2025-26 Season Week 8 Recap

The third annual Battle at the Beach tournament, presented by Visit Lauderdale, delivered everything fans could hope for — high scoring, heated rivalries, and championship-caliber hockey from start to finish. With the tournament expanding to eight teams across two divisions, the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, FL, was electric all weekend long.

Battle at the Beach: Battle Division

The Battle Division opened with fireworks as Tampa (M3) powered past Lynn (M3) in a 7–3 victory to kick off the weekend. The physical tone was set early, with the game totaling 146 penalty minutes, including six majors and two misconducts. Leading the charge for the Spartans was Reagan Lyon, who posted two goals and two assists in the win.

In Saturday’s second Battle Division matchup, Embry-Riddle (M3) defeated FAU (M2) 5–3 to punch their ticket to Sunday’s championship. Eight different Eagles recorded points, led by Hunter Schirmer, who scored twice.

Championship Sunday saw Tampa continue their dominance, defeating Embry-Riddle 6–1 to capture their first Battle at the Beach title and earn Head Coach Jack Walsh’s 100th career win. The Spartans got an early goal from Ethan Gelman just two minutes into play, but it was defenseman Matt McMillan who stole the spotlight with two goals, an assist, and sixteen penalty minutes — fourteen of them in the third period alone.

Last year’s champion, FAU (M2), secured third place with a commanding 6–0 shutout win over Lynn, backstopped by goaltender Rocco Bruno’s 22-save performance.

Battle at the Beach: Beach Division

The new Beach Division made a strong debut Saturday as FAU (M3) topped Florida Tech (ACDC) 6–3. The Owls were led by a hat trick from Sam Watson and a three-point effort from Drew Renzi, whose second-period goal opened the scoring and set the tone for the weekend.

In the Game of the Week, in-state rivals Florida State (ACDC) and Florida (ACDC) renewed their storied rivalry, with the Seminoles skating away with a 5–3 victory. Florida’s Alex Jensen recorded a hat trick of his own, scoring twice in the first period and sealing the win with an empty-net goal while short-handed.

Sunday’s action began with Florida (ACDC) earning a 6–1 win over Florida Tech to claim third place. Nine different Gators contributed points, with Bobby Seaman scoring twice and Connor Jaworski and Jack Tepper each adding three-point performances.

The Florida State Seminoles claimed the first-ever Beach Division championship, defeating FAU (M3) 4–2 behind a stellar 35-save effort from goaltender Matthew Silliman and two late goals from captain Ryan Chambre. Despite being outshot 40–37, the Seminoles’ timely offense and strong goaltending carried them to the title.

Round Two in the Rink

Familiar foes met again as Clemson (M2) and USF (M2) battled in a weekend rematch. The Tigers earned redemption with a 6–3 win on Friday, but the Ice Bulls responded with a 7–6 victory on Saturday to split the series.

Meanwhile, in women’s action, Georgia (W) looked to avenge its Columbus Classic losses against Auburn (W) — and did just that. The Lady Ice Dawgs swept the Tigers with back-to-back five-goal victories. Freshman Taylor Barbour led the way in Game 2 with a hat trick, helping Georgia tighten the Women’s Division standings.

Girls Just Want to Have Goals

It was a high-scoring weekend across the Women’s Division, headlined by Clemson’s 19–1 and 14–0 victories over Georgia Southern and a 7-0 and 14–3 Alabama win over Tennessee.

Clemson’s offensive explosion was historic — all 19 goals in their first game came at even strength, with 11 in the opening period alone. Twelve Tigers found the scoresheet, led by Nina Molina (9G, 4A, 11P in 2 GP), Alyssa Laurino (5G, 2A, 7P), and Lucy Hudson (3G, 2A, 5P). Molina netted six of her nine goals in the second game, while Clemson’s defense allowed only seven shots total across six periods.

For Alabama (W), twelve players also recorded points against Tennessee. Claire Carson led the way with a hat trick and four assists, including one on the power play.

As the weather cools down, the competition across College Hockey South continues to heat up — and the women’s programs are leading the charge.

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.