CHS Week 19 Preview
By: Danny Baum
What’s the only thing better than two weekends of playoff hockey? Three weekends of playoff hockey! Eight teams from the Division 3 ranks will battle it out to see who comes away with the PictSweet Cup. All games are available to watch on the College Hockey South YouTube channel.
Game of the Week: Division 3 Quarterfinal - (No. 2) Florida Southern College vs (No. 7) Florida State University
The week 19 Game of the Week features the favorite to win, the Division 3 Most Valuable Player: Florida Southern’s Will Marshall. Marshall has been virtually unstoppable all season, totaling 34 goals and 68 total points in only 18 games.
Florida State made the playoffs through the back door, losing six of their final eight games. The Seminoles have a win over Florida Southern this season though, in the same arena that this quarterfinal game will be played. The two teams split a pair of games at the Lakeland Ice Arena on the last weekend of October 2023.
Florida Southern and Florida State drop the puck on Friday, Feb. 23rd at 6:30 PM ET and College Hockey South will be streaming the game live on YouTube here.
Division 3 Quarterfinal: (No. 4) University of Alabama vs. (No. 5) University of Tennessee
Tennessee’s Division 3 team looks to pick up where the Division 2 team left off last weekend when the Ice Vols skated away with the Ameritrans Cup. The Vols' quest begins against a stingy Alabama team.
Tennessee and Alabama boast the two lowest goals-allowed average in Division 3, with both teams conceding around two goals per game. The goals came fast and furious in the head-to-head matchups though, Tennessee winning both by scores of 7-2 and 5-4 (OT).
For the Frozen Tide to advance, they would surely need to play to their strengths in front of star goalie Tyler Terranova. Terranova, who was recently named to the CHS Division 3 All-Conference 1st Team, is in the top eight in wins, goals-against average, and save percentage in Division 3.
Division 3 Quarterfinal: (No. 3) Kennesaw State University vs. (No. 7) Florida Institute of Technology
Perhaps the dark horse of the Division 3 playoffs, Kennesaw State, takes on Florida Tech in the 3:45 PM ET Quarterfinal. This is the first, and likely only meeting of the season between the two teams.
Kennesaw State has been powered by balanced scoring, strong team defense, and timely goaltending all season long. In a single-elimination tournament, goaltending could be the key, and Kennesaw State has two very strong goalies. Taveon Dees and Connor Lakly rank fourth and eighth in save percentage amongst Division 3 goalies.
The Florida Tech Panthers have been led offensively by forward Steven Rossi. Rossi has scored 20 goals in 18 games played for the Panthers and has scored in three of his last four games.
Division 3 Quarterfinal: (No. 1) University of Miami vs (No. 8) University of Florida
The final quarterfinal game to take place on Friday will be between the top-seeded Miami Hurricanes and the Florida Gators. The two in-state rivals have played twice this season, with Miami winning both games by a combined score of 13-5.
Miami enters the tournament on quite the hot streak, winning seven of their last eight games. Miami has also clinched the number one seed in the Division 3 AAU College Hockey Nationals.
Florida hasn’t had the same luck though, losing their last four games all by four goals or more. To pull off the upset, the Gators will need a big performance from leading scorer Hugh Leahy. Leahy has 14 goals and 11 assists in 17 games played this year.
The Palmetto Cup: University of South Carolina (D1) vs. Clemson University (D2)
We finish off with a matchup that isn’t technically a playoff game but will sure feel like one. Clemson and South Carolina face off in a bitter rivalry from the home of the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits: Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Clemson is coming off a near Cinderella run to the Division 2 championship last weekend in Huntsville, AL. The Tigers overcame multi-goal deficits in both their quarterfinal, and semifinal wins before falling to Tennessee in the Championship game. Nonetheless, the momentum from last weekend, coupled with the intensity of a rivalry game should have Clemson at top form.
South Carolina is two weeks removed from a disappointing 0-2 weekend in the Division 1 playoffs. The Gamecocks stood the best chance at taking down the juggernaut Tampa Spartans but lost to Georgia in the semifinal and Alabama in the third-place game. The Gamecocks recovered though, sweeping Alabama last weekend.
South Carolina has won both previous matchups against Clemson, the most recent a 5-4 overtime win on Nov. 10th.
ABOUT College Hockey South: Founded in 2008, College Hockey South is a 29-school, 46 team intercollegiate hockey conference spanning seven southeastern U.S. states that competes in AAU College Hockey. College Hockey South is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization.