DULUTH, Ga. – The Clemson club ice hockey team defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets by a score of 5-2 last Friday, Oct. 6. The Yellow Jackets were Clemson’s first divisional opponent of the season, as both teams are part of College Hockey South’s DII North division.
In the win over Georgia Tech, Clemson forward Sully Kopf struck first just five minutes into the first period, only for Georgia Tech to even the score about a minute later. The rest of the first period was relatively silent until the final 1:16, when Georgia Tech took the first penalty and put Clemson on the power play.
Clemson took the lead in the second period when forward Ronan Bryant scored two goals in two minutes to put Clemson up 3-1. With 53 seconds left in the middle frame — and while Georgia Tech was on the power play — Clemson forward Troy Gouveia netted a short-handed goal.
“We were grinding a lot,” Gouveia said. “It was a little bit of sloppy play, but at the end of the day, we got some dirty goals, and that’s what ended up putting us on top.”
Both of Bryant’s goals were assisted by Herb Kopf and Cade Heinold. The two now have 12 and 11 points, respectively, on the season and are ranked No. 5 and No. 14 in points scored in the AAU DII individual player rankings.
In the third period, the team congratulated forward Ethan Callahan on his first goal as a Tiger, bringing Clemson’s lead to 5-1.
Clemson took seven total penalties during the matchup, and four of them were during the final period. While on a 5-on-3 man advantage with less than four minutes left, the Yellow Jackets got their second and final goal.
“I think next time we’re definitely gonna work on the (defensive) zone,” Gouveia said. “That’s one thing that kind of carried in from last year, and our coach is pretty insistent on making it a leading factor for us.”
While the Tigers recognized that it wasn’t the prettiest win, they’re proud of their progress this season and look forward to developing more as the season continues.
“A win is a win at the end of the day,” Gouveia said. “We definitely could have put it away a lot earlier, but we’re making good strides right now as a team. So I’m happy with it.”
According to the AAU, Clemson is currently the No. 1 program in the CHS DII rankings, with an overall record of 5-1-0.
This weekend, Clemson will travel to Oxford, Mississippi, to take on Ole Miss for a weekend series against its second divisional opponent.
