Author: Vanderbilt Hockey

Vanderbilt Ice Hockey Team To Host Inaugural 2014 MAPCO College Hockey Scholar Shootout

Ice hockey tournament set for October 3rd through October 5th, 2014, at the Ford Ice Center in Antioch, Tennessee, will focus on academic excellence in addition to athletic performance

Tuesday, 08.19.2014 | 12:00PM  |  Vanderbilt Hockey Team

NASHVILLE, TN – Vanderbilt University’s ice hockey club will host the inaugural 2014 MAPCO College Hockey Scholar Shootout Friday, October 3rd, through Sunday, October 5th, 2014, the Vanderbilt Hockey program announced today. The tournament will feature Vanderbilt alongside hockey programs from five other universities: the University of Florida, Georgia Tech, the University of North Carolina, Northwestern, and Wake Forest.

“The excitement for this event is huge because you have some big name schools participating,” Vanderbilt sophomore and co-chair for the Scholar Shootout Andrew Dellapina said, “and especially because we’re putting such a special focus on the ‘student’ part of the student-athlete paradigm.”

The teams participating, club-level programs that participate in the American Collegiate Hockey Conference (ACHA), all hail from universities that rank in the top-50 academically according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 College Rankings.

“The hockey players participating are non-scholarship athletes who are truly students first,” Vanderbilt head coach Thomas Bernstein said, “but they also love hockey and take a lot of pride in playing for their schools. They’re super talented, competitive athletes who all want to win this tournament so it should make for a really entertaining experience for players, coaches, and especially fans.”

The Shootout will take place at the Ford Ice Center, a brand new facility built by the city of Nashville and managed by the Nashville Predators organization. The 86,000-square-foot facility, which houses two ice rinks, eight locker rooms, several multi-function rooms, concession stands, a pro-shop, a workout facility, a video room and space for restaurants, is set to open its doors later this month.

“The opening of Ford Ice Center is an exciting time for both the hockey and skating communities in Middle Tennessee,” Ford Ice Center General Manager Danny Butler said. “All of us at Ford Ice Center are proud to be home to the Vanderbilt Hockey Club this season and are looking forward to welcoming the visiting teams at the Scholar Shootout in October, an event that showcases great student-athletes and is another shining example of how hockey is growing in the south.”

The event will be free for fans courtesy of MAPCO, the title sponsor for the event.

Further details on the 2014 MAPCO College Hockey Scholar Shootout, including the schedule for games, will be released in the coming weeks via the @VandyIceHockey Twitter account and www.vanderbilthockey.com website.

 

Download a PDF of this Press Release

Performances In ’13/14 Lead To Shake-Up In Stats Leader Lists

The numbers are in and the verdict is clear. The 2013/14 season was certainly one for the record books. One glance at the recently updated Career Leaders stats archive and you’ll see that there were a range of breakout performances last season, both for the positive and negative.

First, the positive …

  • Daniel Hogue (VUH ’15) tied the mark for the career lead in goals with 33. Look for him to break the tie with former line-mate Kyle McCann (VUH ’13) right out of the gate next season.
  • Powered by his goal scoring performance and strong play from his line-mates, John Longman (VUH ’17)  set a new record for points in a single season at 38. He edged out former Vanderbilt hockey captain Matt Kaminsky (VUH ’12) by just a single point.
  • Longman also tied the mark for goals in a single season at 22. “Johnny Hockey” matched the existing record set by mercurial star forward Brad Pesce (VUH ’14) in 2011/12.
  • Alan Leeser (VUH ’14) finished his career with 25 goals, 42 assists, 67 points, and a 45 plus-minus which were good enough for fourth, second, second, and second on each of the lists, respectively.

Then there were the other “less positive” numbers …

  • Bandar Alsaif (VUH ’15) burst onto the Vanderbilt hockey scene stick, knees, and fists first. Alsaif registered 44 minutes in penalties earning him the ignominious distinction of being the single-season PIMs record holder for the club. He edged out the previous record set in 2012/13 by Jack Gibbons (VUH ’16) with the help of a hit from behind in March’s I-40 Face-Off versus Tennessee.
  • Not to be outdone, Gibbons continued his torrid mean streak with another robust slate of slashes, trips, and roughs. His 28 PIMs in 2013/14 gave him the career lead for time spent in the sin bin, 12 minutes clear of the next person on the list David Crowe (VUH ’14). Knowing that Gibbons has two years to go, he may set a bar that is as unattainable as Gretzky’s career goals record.

