Author: Vanderbilt Hockey

VU Hockey Turns Down First Ever Invitation To Regionals, Remains Humbled By Honor

With strong play and loads of luck, the Vanderbilt Commodores Ice Hockey Club qualified for regionals for the first time in its 20-year history. The team will have to wait to actually play its first regional tournament game, however, because the club turned the invitation down 36 hours later for a variety of reasons.

To sum up the situation, including the various inputs that factored in to the final decision not to make the trip to Columbia, South Carolina, here is the response Coach Bernstein provided to HockeyYall.com’s Jim Davis who was anxious to learn about the details behind the update.

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HockeyYall.com’s Jim Davis inquiring about the decision
I just find out that Vandy is not going to the regional. Why not? When was this decision made? How are the boys dealing with this? Would this have been your the club’s first regional appearance? Is the I-40 Classic still on?

Our response
Regarding our status with regionals, we voluntary opted to turn down the invitation for several reasons, including…

Resources. As you know, we have been building the program up from the ground up over the past two years. Part of that effort has included booking a more ambitious schedule and, subsequently, finding ways to fund those additional commitments. Because we have played 6 additional games this season, scheduled charter buses for multiple road trips, and invested in the foundations of a merchandising operation, we simply don’t have enough money available to cover what would likely be a $4,000 (or more) expenditure for the club with bus, food, and accommodations.

Player Schedules. Several players (nearly half the team) had booked non-hockey travel plans for this upcoming weekend prior to receiving the news about regionals last Friday. Most of the plans were non-refundable reservations and the prevailing sentiment was that they’d prefer to follow through with their existing schedules.

School Schedules. We made a commitment to the boys’ professors that the Pelham Showcase weekend would be the last time we’d ask to have them be excused from class this semester. Recognizing that we’d have to leave for South Carolina at 4am CT on Friday to make the 4:30pm ET game and in turn miss an entire day of classes, the boys and I felt it was inappropriate to once again go back to the professors at this late juncture to ask for additional excused absences.

All that said, it’s important to our team that you and your readers know that the boys and I were thrilled and humbled to finish the season in the top 10 in our region. Even with the circumstances surrounding the result (i.e., the unfortunate end to Arkansas’s season), the accomplishment remains a huge point of pride for everyone, especially seniors Brenden Oliver, Thomas Trepanier, Jack McCallum, and Matt Kaminsky who over their four years have taken the club from the depths of SECHC probation to securing the program’s first ever invitation to regionals. It provides us with huge momentum heading into next season as the boys will now have the goal of making regionals on their radars from the very first kickoff meeting in August. It’s been a terrific year in so many respects, and even though we will not be making the trip to Columbia to actually play in the game we remain extremely excited about the end result of this season.

Thanks for checking in and looking forward to keeping you updated on the remainder of our schedule, notably the SECHC tournament where we’ll be facing off against Auburn on Friday, 2/24, and the second annual I-40 Face-Off versus UT which will be played at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday, 3/31, at 1pm before the Nashville Predators game versus the Chicago Blackhawks.

Dominant Weekend Versus Bulldogs Highlighted By Strong Rookie Debuts

Senior captain and ACHA academic all-star english major Matt Kaminsky paints a literary picture of the Frozen ‘Dores weekend set versus the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Nashville, a pair of games that yielded two double-digit wins.

The evening was warm, unconventionally so, even for the Nashville natives familiar with their agreeable climate. And as the Commodores hit the ice, anxious for redemption after a tough loss to Florida just six days before, they realized quickly they’d have to fight the elements even on the frozen surface of Centennial Sportsplex’s Rink B with its choppy ice.

Thankfully the terrain did not stop the home team from finding the twine early and often in the opening game of a two-game set. Goals from Kaminsky, Weekes and Leeser made it 3-0 in favor of the ‘Dores after 20 minutes of hockey.

The second period, however, yielded no goals for either team and unmotivated play from the Commodores, who held a noticeable advantage in both talent and discipline. After a fiery speech from assistant coach Jonathan Holston, the ‘Dores put their skating legs back on and powered up with seven third period goals. Forward Evan “Pennies” Sclafani sealed the deal with a top-shelf snipe to make it 10-0 in favor of the good guys when the buzzer sang it’s final song.

