2025-26 Season Week 19 Recap
- Danny Baum
- 2 minutes ago
- 4 min read
The penultimate weekend of the College Hockey South regular season is in the books, and with it, three of our four divisions have their playoff seeds locked in. Let’s see how Week 19 shook out in College Hockey South.
Game of the Week: Florida Tech (ACDC) at Embry-Riddle (ACDC)
Both teams entered this home-and-home series assured of their spot in the playoffs. However, the third seed was still up for grabs, as Florida Tech held a one-point advantage over the Ice Eagles. A regulation win and the Panthers would lock up the third seed in the ACDC playoffs.
Embry-Riddle had other ideas, though.
In front of a passionate home crowd at Daytona Ice Arena, the Ice Eagles scored early and often en route to a wild 7-4 victory. ERAU’s top scorers, Nic Bowers and Andy Coleman, each picked up four points to pace the offense for the newly-third place Ice Eagles.
The following day, Embry-Riddle took care of business in much more convincing fashion, taking down the Panthers 4-1. With the win, the Ice Eagles secured the third seed in the ACDC playoffs and will take on the sixth-seeded Florida State Seminoles in the quarterfinals. Florida Tech falls to the fourth seed and will play the South Florida Bulls.
M3 Madness
South Carolina (M3) at Kennesaw State (M3)
In the shock of the weekend, Kennesaw State swept the South Carolina Gamecocks and all but clinched a spot in the M3 playoffs.
The Owls were led by newcomer Jonathan Shaw, a defenseman who scored two goals and added three assists on the weekend. Shaw joined the KSU roster for the spring semester and has tallied 19 points in eight games.
South Carolina was coming off a huge series split against the top-ranked M3 team in the country, MTSU. The Gamecocks were also ranked in the top 10, at number seven. But after losses to KSU, South Carolina has dropped three straight games. South Carolina has one more game before the CHS playoffs against arch-rival Clemson.
With the wins against USC, the Owls take the season series with the Gamecocks 3-1 and bring their record back to .500.
Vanderbilt (M3) at Tennessee (M3)
Vanderbilt came into the weekend with only one conference win to its name, but the Commodores still had an inside track to the final playoff spot in Division 3. Vandy’s losses this season have come in close fashion, which has positively affected its game score. Whereas Miami and Lynn, who have more conference wins, have suffered a few lopsided losses.
The story was the same for Vandy against the Ice Vols, where they dropped two tightly contested divisions. The Commodores fell behind 6-3 in game one, but were able to trim the margin to 6-5 by game’s end. In game two, Vandy coughed up a third-period lead and was at risk of missing the playoffs before Liam Baxter played hero. Baxter scored his third goal of the game, and fourth of the weekend, to tie the game, which ultimately went to a shootout.
While the Ice Vols were victorious in the shootout, the ACHA rankings do not count shootout wins, but rather as ties. Nevertheless, Vandy lost its opportunity to supplant itself in the playoffs with wins over a current team in postseason position and will be at the mercy of the ACHA rankings.
Lynn (M3) at Florida Atlantic (M3)
The Fighting Knights have made the most of their late-season opportunities, winning their final four games of the regular season.
Lynn’s most recent two victories came in devastating fashion, outscoring Miami and Florida Atlantic 16-2. The Fighting Knights' push for the playoffs has certainly created an interesting debate, one that was not on the minds of any CHS fans a month ago.
Both Lynn and Vandy have only one victory against a current playoff team, but in different forms. On the final day of January, Lynn took a thrilling 8-7 decision over Embry-Riddle, which kick-started the end of season four game winning streak for the Fighting Knights. One day prior, Vanderbilt crushed Clemson 6-2, its lone conference victory of the season.
The question is: Will the ACHA rankings value Vanderbilt’s close losses against top M3 teams more than Lynn’s victories against squads that are in the bottom third of the CHS standings? The answer to that question is coming soon, with the playoffs just a week away.
CHS Playoffs Are Almost Here
The 2026 College Hockey South Playoffs are right around the corner, running February 26 through March 1 at the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, Florida. A total of 29 teams will compete across 35 games in four days, making this the largest postseason event in conference history — a true “mini nationals” atmosphere.
Single-day tickets and weekend passes are available now, and all games will be streamed live on the College Hockey South YouTube channel.
Looking Ahead: CHS Prospect Showcase
College Hockey South is also gearing up for its second annual Prospect Showcase, returning this summer after a highly successful inaugural event. The showcase provides prospective student-athletes with competitive exposure, direct interaction with CHS coaches, and an inside look at the collegiate club hockey experience.
More details, registration information, and event updates can be found below:
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.