. Forward Jaiz Barner followed this up with a goal at the second-minute mark. Tomlinson scored the last goal for the game, his twentieth of the season.

The RedHawks benefitted from a power play at the 11:47 mark. Forward Erik Miller netted the goal with FGCU forward and captain Jack Cohen in the box for slashing. Miami University defenseman Andrew Lawrence completed the game’s last goal, resulting in a 6-4 win for the Eagles.

After securing a 6-4 win on Friday, FGCU followed it up with a 4-0 shutout victory over the RedHawks on Saturday, Feb. 1. 

Eagles’ forward Jordan Comilla started the scoring off with the first period’s only goal. He was assisted by forward David Walsh and defenseman Aiden McCarthy. With no shots made by the RedHawks, the Eagles went into second with a 1-0 lead. 

Forward Adam Beauvais scored the second goal for FGCU, assisted by forward Thomas Zebley and goaltender Mason Decaire. Walsh put the puck back in the net to grow the Eagles’ lead to 3-0.

The only goal scored in the third period was made by the Eagles’ forward Jack Cohen. This goal marked his twentieth goal of the season. Decaire saved 29 shots on goal from the RedHawks, which ended the game 4-0 for the Eagles.

“We had lost two out of three on the road, and getting back at home, we didn’t want to keep that train of losing rolling, so getting them back [two wins] was definitely important,” said Mabie. 

The Eagles are 21-6 so far this season. They will play Northwestern University at home on Feb. 6-7.