On Saturday, even after the offensive juggernaut was on display just 24 hours before, the Commodores came to the rink with no preconceived notions, fully aware that “just showing up” was by no means a prerequisite to winning a hockey game against any opponent. They would have to go to work out there, and that they did.

Fueled by the debuts of rookies Zak Karlinski, Doug Kirkpatrick, Kyle MacDonald, Matt Joplin, and Patrick Brownfield, the boys in black came out flying. After one period, VU found itself in a familiar position—holding a comfortable 5-0 lead. Encouraged by the solid performance of goaltender Brenden, who pitched his first second shutout in three games, the ‘Dores continued to light the lamp, powered by a few scrappy plays in front of the net from Karlinski, a few nifty feeds from Joplin, and a laser from the point from Kirkpatrick. Vandy went on to a 13-0 win to complete the weekend sweep.

“The Rest of the Season Starts Now” (Video)

No words needed to recap a tough weekend at home versus Ole Miss, just some marvelous production work by Coach Ben Gatlin.

Enjoy folks and we’ll see you in Pelham this weekend. “The rest of the season starts now … ”

Films by Ben Gatlin

(Script) Here’s the thing that makes life so interesting.
The theory of evolution claims that “only the strong shall survive.”
Maybe so… maybe so …
But the theory of competition says, “just because they’re the strong doesn’t mean they can’t get their kicked”.
That’s right. See, what every long shot, come from behind, underdog will tell ya is this: the other guy may in fact be the favorite, the odds may be stacked against you. Fair enough.
But what the odds don’t know is, this isn’t a math test.
This is a completely different kind of test.
One where passion, has a funny way of trumping logic.
So before you step up to the starting line, before the whistle blows, and the clocks start ticking just remember: out here the results don’t always add up.
No matter what the stats may say and the experts may think and the commentators may have predicted, when the race is on, ALL BETS ARE OFF.
Don’t be surprised be if someone decides to flip the script and take a pass on yelling “Uncle.”
And then suddenly as the old saying goes …
“We’ve got ourselves a game.”

VU Hockey Sweeps UT, Avenges Football Team’s November Loss In Knoxville

Following an ugly conclusion to the fall semester at the hands of the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Vanderbilt hockey club returned to the ice on the road on Friday the 13th against in-state rivals the University of Tennessee Ice Vols with a singular purpose in mind: get back to playing VU hockey. The club delivered, exorcising the demons of last December’s loss by notching two Ws, a closer-that-it-had-to-be 6-4 victory on Friday and a thorough 7-2 drubbing on Saturday. Heading into the stretch run of the season, the Chill-axed Commodores now have their eyes set on making some noise in the SECHC playoffs in February.

“It’s always great beating those guys [UT],” said senior assistant captain Tom Trepanier, “especially considering they killed us 15-1 the last time we were in Knoxville back when I was a freshman.”

Senior goalie and fellow assistant captain Brenden Oliver echoed Trepanier’s sentiments as only he can, stating, “To borrow a quote from renowned crooner and all-around stud Michael Bublé, ‘It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life, and we’re feeling good.'”

“Who Own Da Chiefs?!”

With super hockey Dad Mr. Kaminsky in attendance ( … kudos to him for following up a two-plus hour flight from Boston with a three-plus hour drive to East Tennessee), the ‘Dores took the ice at the Knoxville Coliseum, a venue that can be best described as the closest thing to the Charlestown Chiefs’ home rink that you will find still standing in the United States. Appropriately, the play for the weekend was Hansen Brothers-worthy as the Commodores and Volunteers brought their chippiest brands of hockey to the ice for both match-ups.

24 penalties on Friday followed by 27 on Saturday. Two disqualifications (on the Tennessee side). Several misconducts. Needless to say, coaches Bernstein, Holston, and Gatlin were left shaking their heads even in the wake of two wins.

Said Bernstein, “Ultimately, that falls on me. I have to do a better job of reigning my guys in, making sure that we play with more discipline. Neither of those games should have been as close as they were and we have ourselves to blame for that, no one more than me.”

Sophomore Alan Leeser added, “Friday nearly got away from us because of all the penalties. When we hit the playoffs next month, there is no way we can put ourselves at such a disadvantage and expect to win.”

