The Clemson ice hockey team swept Middle Tennessee in a two-game series last Friday and Saturday, winning 8-4 and 4-2.
Friday night’s matchup against the Blue Raiders showcased Clemson’s offensive dominance as the Tigers scored three of their eight goals while shorthanded. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Tigers proved to be a resilient team, scoring four unanswered goals to bounce back from a two-goal deficit.
While 14 different Clemson players contributed at least one point in the series, it was captain Jack Owen-Turner and assistant captain Ben Brucker who led the Tigers’ scoring. On Friday night, both tallied multi-point games as Owen-Turner collected one goal and two assists, while Brucker netted two goals.
The Tigers dominated the first game, outshooting Middle Tennessee 30-20. In the opening period, Clemson netted two consecutive shorthanded goals. The first came from left-winger Sully Kopf, assisted by Mike McKeon, during a Blue Raiders power play.
Ahead 1-0, Clemson received another penalty, awarding Middle Tennessee a 5-on-3 man advantage.
Clemson centerman Troy Gouveia would net another shorthanded goal on a 2-on-1 play, bringing the score to 2-0 in Clemson’s favor entering the second period.
Less than four minutes into the second period, Middle Tennessee’s Anthony Banas received a penalty for tripping, awarding the Tigers their first power play of the game. Twelve seconds into the man advantage, Jack Eggemeyer scored his first goal of the season, assisted by Herbert Kopf.
The power-play goal helped propel a Clemson scoring burst. Within 20 seconds, Brucker scored his first goal of the night, and less than one minute later, centerman Patrick O’Brien gave the Tigers a 5-0 lead, from which they never looked back on the rest of the game.
“We came out firing in the first,” Clemson goaltender Josh Bailey said. “We got a couple off, and then the second was when we really came out, and we’re like, ‘We got to bury this team,’ and we started doing that.”
It was not until about halfway through the second period that Middle Tennessee got on the board, capitalizing on a giveaway in the neutral zone. The Tigers’ momentum did not falter, and Brucker buried his second goal soon after.
With 1:09 remaining in the second period, the Blue Raiders took advantage of another giveaway in the neutral zone, bringing the score to 6-2 entering the final period.
“I think we played well in the beginning and second period,” Brucker said. “But we didn’t really play the full 60 minutes and probably could have finished a little stronger.”
Brucker’s teammates shared his sentiment with O’Brien, noting, “We controlled the game, but we just broke down at times, and they capitalized pretty quickly.”
The third period opened with a goal from Middle Tennessee. Just minutes later, Brucker took a penalty for high-sticking, and momentum started shifting for the Blue Raiders. While down a man, Clemson scored its third shorthanded goal of the night. Owen-Turner, assisted by assistant captain Thomas Samuelsen, added the Tigers’ seventh goal and his first of the night.
The Blue Raiders did not score again until the third period, when Clemson centerman Nicholas Chesare took a major penalty for cross-checking, resulting in a five-minute man advantage that Middle Tennessee took advantage of down the stretch.
Chesare then came out of the box with a vengeance and scored the Tigers’ eighth goal unassisted with 38 seconds left in the game.
Following the series sweep, the Tigers moved to 7-7 on the season.
Clemson ice hockey is proud of its performance this past weekend but is looking to improve defensively.
“I think (we need to work on) just playing a full 60 minutes and bearing down defensively,” Brucker added.
Clemson will travel to Atlanta this weekend to take on Georgia Tech in the ACC Showcase.