For the full slate of stats, check out the team’s Career Leaders page. Let the chirping and chiseling begin!

Vanderbilt Wins The I-40 Face-Off, Beats UT 6-2

With state bragging rights and the season series on the line, the Vanderbilt Ice Hockey Club vanquished its instate rival the University of Tennessee Ice Vols 6-2 in the 2014 I-40 Face-Off. The fourth installment of the “Interstate Face-Off Series” hosted by the Commodores, Sunday’s win also marked a bounce back for the club from last year’s thrilling 8-7 overtime loss to Alabama.

Game Recap

Vanderbilt’s top line dazzled in the season finale with junior right wing Daniel Hogue scoring two goals, sophomore left wing Jack Gibbons notching a goal and an assist, and freshman sensation John Longman adding a goal and three assists.

Following a first period UT goal that put the Commodores in an early 1-0 deficit, Longman responded by winning a face-off to himself in the Volunteer zone and snapping a quick shot over the goalie’s shoulder to tie the game. Minutes later, Hogue put Vanderbilt ahead for the first time by wheeling out of the corner and rifling a backhander from the high slot to beat the Vols goalie.

Vanderbilt poured on the pressure, and goals, in the second when Hogue, senior captain Anthony Bilotta, and Gibbons scored to extend the lead to 5-1. Tennessee would cut into the difference with a power play goal in the third following a slashing penalty by freshman Stephen Wei, only to see Bilotta restore the four-goal cushion with a short-handed breakaway goal late in the third.

A generally clean game throughout turned ugly in the third when the Volunteers crashed the net and junior goalie Andrew Keen. The video appears to confirm that the Ice Vols winger fired into the crease with a couple of healthy hacks. Keen responded by popping up and engaging in what doctors call “spirited fisticuffs,” ultimately landing him in the penalty box with a two-minute penalty and a ten-minute misconduct. For his role in the fracas, #44 for Tennessee Nick Weaver received a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

Overall, the game proved to be one of Vanderbilt’s best performances of the season. Junior defenseman and club president Greg Kirk shared after the game that “we really wanted to send our seniors out with a win and also win the season series against those guys.” On the performance of the first line, Kirk had nothing but praise. “What can you say, their line scored five of the six goals. They did an amazing job throwing pucks at the net and mucking in the corners. Hats off to those guys.”

Season Honors

Before the game, the Commodores hosted their annual end-of-season banquet and awards ceremony. The honorees included:

  • The Ken “Red” Murphy Most Valuable Player – John Longman (22 goals, 16 assists, +28)
  • Most Outstanding Senior – Alan Leeser (7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points)
  • Most Outstanding Officer – Jack Delehey (2013 Club President)
  • Most Improved Player – Bo Korpman (4 wins including a shutout against rival Georgia)
  • Rookie of the Year – Zach Satin (5 Goals, 5 assists, +19)

In attendance at the event were several special guests who had contributed to the program throughout the season. The team at Penalty Box Radio – Justin Bradford, Big Ben, Stan Laws, and Zach Bryan – as well as newly appointed hockey director for the Ford Ice Center Craig MacDonald joined in the season celebration.

The Offseason Awaits

The I-40 marked the close to the 2013/14 season for the Commodores. With a 9-14-1 record, the boys in black and gold will look forward to riding some second semester momentum into the 2014/15 season in its quest for an SECHC title.

Thanks to everyone for supporting the boys throughout the year and looking forward to seeing everyone at our new club home in 2014/15 – the Ford Ice Center in Antioch, Tennessee. Just 19 minutes from campus, the brand new facility should be a game-changer for players and fans alike. We can’t wait to get started!

#AnchorDown!!!

The Fight For “The Cullie”

This Sunday at 1:00pm, Vanderbilt will battle Tennessee in the fourth installment of the Commodores’ Interstate Face-Off Series. This year’s edition will be the third “I-40 Face-Off” and the first since 2012. Vanderbilt won the first two I-40 tilts 6-2 (2011) and 10-1 (2012).

