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All six women’s teams traveled to Clarksville, Tennessee, to take part in the first-ever College Hockey South (CHS) Women’s Division playoffs hosted at Ford Ice Center Feb. 9-11.

 

Just over 750 miles from home, the University of Tampa Spartans made history as College Hockey South’s first ever College Hockey South Women’s Division Conference Champions. The South Carolina Gamecocks and Miami Hurricanes trailed at second and third, respectively.  

 

After three days of heated gameplay, the University of Georgia, University of South Florida and Auburn University rounded out the bracket at fourth, fifth and sixth.

 

Friday

The tournament kicked off with a decisive 18-3 win for South Carolina over Auburn. The Gamecocks put up a whopping five goals in the first, eight in the second and five in the third. A hat trick from Auburn right winger Caroline Audette (13) earned them a spot on the board.

 

Despite their short bench, Miami held their own in game two to defeat the University of South Florida 4-2. Justina Holland (91) led the team with two goals and two assists. 

 

Saturday

South Florida secured fifth place definitively, trumping Auburn 16-4. Ice Bulls Emily Anderson (19), Annabella Buontempo (13) and Jules Eisenberg (57) all notched hat tricks in the game. Given their two losses, the Tigers completed their playoff rout with a sixth place finish.

 

In the second game of the day, the Spartans defeated the Canes handily (6-2) with four different skaters scoring goals. 

 

Wrapping up Saturday’s slate of games, the third-seeded Gamecocks took on the No. 2 Ice Dawgs in a late night matchup. South Carolina came out with a 13-2 victory, earning Georgia a Sunday morning battle for fourth against Miami.

 

Sunday

The Canes clinched their third place title with a solid 9-1 win against the Ice Dawgs—Megan Malolepszy (21) and Jordan Naidrich (26) both scoring hat tricks to secure the dub. Paige Oukes (18), recently named College Hockey South Women’s Division Most Valuable Player, was the lone scorer for UGA. 

 

The CHS Women’s playoff tournament concluded with a heavily anticipated championship faceoff between the first ranked University of Tampa Spartans and the No. 3 University of South Carolina Gamecocks.

 

Tampa snatched the lead with a power play goal late in the first to head to the locker room leading 1-0; the Spartans then went on to cash in two more midway through the second. The Gamecocks, however, responded majorly with three unanswered goals in just four minutes; the two teams headed into the last period of gameplay with the tally tied at 3-3.

 

The fate of the CHS trophy came down to the final minutes of gameplay as much of the third period proved scoreless for both teams. Tampa defensewoman Avery Gugliotta (25) was finally able to break the silence and tapped one in with two minutes left on the clock. With Gugliotta’s go-ahead, the final score landed at 4-3 and the Spartans took home the gold, forcing the Gamecocks to settle for second.

With her game-winning goal, Gugliotta was awarded the Verbero Most Valuable Player of the Championship Game.

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