LAKELAND, Fla. - Day one of the College Hockey South D3 Playoffs, the Pictsweet Cup, at the Lakeland Ice Arena came to a close late Friday night as #1 University of Miami, #2 Florida Southern College, #3 Kennesaw State, and #5 University of Tennessee advanced to the semifinals of the bracket. Florida Southern defeated Florida State 5-1 to set up a matchup with Kennesaw State.
#2 Florida Southern def. #7 Florida State, 5-1
Florida Southern's offense was led by Michael Woll with two goals Friday evening. Matthew Fromer, Paul Rigolini, and
Bradley Peterlin all found the back of the net with each contributing a point to the Mocs' winning score of 5-1, of which were scored in the final frame of the game. After a 1-1 first period and tight matchup in the second period, it was Fromer who scored the game-winning goal in the second, putting the Mocs ahead for the rest of the match.
Josh Shames of the Seminoles scored the sole point for FSU in the first frame.
Sophomore Jason Cribbs started and finished in the net, maintaining an impeccable defense throughout all three frames.
#5 Tennessee def. #4 Alabama, 5-3
In the first game of the night, we saw a close game between #5 University of Tennessee and #4 University of Alabama. The Volunteers pulled ahead by two goals in the last three minutes of the final frame, netting a 5-3 victory over the Tide. Peter Hoffman, Trevor Lundy, Nicholas Carline, Duncan Pugh, and Erik Paulhardt all found the back of the net scoring a goal for UT. Duncan Pugh scored the game-winning goal that pushed the Volunteers ahead in the third frame.
#3 Kennesaw State def. #6 Florida Tech, 7-2
#3 Kennesaw State went up against #6 Florida Tech next on the bracket, ending in a landslide victory for KSU. The final score was 7-2 with the Panthers barely able to keep up with the Owls' relentless offense. The offense in question was spearheaded by Jayden Price with a game-high of 5 goals for the Owls, who scored the game winning shot in just the first period with a 3 point lead over the Panthers.
#1 Miami def. #8 Florida, 13-2
The last match of the night pits #1 Miami against #8 UF. Miami dropped down from D2 at the start of this season and quickly carved a place for themselves at the top of the conference. Miami opened up the first frame with a staggering offense, leading by 5 goals by the end of the first period. Miami's offense was led by William Cincotta who scored 4 goals, followed up by Thomas Ferry II who found the back of the net and scored 3 goals for Miami. The final score ended 13-2, with Miami advancing to the semifinals.
The Mocs will face off with the Owls Saturday night to see which team will go on to the championship game with a 6:30 pm start time. In the other semifinal, the #1 Canes will take on the #5 Vols at 9:15 pm. The first puck drop of the day is at 1 pm for the seventh place game between the #7 Seminoles and #8 Gators and #8 Florida before the fifth place game at 3:45 pm between the #4 Crimson Tide and #6 Panthers.
