The FGCU Division II (D2) club hockey team swept both of its games in dominating fashion against the University of Utah by scores of 9-1 and 8-1 on Oct. 10 and Oct. 11, respectively. With the pair of wins, the Eagles improved to 6-0-0 on the season.

Game One – Friday, October 10

The first game of the weekend got off to a fast start as the Eagles dictated play from the opening faceoff. Forwards Jordan Comilla and Jaiz Barner set up David Walsh’s first goal of the season to open the scoring at 1:58. Trey Wandall crashed the net to score at 13:55, and three minutes later, scored again for FGCU’s third goal in the opening frame.

“When we come out early and take the lead, I think it really pushes the other team back on their heels and makes them open up their game,” head coach Eric Mabie said.

FGCU kept its foot on the pedal in the second period. Barner found the back of the net at 4:10. Then, a holding penalty from the Utes resulted in Adam Beauvais capitalizing for the Eagles on the power play at 8:56. Less than 30 seconds later, forward Ty Broten added another goal to extend FGCU’s lead to six.

A minute later, Utah’s Benjamin LaDuke snuck one past FGCU goaltender Keegan Wise. At 14:56, forward Barner scored his second goal of the period to close it out 7-1.

In the third period, a Utah slashing penalty at 14:20 sent FGCU to the power play. The Eagles struck again on the ensuing power play, as forward Comilla whistled a shot past the Utes’ goaltender. Four minutes later, Wandall scored to complete the hat trick. 

Goaltender Wise finished the game with 34 saves and recorded his fourth win of the season.

Game Two – Saturday, October 11

The first period of game two was a stark contrast to the opening frame the night before. The opening period saw both teams apply pressure and generate several chances, but no goals.

Five minutes into the second period, Comilla won the faceoff and fed Barner as he broke to the net to open the scoring for FGCU. Jake Court scored the second goal of the game for the Eagles. A minute later, FGCU added another goal as Wandall snapped a shot towards the net to beat the Utes’ goaltender. Court added two more goals within a minute to complete the second-period hat trick that gave FGCU a five-goal lead.

“I don’t think we changed anything,” Mabie said about the burst of offense in the period.

“Pucks weren’t going in there in the first [period], but that’s okay. We wanted to play the same game for the entirety of the night, and we did just that.”

Defenseman Blake Farrell scored his first goal of the season at 4:13 in the third period. Mason DeCaire made several stops to keep the Utes off the board, but he eventually allowed a breakaway goal from Utah’s Adam Kural at 10:03. In his first start of the season, DeCaire put on a 36-save performance. 

FGCU added two more goals in the third, including a power-play goal from Colin Anna and an even-strength goal from Shayne Tomlinson one minute apart at 14:56 and 15:57, respectively.

Ten players scored goals for the Eagles over the weekend, including hat tricks from forwards Wandall and Court. The Eagles scored three goals in 11 power play opportunities and were perfect on the penalty kill, going 12-12.

“We feel like we’re a deep team,” Mabie said. “We feel like up and down the lineup, on any given night someone else can step up … It was a good weekend for us.”

The Eagles will look to extend their unbeaten streak when they host Bentley University on Oct. 17 and 18.