South Carolina battled Tennessee to a draw on the ice this weekend, chalking up their first conference win Friday night but skating to a close shootout loss Sunday.
The Gamecocks dominated Friday night with an offensive showing so powerful that the team's Twitter account hinted that it might have fueled their football-playing counterparts' Saturday win at Neyland Stadium. Forward Nick Pizzo scored twice in the first period as South Carolina jumped out to a 5-2 lead going into the first intermission.
Though Pizzo didn't complete the hat trick, his teammates scored four more times in the second en route to a 10-4 victory at Knoxville Civic Coliseum. The win was South Carolina's first 10-goal outing since their 11-2 defeat of UNC Wilmington on Jan. 20.
Sunday's contest was far closer as the teams posted scores of 3-3 at the end of the first period, 5-5 after the second and 6-6 at the end of regulation. The Ice Vols ultimately prevailed 7-6 in a shootout for their fifth win in six games and a 3-1-0 start in the SECHC.
With Sunday's loss, South Carolina drops to 3-4-1 overall and 1-1-1 conference on the year.
The Gamecocks resume play Oct. 27with a Friday-Sunday series at home against Coastal Carolina. Puck drops at Plex HiWire in Irmo are scheduled for 9:15 p.m. Oct. 27 and 9 a.m. Oct. 29.