The South Carolina club hockey team lost 6-2 to the Florida Gators in the second game of their two-game series on Sept. 28 at Flight Adventure Park in Irmo, S.C.
At puck drop, the Gators took the first faceoff win but did not hold control for long. The first period saw non-stop action from both teams as they traded offensive attacks.
Early into the period, Florida senior winger Nicholas Ho was given a two-minute penalty, but South Carolina was unable to exploit this power play opportunity due to the strong defense by the Gators' freshman goaltender Zachary Shield.
In the first period, the Gamecocks took nine shots on Shield, and the Gators took eight shots on the Gamecocks' freshman goaltender Mason Shea. None of these attempts were rewarded.
Four minutes into the second period, Florida freshman forward Liam Denny scored the first goal of the game against Shea with an assist from senior winger Evan Edwards, giving the Gators a 1-0 lead.
For most of the remainder of the period, the Gamecocks were on offense and took a total of 19 shots on Shield. Ten minutes in, their persistence paid off when sophomore forward Matthew Baxter scored a slap shot, tying the match at 1-1.
Two minutes later, Gamecock junior winger Enzo Fanelli scored the tie-breaking shot with an assist from Baxter, ending the period with a score of 2-1.
Florida gained momentum as freshman defenseman Jack Fortesque scored on Shea while caught out of position. The score was knotted again at 2-2.
The Gators expanded their lead as Edwards scored another goal just seven minutes later to give Florida a 3-2 lead. Senior winger Jackson Choi scored again for the Gators, driving in Florida’s fourth with assistance from Ho for a 4-2 Florida lead.
Sophomore defenseman Owen Waivada sealed Florida's win with the final two goals, one with assistance from freshman forward Brian Pine and the other resulting from an empty net goal with 30 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Gamecock defense struggled in the third period and allowed Florida to score four goals to give the Gators a 6-2 win.
Missed opportunities
The Gamecocks had many opportunities throughout the match to assert dominance over the Gators, but they failed to do so.
Overall, South Carolina had a total of six minutes of advantage time, due to three penalties given to Florida. This resulted in three power plays, but the Gamecocks were unable to break through and produce successful attempts at goal.
The Gamecocks did not give the Gators any advantage time on the ice, playing a game without penalties.
Outmatched defense
While the defense from both teams held strong in the first period with both goalies holding off the other team's offensive advancements, Shield proved to have a better game since he deflected 41 of the Gamecocks' shots on goal throughout the match, compared to Shea’s 21 saves.
The Gamecocks controlled much of the tempo of the match, keeping the puck in Florida's zone for long stretches, but struggled to turn possession into goals.
What’s next?
South Carolina will look to gain their momentum back in their next stand-alone match against Clemson on Oct. 17. The start time is set for 8:10 pm at Flight Adventure Park, and it will be streamed live on YouTube with Student Gamecock Television.