Going Up Early, Hanging On Late

Leeser was referencing the ‘Dores near collapse on Friday on account of penalties which, whether valid or otherwise, were all too abundant. With 2:30 left in the game and Vanderbilt up 5-2, Tennessee pulled their goalie to tip the ice 6 skaters versus 5 and a goalie. Junior Ryan Blatt then got called for an elbow at the 1:45 mark followed by first-year law student Cory Reno getting tagged at 1:29 for a high-stick. Now 6-on-3, the Vols scrummed around the net for a rebound goal with 0:54 seconds left in the game. The game still in hand, or so Vanderbilt thought with a two-goal lead, Tennessee defenseman Jeong Choe then scored his second in the final minute, this one a five-whole laser from the slot at the 0:21 mark.

Gulp. So went the Vanderbilt faithful, right up until sophomore Jordan Zauderer did what Jordan Zauderer does: score.

“Burying” an empty netter with seven seconds remaining, Zauderer reflected later, “I wasn’t worried, we had it in the bag.” His goal celebration, a hand-swipe from the ice to the sky, would say otherwise because, let’s face it, who would celebrate so vigorously after firing home a shot between two pipes sans netminder?

Recalled sophomore Brad Pesce, who had three goals on the weekend, “Dude. Anti-swag.” (Parents, consult your Urban Dictionary for details on this whippersnapper vernacular.)

Doing Homework, Then Doing Work

Heading into Saturday, the club was determined to, as coach Holston summarized it, “not just be the better pond hockey team but be the better hockey team, period.” To make that happen, the team watched film from the night before, an exercise that brought some gasps but mostly insights into how to play as a more organized and effective unit.

“We were all over the place on a lot of plays,” said junior Chris Sperandio. “In some cases we’d have four guys playing defense low near the goal line, one guy floating in the neutral zone looking for a pass, and no one covering the d-men on the points. It was a wonder we didn’t get burned more given some of the mistakes we were making.”

Sure enough, the exercise paid off as the club’s positioning and play for Saturday’s game was markedly improved, as was the score. At no point in the match-up did Tennessee even hint at threatening the outcome of the contest, a 7-2 win for the ‘Dores.

“The boys stepped up and played like a hockey team,” said a somewhat satisfied Holston (keyword: somewhat … Holston is by design the team’s devils’ advocate in charge of combating all shapes and sizes of complacency; his satisfaction level can and should never cross the 6- or 7-level on a 10-smile scale).

Other News & Notes From Knox-vegas

  • Mackie Anderson made his triumphant return to the ice after being abroad in the spring. Flashing a sharp glove-hand and some solid stick-handling, the junior goalie logged 27 saves in a strong performance.
  • Enforcer Kyle Barber scored his first goal in a Vanderbilt uniform, the third tally in Friday night’s contest. After keeping the puck in the zone on the power play, Kyle turned into the slot from the left point and snapped a major league snipe just over the goalie’s glove under the right corner post. Said Coach Bernstein about the goal, “What can you say? The guy has hands made of butter!”
  • In the Saturday night game, the Commodores didn’t just battle their bitter in-state rivals but also the fatigue of starting the game nearly 1.5 hours late on account of the Knoxville Ice Bears running an “alumni jersey auction” ( … they were selling jerseys for nearly two, three, even four hundred dollars! … ) plus the Tennessee club honoring its 2012 hall of fame inductees. The Commodores could have complained were it not for the fact that they were probably getting their just rewards from the previous fall semester. If you recall, the club was two hours(!) late to their October game versus Florida in Atlanta. “Karma baby,” said rookie Harry Londoff. “It is what it is.” A zen-like response from the freshman defenseman, and oh so true.

Back On The Ice In Nashville

There will be no rest for the weary as the team will be back on the ice against SECHC power and 11th-ranked Ole Miss Ice Rebels on Friday, 1/20, at 10:15pm, and Saturday, 1/21, at 8:40pm. The Commodores will look to avenge two of their three losses from last season at the hands of the boys from Oxford, no small task given the hockey juggernaut that coach Kristian Skou and senior captain Cody Johnson have been engineering in Oxford. Tickets are free for Vanderbilt students, $3 for children under 18 years of age, and $5 for adults. We hope to see you at the rink!