2025-26 Season Week 13 Recap

Week 13 is in the books, and so is the fall semester! This semester showed us who some of the juggernauts are and which teams have some work to do in the second half of the season.

Game of the Week: University South Florida Bulls (M3) at University of Tampa Spartans (M3)

The No.5 University of South Florida Ice Bulls made the trip to Clearwater Ice Arena looking for the third installment of the Battle of the Bay against the No. 17 Tampa Spartans. The Spartans looked to avenge themselves after being swept in October when these teams last met.

The Spartans took control early, building a 2-0 lead in the first period, Aeryk Lehrhaupt and Matt McMillan finding the back of the net. Brendan Sickles gave what would’ve been a three-goal lead heading into the third period, but Pierceson Lee was able to find one for the Ice Bulls with 38 seconds left in the period. 

Defense was the name of the game in the third period until the Ice Bulls found two quick goals in the final two minutes of the game. Bryson Uhrig and Grant Dietz forced overtime, where neither team could find a winner, and the game went to a shootout. 

The Spartans took the third game of the season series thanks to Trace Cowart's shootout winner and a winning save by Luke Ench. It's always a good game when these two teams take the ice. And they still take the ice against each other one more time this season!

Florida Southern Mocs (M3) vs Saint Leo Lions

The Florida Southern Mocs closed out their fall semester with their highest scoring weekend of the season to date. It was a complete team effort by the Mocs as they swept the Lions. 

The first game of the series saw the Mocs come out on top on home ice, 8-2.

Will Marshall recorded four goals and two assists in the win. The Mocs also found depth scoring with freshman defenseman Andrew Mullins scoring the first goal of his CHS career. For St. Leo, Augy Pescatore, the ACDC Third Star of the Month for November, found the back of the net, along with teammate Anthony Pecorella.

The Mocs' dominant performance carried into game two with a 12-0 win on the road at Nest Hockey Academy. 10 different players for Florida Southern, with Michael Izzo leading the way with a hat-trick. It was a combined shutout for goalies Jason Cribbs and Ethan Fischer to sweep the series.

University of Tennessee Ice Vols (M3) at Kennesaw State University Owls (M3)

If the season ended today, the Ice Vols would make the playoffs, and the Owls would be looking from the outside. But Kennesaw made sure to let us know they are still in the hunt. 

Forward Rhys Legault propelled the Owls to a big 5-3 win with a hat-trick to close out the fall semester. These two teams were on a collision course after the Veterans Cup, as they narrowly avoided each other.

Tennessee has some work to do in the spring semester if it wants to maintain a playoff spot in February. The spring semester will impact playoff chances for several M3 teams, with every series being important.

Austin Peay State University Govs (M3) at Ole Miss Rebs (M3)

The struggles continue for the Governors after being swept by Ole Miss. Ole Miss was the better team offensively with a 10-6 win and a 6-3 win in this series.

Jack Richey led the way in game one of the series for the Rebels with a hat-trick and an assist. It was a team effort by the Rebels in game two, with five different goal scorers in the win. 

Ole Miss ends the semester with some much-needed momentum as they are one of the bubble teams for the playoffs with a crucial second half of the season ahead. The road ahead for APSU is daunting as they take on Kennesaw State and the No. 1 Ranked MTSU Blue Raiders in the spring.

ABOUT College Hockey South: Founded in 2008, College Hockey South is a 29-school, 45 team intercollegiate hockey conference spanning eight southeastern U.S. states. College Hockey South is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization.