Author: Vanderbilt Hockey

“Wow.”

One word, “Wow,” captured what was by all accounts one of the most exciting weekends of the season for the Vanderbilt Commodores Hockey Club.  Following a pair of hard fought, evenly matched games against the University of Louisville Cardinals – a 7-6 OT win on Friday and a 4-4 tie on Saturday – the boys from Nashville were left bruised, battered, and ready for a break from both the classroom and the ice rink.

“All I want to do is go home right now and watch a movie,” said freshman David Crowe during the return trip to campus Saturday evening.  “I’m done.”

Late Night Thrills

The weekend started with a midnight clash against the ACHA DII Cardinals hockey club, a young but talented group that, per their coach, has struggled to stay healthy amidst a down year record-wise.  Heading into the meeting, the Commodores were not sure what to expect as Louisville had yet to play any of the teams on VU’s schedule.

“Looking at their record, we were perhaps more confident than we should have been,” said coach Thomas Bernstein.  “We found out pretty quickly that we were in for a battle.”

Friday and Saturday followed similar scripts.  Vanderbilt would score to go ahead, sometimes by two.  Louisville would claw back, often netting equalizers within seconds of going down on the scoreboard.

The physical play was non-stop from midnight Friday to the last whistle Saturday, headlined by the dominating style of junior defenseman Nathan Tardiff.  Tardiff was a veritable tank on the ice, destroying opponents on defense and barreling through people on offense.  It got to the point where the Cardinals actively chose to tone down their otherwise aggressive style of play in the interest of game strategy.

“Nathan would drop them and they’d turn the puck over, or they’d try to hit him and they’d bounce right off of his shoulders,” described Bernstein.  “The guy was just unbelievable, it was like watching Scott Stevens circa the 1995 Devils out there.”

The other thread that remained constant throughout the weekend was the play of Louisville’s goaltender.  The netminder stopped nearly everything, and when he did not the post and crossbar took care of the rest.  The Commodores hit 8 posts and a crossbar over the two games.

“We just couldn’t couldn’t get the puck to find the right spots,” said freshmen winger Jack Delehey.  “That guy was unbelievable in net plus we just didn’t have any luck.  Pretty frustrating.”

Zauderer The Killerer

Delehey wasn’t entirely correct with his assessment of the club’s luck when, after skating to a 6-6 tie in regulation on Friday night, freshman Jordan Zauderer pinched in from the left point, circled around the net, and wrapped in a sudden death winner with 23.6 seconds left in the extra session.  The scene that followed was equal parts joy and relief as the Commodores launched out of the bench to meet the night’s hero, thankful to avoid a shootout.

Zauderer followed that performance with a different type of dagger on Saturday, this time in the form of a mammoth hip check in front of the Commodores bench.  Midway through the third period, Zauderer sized up one of the bigger guys on Louisville and went in for the defensive stop.  Next thing the team knew, the 140135-lb. freshman had put the Cardinal player completely in the Vanderbilt bench, back first.

“I looked down and thought he was dead,” said Bernstein.  Thankfully, the player’s ego was more injured than his body and everyone skated away unharmed.

A Tie?

Unfortunately and fortunately for the ‘Dores, Saturday’s game ended in a 4-4 tie after regulation which, according to ACHA rules, should never happen. It turns out that the rink moved the game’s 6pm start time to 5:30pm (to accommodate a free skate) and failed to inform either team so there was no time for the requisite shootout.  The word “fortunately” is used because a shootout would have inevitably tilted the game in favor of Louisville and its brick wall of a goaltender.

Said sophomore goalie Mackie Anderson, who performed admirably in net following a three month game layoff, “Honestly, I’m not sure we would have pulled out the W.”

The Weekend Scoresheet

The weekend’s scoring leaders included senior Matt Maggiore who, with 2 goals and an assist, played his most inspired hockey of the season.  The Bunny contributed 3 goals and 2 assists while junior Scotty McLaughlin contributed a goal and 3 assists.  Six others, including sophomore Chris Sperandio, freshman Kyle Stachowiak, junior Tom Trepanier, Tardiff, and Zauderer, each scored a goal.

With that, the book is now closed on a great semester which saw the Commodores hold onto the final spot in the ACHA Men’s DIII South Top 15 Rankings.  Thanks to all for your support of the club and please be sure to join us back in Nashville next semester as we round out the season with seven straight home games.

From your friends at VU Hockey, take care and please have a merry Christmas, a wonderful holiday season, a happy new year in 2011!

* Photos from the weekend are posted on the Photos page.

New Practice Ritual Has VU Goalie Whining

The club’s new end-of-practice ritual, a “last Commodore standing” penalty shot contest, has junior goalie Brenden Oliver whining about everything from the pace of skaters firing in on net to his perceived lack of incentive to perform.

Coach, what’s in it for me?  How can I score?

Why can’t we take more breaks?

My toe hurts.

Why can’t we shoot on that end of the ice? It has much better lighting.

Fortunately for Brenden, his teammates focus more on the significant value that the junior goalie provides to the club rather than his more high maintenance tendencies.  They can put up with a little complaining if it means that Mr. Oliver continues to show up to every practice and game, perform ably in net, manage the club’s administrative needs, and offer rides to and from campus to our freshmen and sophomores.

“You just learn to tune it out,” said Stephen “The Beast” Mozur.

Well said Beast, as always.

* * *

You can find pictures of the club’s first two LCS penalty shot winners – Kyle “Go-Go-Gadget Arms” Stachowiak and Tom “______” Trepanier – on the photo page of this site.  Be sure to check back throughout the season for updates on the latest names to be etched onto the virtual wall of glory that is the LCS winner board.

Great non-VU hockey video to finish up the post strong, courtesy of the De Smet Hockey Club in St. Louis:

Looking forward to concluding a great semester with a solid weekend in Louisville.  Thanks to everyone for their continued support and appreciation, it’s been a terrific ride thus far!

Late Flurry Clinches Sweep In Georgia

Prior to the VU Hockey Club’s Friday night faceoff against Emory this past weekend, freshman Jordan Zauderer asked coach Thomas Bernstein for a prediction.  A tradition dating back to his days playing high school hockey back in Pittsford, NY, Jordan was adamant that Bernstein take a position.

“Of course I’m going to say we’re going to win,” he responded in a tone that suggested equal parts caution and confidence.  “5 – 3, we pull out a close one.”

If only he had doubled down.

In its second road trip of the 2010-11 season, the Commodores notched two 5 – 3 victories, one Friday versus the Emory Eagles and another Saturday versus the University of Georgia Bulldogs.  It was exactly the way the Chilled Commodores were hoping to punctuate their season at the halfway point – i.e., with two strong performances en route to securing a record of eight wins versus a single loss on the year.

Friday Night Alright For A The Jack Attack

Jack Delehey (a.k.a., the “Energizer Bunny” as dubbed by freshman Mike Nisbet) notched a hat trick, the first of his young Vanderbilt hockey career, on assists from Evan “Pennies” Sclafani, Kyle McCann, and Tom Trepanier to power VU in its Friday win versus the Eagles.  Combined with his work on the penalty kill and back-check, Delehey was a one-man wrecking crew that Emory had no answers for.

“Jack has the spirit of 1,000 Christmases inside of him,” noted Sclafani, a freshman who made his debut on the defensive line to rave reviews from scouts and fans in attendance, following Delehey’s third goal of the game.  Given the context of the comment, one can only assume that that is a good thing.

Rounding out the scoring was Sclafani and Alan Leeser, another freshman who offered valuable minutes at left wing on the first line.

A Late Game Explosion

In what was by far the most exciting contest of the season thus far, Saturday’s game versus Georgia witnessed a seesaw battle that remained tight well into the third period.

Continuing his heroics from Friday, Delehey opened scoring in the first period with a beautiful off-angle, top-shelf slapper.  Then, following two goals by Georgia that left VU down 2 – 1, sophomore transfer sensation Kyle McCann rifled in an equalizer to knot the game at two apiece.

At that point it was clear the game was on track for an exciting finish, one way or the other.  A 2 – 2 tie.  On the road.  An SECHC conference rival in the Bulldogs.  Media in attendance ( … thanks to Jim Davis from HockeyY’all.com for stopping by).  The moment was enormous … and then it got bigger.

Georgia goal.  3 – 2. 8:54 remaining.

It was the first time in the 2010-11 season that the ‘Dores had faced any degree of late-game urgency.  Coach Bernstein wondered how they would respond given the uncharted territory.  “Following that goal, I just asked everybody, ‘Isn’t this great?’  A tight hockey game on a Saturday night on the road … I was having a blast and wanted to remind them that this was why we all signed up for the club.”

The ‘Dores went out and definitely had a bunch of fun, pouring on three goals in the final nine minutes, two by senior captain Peter Dignard and one by Trepanier, to secure the win.

“Boy, that was awesome,” said junior goalie Brenden Oliver who had another terrific game in net.  “We definitely wanted this one … just a great team effort.”

The Story Beyond The Stats

Lost on Saturday’s score sheet were two items of note.  The first was the impact that junior Nathan Tardiff and graduate student Ben Loss had on the game.  Both defensemen, Tardiff and Loss elevated the ‘Dore’s physical play while anchoring a stout attack in front of Oliver in net.  Along with Dignard, their decision to make the trip on Saturday contributed largely to the game’s positive outcome.

The other item of note was a near-miss-that-really-wasn’t-near off the stick of one Thomas Trepanier.  In the closing minutes of the second period, Kyle McCann made a furious rush up ice, slashing and toe-dragging his way towards the net.  After finally getting knocked off the puck, McCann made a brilliant pass in front to Trep which left the junior alone with the puck and the net.  No goalie, no defensemen … just one man and a surefire goal.

“All I could see was net,” said Loss who was skating up ice from the other end of the rink.  “Never seen a more wide open chance in my life.”

You can guess the rest based on the scoring recap.  Wide right.  Shame.  Audible laughter from the bench.  Jokes between periods.  Nightmares following the game.

Asked for comment, Trep simply said, “Ugh.”

The Good Times Roll On In December

Looking ahead, the club will be back on the ice (and the road) versus Louisville on December 3rd and 4th.  For more information, please reach out via the contact form on this website.  In the meantime, on behalf of the entire club – players, parents, and “staff” included – we thank everyone for your continued support of the team this year and look forward to a fun and entertaining second half of the season.  Hope to see everyone at the rink!

VU Hockey Kicks Off November On Road In Atlanta

In honor of the club’s trip to Atlanta this weekend for a two game set against Emory and Georgia (Friday and Saturday, respectively), here are a few playful jabs* at the expense of the good ole Peach state …

How do you know you live in Georgia? When all directions start with “Go down Peachtree …” and include the phrase “When you see the Waffle House …”  Link

At the scene of the accident a trooper asked the Georgia driver what gear he was in at the moment of impact. He replied, “tractor hat and camouflage hunting outfit.”  Link

What’s Georgia good for?
a.  Getting from Florida to Tennessee.
b.  A good view of Chattanooga.
c.  A handy place to point to and say, “We don’t want to be like Atlanta.”
d.  All of the above

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the rink, should be a fun trip.  Roll / Hook ’em / War Damn / Boomer Sooner / Rock Chalk / Go ‘Dores!



*  It should be noted (and we humbly recognize) that one can swap “Tennessee” for “Georgia” in virtually any joke floating across the interwebs and, for the most part, maintain the continuity of the comedic value.