At stake in the game will be not only state bragging rights but also the opportunity to hoist the Culpepper Jefferson Memorial Trophy. Dubbed the “Cullie” for short, the trophy is a hand-crafted artifact named after a simple man near forgotten in the lore of Davidson County’s illustrious history. His life story, and motto, hold special meaning to the matchup between the Commodores and Ice Vols.

Background on the Trophy’s Namesake

Culpepper Jefferson was a wiley old kook who, in the 1870s, launched Davidson County’s very first whiskey distillery. His professional pursuits, born out of an unhealthy obsession with replicating the successes of one Jack Daniel from nearby Lynchburg, Tennessee, were as haphazard as they were ambitious. His goal? Create the state’s most revered whiskey beverage.

Desperate for success and, more importantly, differentiation from the Old Number 7 bottle, he and his wife Annabelle employed two new-to-market innovations that to this day still resonate with master distillers and brewers the world over. The first was to use red cedar charcoal native to Tennessee in the whiskey-making process. Jefferson was adamant on the decision, saying that “Ole C.J.” Whiskey’s signature cedar flavor would forever eclipse Daniel’s sugar maple. “That sugar ain’t nothing but fer sissies,” he would bark at local watering holes to anyone who would listen.

"Ole C.J." Whiskey Label, Circa 1875

The second was to freeze the charcoal before slow-filtering the water through it. Made possible by refrigeration technologies introduced in the 1860s, the thought was that the cold filtration process would unlock the flavor of the cedar. Ole C.J.’s vintage hue, a dark reddish umber, was said to be attributed specifically to this process. “Iced is better” became the whiskey’s brand slogan.

Unfortunately for Jefferson, in his haste to differentiate he forgot one important concern about the beverage: its taste. Ole C.J. quickly became the laughing stock of the state as one newspaper called it “the most ungodly, detestable, putrid swill you will find on either side of the Mississippi.” It turned out that the cedar he was using, while terrific for building homes and furniture, was terrible for whiskey-making (a lesson that, as mentioned, still resonates with distillers and brewers to this day). Jefferson would have realized this had he not unknowingly inhibited his senses of taste and smell following a dispute over the result of a card game in his early 20s.

With inventory shelves stacked ten feet high and a mile long and no hope of selling his Ole C.J. product, Jefferson set out to divest his assets to salvage some semblance of a profit. It was at this dark moment that good fortune smiled down on the would-be liquor tycoon. A German immigrant by the name of Adolph Coors came calling, interested in purchasing Jefferson’s cold filtration patents and technologies. Despite his weak negotiating position, Jefferson secured a favorable deal and sold his intellectual property to Coors. Annabelle called the result “dadgum-rific!” Today, Coors not only employs elements of this hundred-plus year old technology in its beer-making processes, but it also carries over elements of the C.J. identity in its marketing (i.e., Coors is said to be “The Coldest Tasting Beer In The World”). All these years later, the world still realizes that “iced” truly is better.

The Trophy’s Construction

To construct the I-40 Trophy, a host of local historians were enlisted to first propose an award concept worthy of the event. Upon researching the history of the greater Nashville area and uncovering the story of Jefferson, the team felt strongly that incorporating an homage to the Davidson county native’s life and accomplishments would fit nicely with this soon-to-be annual hockey clash. Said seventh-generation middle Tennessee historian Mortimer Penniweather, “Jefferson couldn’t hammer home the ‘Iced is Better’ slogan enough, something I know the Vandy and UT hockey clubs would agree with whole-heartedly.” He added, “Jefferson was an innovator, even in failure, and in this case where the Commodores and Ice Vols are working to drive interest in and support for a sport whose roots don’t exactly run deep in the South, the parallels between the efforts are clear.”

With concept in hand, a team of engineers from Princeton led by renowned craftsman Josh Girvin salvaged cedar planks from the demolition of the Jefferson’s 125-year-old estate and crafted the trophy that you see pictured above. Incredibly, the Interstate-40 highway sign was discovered in the family’s barn, no doubt requisitioned via the handiwork of mischievous prankster Winston Jefferson, Culpepper’s twice-great grandson. Said Girvin upon making the discovery, “I guess this connection between Culpepper and the I-40 Face-Off was meant to be.”

The Big Game Approaches

Game time is 1pm this Sunday, 3/30, at Bridgestone Arena with doors opening to the public at 12:30pm. Admission is free for all who wish to attend so feel free to bring a crew of fans with you (preferably those wearing black and gold!). ANCHOR DOWN!