The FAU Hockey Club entered the College Hockey South (CHS) Tournament as the No. 2 seed after finishing 19-3-1 in the regular season. Throughout the year, they outscored opponents 175-79.

The tournament was held at the Ice Sports Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Junior forward Matias Weir won the league’s award for Most Valuable Player. Weir scored 26 goals and 35 assists for a total of 61 points over 23 games.

Round 1 (Friday, March 4): FAU 7, MTSU 1

The Owls beat the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) Blue Raiders 7-1 in the first round of the CHS Tournament on Friday. 

Junior forwards Matias Weir and Jake Friedman connected 48 seconds into the game to find the back of the net. Friedman scored his 23rd goal of the season, while Weir earned his 36th assist.

MTSU found twine later in the first period, tying it before the intermission.

About three minutes into the second period, freshman forward Doug Randle scored the game-winning goal on the powerplay to regain FAU’s lead. 

Shortly after, freshman forward Quin Menosky created a two-goal lead in favor of FAU. 

About halfway through the game, Friedman netted his second goal of the night.

With less than a minute left in the second period, Weir found the net for his first goal of the tournament, leaving the score 5-1 in FAU’s favor. Friedman was credited with the assist.

Friedman fed Weir 5:51 into the third period for the Owls’ sixth goal of the night. The two connected again later in the period. Weir and Friedman had a two-on-one chance, and Friedman scored his third goal of the game with just under nine minutes remaining.

Semifinal Match (Saturday, March 5): FAU 2, Alabama 1

The Owls defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in a tight match on Saturday.

The first 20 minutes were quiet for both teams, as the game was scoreless heading into the second period. 

Just over two minutes into the second period, junior forward Matias Weir broke the deadlock with help from junior forward Jake Friedman. 

At 4:09 into the second period, the Crimson Tide scored the game-winner via an own goal.

Neither team would find the back of the net until the last minute of the game. With 58 seconds left and an extra skater via an empty net, Alabama scored its lone goal of the night to prevent a shutout.

Championship Match (Sunday, March 7): Georgia 4, FAU 2

The University of Georgia (UGA) Bulldogs defeated the Owls in the CHS Championship Game on Sunday. 

Junior forward Jake Friedman was behind the net and found junior forward Myles Davidson open in the crease to open the scoring with 11:15 left in the first period. FAU was on the man-advantage after the Bulldogs were called for roughing. 

The Owls led 1-0 at the end of the first period.

Friedman got a powerplay goal of his own with 6:33 remaining in the second period after taking a shot from the point. Junior forward and CHS MVP Matias Weir fed Friedman the puck from the right face-off circle. This was the team’s final goal of the tournament.

With 4:55 left in the period, UGA’s senior forward Jackson Katz found twine with a powerplay goal of his own, making the score 2-1. This would be the score heading into the locker room.

Two and a half minutes into the third period, freshman forward Quin Menosky was sent to the penalty box for slashing. Katz scored his second powerplay goal of the night to tie the game.

Just 19 seconds later, Georgia’s senior forward Zach Bochenek scored making it 3-2. This was the first five-on-five goal for either team.

In the final second of the game, Katz secured the hat trick, firing a puck in the empty net and leaving the score at 4-2.

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