Gamecock hockey will hit the road for the first time this year with a Friday-Saturday doubleheader against the UNC Wilmington Seahawks.
Carolina will come into this matchup riding high after Friday's 5-1 win over Clemson. The Gamecock defense surrendered only 11 shots as goaltender Bobby Lombardi kept the Tigers off the scoreboard for the game's first 55 minutes.
On offense, the line of Ian Schneider and newcomer forwards Ben Smith and Jack Watson has meshed nicely, with all three players registering points against Clemson. Experienced scorers Sean Davis and Jake Tengi already have UNCW's number, having combined for 10 points in three games against the Seahawks in 2016-17.
On the other side, UNCW is facing key departures both on offense and in goal. Standing an imposing 6'5" between the pipes, Nick Lenker ended 2016-17 with a 12-5-1-1 record and .892 save percentage. With him gone, the Seahawks are looking to rookies Ryan Besemer and Nick Mason.
So far the Seahawks have looked mostly to Besemer, who is 2-0-0-0 and turned in a record of 15-8-3 with the Ithaca (N.Y.) Bears' Midget Snowbelt team last fall. Though holding a .903 save percentage through his first two starts, Besemer has hardly been challenged, seeing only 25 shots from Coastal Carolina and a miniscule six in two periods against The Citadel.
Up front, UNCW will sorely be missing graduated forward Gino LaManna, who led the Seahawks with 26 goals and 23 assists in only 18 games last season. LaManna signed with IFK Österåker of Sweden's Division 3 in August after tallying 147 points in 89 games with UNCW.
Despite the loss of LaManna, the Seahawks are returning offensive threats in Tyler Evangelous and John Cooperrider, each of whom registered 25 points in 2016-17. Though 5'9" and 155 pounds, Cooperrider is also not afraid to mix it up for the Seahawks, serving 32 penalty minutes in 18 games last season.
Aside from Evangelous and Cooperrider, the Gamecocks will face for the first time UNCW star Joey Alexander. Fresh out of junior hockey, the Seahawks rookie has done an excellent job of picking up where LaManna left off. Alexander's hat trick against The Citadel and four assists to lead the Seahawks past Coastal make him the team's leading scorer with nine points through the first two games of 2017-18.
Alexander's 46 points tied him for second in scoring for the Vancouver (Wash.) Rangers of the Western States Hockey League last season.
A pair of physical contests should be expected, as any players returning from 2016-17 remember how this rivalry boiled over last season.
After a relatively calm Gamecock victory at Irmo in December, relations quickly broke down at a Jan. 20 game in Wilmington. With Carolina leading 9-2 in the third period, a brawl broke out that resulted in four misconduct penalties and the ejection of LaManna for consecutive fighting and head contact majors. Carolina cruised to an 11-2 decision as seven Gamecocks registered multiple points.
Despite Carolina being outshot 32-29 the next night, Lombardi came up big with 31 saves as the Gamecocks escaped with a 2-1 victory and the season series sweep.
One of college hockey's most physical rivalries returns 10 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday at Wilmington Ice House.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story identified Ian Schneider as a "newcomer forward." Schneider is currently in his third season with the team.