Game 1 (Friday, Jan. 28, 2022): FAU 7, Auburn 4

The FAU Hockey Club (16-3-1-0, 9-1-0-0 SECHC) beat the Auburn University Tigers (8-3-2-0, 7-2-2-0 SECHC) on Friday night in Wesley Chapel, Fla. 

Sophomore goaltender Sean Williams II saved 40 of the 44 shots he faced. The Owls put 68 pucks on net. 

The game started slowly until freshman defenseman Henry Lange was charged with a hooking penalty at 3:54, giving the Owls the first powerplay of the night. FAU was unsuccessful on the man-advantage, but 18 seconds after it expired, senior center Nick Pica scored as sophomore forward Griffen Bono assisted him on the goal. 

Junior forward Jake Friedman put the Owls up 2-0 with 1:10 remaining in the first period. Junior forwards Matias Weir and Myles Davidson assisted the goal.

56 seconds into the second period, Davidson scored to keep the momentum going. Weir earned his 28th assist of the season on the play and the Owls were winning 3-0. 

Freshman center Doug Randle was sent to the penalty box for slashing 2:47 into the period. The Tigers took advantage of the powerplay, scoring nine seconds into it. 

About four minutes later, Auburn had too many men on the ice. FAU was 0-2 on the powerplay at that point, but Friedman netted his second goal of the night with that opportunity. Weir earned his third assist of the night and Randle was also credited with an assist. 

With the Owls leading 4-1, freshman forward Quin Menosky was called for boarding at 8:08 into the period. Freshman defenseman Ryan Brockett was charged with hooking at the same whistle.

Although Auburn did not score with the advantage, Lange made it a two-goal game with 9:12 left in the second. Heading into the final period, the Owls led 4-2. 

Pica was called for unsportsmanlike conduct two minutes into the period, but the Tigers would not score until over three minutes later. That goal made it a 4-3 game. 

With 13:18 left, junior defenseman David Israel netted the game-winner assisted by freshman forward Michael Linhares. Israel scored again with less than three minutes to go to make it a three-goal lead. The Tigers, however, got one back 28 seconds later for their final goal of the game.

At 18:21, senior forward Daniel Hammer iced the game, making it 7-4.

Bryce Totz is the Sports Editor at the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected], or tweet him @brycetotz. 

Game 2 (Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022): FAU 5, Auburn 3

The Owls (17-3-1-0, 10-1-0-0 SECHC) continued their winning streak in the second game between them and the Auburn University Tigers (8-4-2-0, 7-2-2-0 SECHC). The game was a slightly lower scoring affair for FAU compared to previous games, but it did not keep the Owls from taking the win against the Tigers. 

Sean Williams II was the starting goaltender in net for FAU that afternoon. By the end of the game, he had saved 38 of the 41 shots he faced.

Junior forward Myles Davidson started off the scoring a little over a minute into the game, putting the Owls ahead early. Junior forward Matias Weir and junior defenseman David Israel both earned assists on the play. 

The lead was short-lived, however, as the Tigers put one into the back of FAU’s net only 14 seconds later. 

For the next 14 minutes, both teams put shots on goal but neither were able to beat each other’s goaltenders. The Owls killed two penalties during the first period. 

With 3:47 left, FAU was rewarded with a powerplay after Auburn took a high-sticking penalty. Freshman centerman Douglas Randle finally converted the powerplay with 2:09 remaining in the period. This time, it was junior forward Jake Friedman and freshman defenseman Justin Machovina who provided the assists on the play.  The period closed with the Owls up 2-1. 

The second period somewhat reversed the momentum back into Auburn’s favor, despite another Owls goal. 

Davidson scored his second of the night just over two minutes into the period, with Israel and Weir both assisting the goal. 

The momentum went to the Tigers for the rest of the period. They managed to score twice, at 5:35 and 11:14 into the period. FAU did go on the powerplay once with 11:59 to go, but came up empty. The score was tied at three apiece at the end of the second. 

The deadlock remained in place for most of the third period, with both teams fighting hard to gain the lead. There were 15 shots on goal for the Owls that period and 11 for the Tigers. 

With only 4:36 remaining in the matchup, the tie was finally broken in favor of FAU. Senior centerman Nick Pica scored the go-ahead goal for the Owls. Sophomore forward’s Nick McInchak and Griffen Bono assisted Pica on the play. 

There was less than a minute remaining when Davidson managed to seal the game for FAU by putting one last goal into the back of Auburn’s net. This was his third goal that afternoon, and it earned him a hat-trick. 

The final score was 5-3 in favor of the Owls. 

FAU’s success that weekend allowed them to clinch a spot in the SECHC Tournament. The tournament is scheduled to take place from March 4 to March 6 in Huntsville, Ala.

FAU still has two regular-season games left to be played this weekend. Their final home game of the season will be played at the Panthers’ Ice Den this Friday, Feb. 4, at 8:45 p.m. against the University of Miami where they will celebrate senior night. Then on Saturday, Feb. 5, they play away against Miami at the Kendall Ice Arena at 6:00 p.m. 

Nicholas Montante is a staff writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected], or tweet him @nickmontante1.