Andrew Pawling
The Mocs fell 1-0 in front of a full house to the University of South Florida (USF) in their home opener at the Lakeland Ice Arena (LIA) this past Saturday.
Nearly 800 fans, with over half being students, attended the matchup. The crowd was the largest at any FSC athletics event this academic year.
“With the tight quarters that we have in here I think it was very exciting for the players,” head coach Gilles Richard said. “Once we got going it was a fun atmosphere, the stands were packed, and it was just an awesome experience for everyone involved.”
Pre-game ceremonies included appearances by FSC President Dr. Anne B. Kerr and Director of Athletics Drew Howard, both of which participated in the ceremonial puck drop with LIA owner Paul Granville.
The game was a defensive clinic for Mocs goalie Logan Cody, whose only blemish was a goal late in the first period by Georgiy Tyaganok. McCoy made 37 saves in the contest after making more than 40 in the Mocs 4-3 loss at USF on Friday night. Jake Comisar, Pauls Kurzemnieks and Maxwell Tielbur all scored for the Mocs in the Friday’s match.
“I think our biggest positive was the team unity,” Richard said. “We are just going to continue on working on our skills and mainly defensive zone coverage.”
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- Photo by Andrew Pawling – Nichols makes a defensive stop late in the first period during the Mocs home opener.
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- Photo by Andrew Pawling – Senior Anthony Sambito looks on from the bench during the first period of Saturday’s 1-0 loss against USF.
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- Photo by Andrew Pawling – Cody makes a save on a shot taken by USF.
Following the pair of losses to USF, the Mocs will bring an 0-2 record into play this weekend when they take on the University of Florida and Flagler on Friday and Saturday night respectively. Both games will be played at home with puck drop scheduled for 9 p.m.
