Category: Recap

Vanderbilt Splits Series 1-1 with Alabama

PELHAM, A.L. – Vanderbilt was unable to complete the series sweep against Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 8th. 

Alabama opened up the scoring, netting two in the first period. 

Christian Cottone scored with 7:05 in the first period off a feed from Max Mona to make it 2-1 heading into the 1st intermission. 

Vanderbilt capitalized on a power play 5 minutes into the 2nd, with Val Sverdlov knocking in a rebound off a shot from Jack Smith. 

Alabama scored a power play goal 8 seconds left in the 2nd to make it 3-2. 

With 9:29 left in the third period, Alabama scored another goal to make it 4-2. 

Dores were unable to complete the comeback, making it the first loss for Vanderbilt on the year. 

Alabama and Vanderbilt sit at 3-1 apiece in the standings. 

Commodores are set to play MTSU for a home and home series in two weeks, Oct. 22nd and 24th. First game will be played at Bellevue, and the second at Antioch.

Dores Top Alabama

PELHAM, A.L. – Junior forward Jebb Vincent recorded 2 goals in the Commodores 5-2 win against D2 Alabama Friday night. 

Vanderbilt improves to 3-0 on the season. 

Commodores scoring began with 8:40 left in the second period, with senior forward Val Sverdlov burying a feed from sophomore Kyle Fraser and freshman Drew Fietze. 

Jebb Vincent rounded out the Dores’ 2nd period offense with a goal assisted by Fraser.

Alabama netted two quick goals in the third to tie. Vanderbilt, however responded two minutes later with a redirect goal by Vincent off a shot from junior Trevor White. 

25 seconds later, sophomore Julian Yang capitalized off a pass from junior Christian Cottone to make it 4-2 Dores. 

Fraser rounded out the Vanderbilt scoring with 4:44 left in the game. 

Freshman goalie Micah Olson made crucial saves during the game to keep Alabama from taking the lead. 

Vanderbilt returns for the series finale October 9th, 6:30 PM at the Pelham Civic Center.

Rookie and Veteran Talent Power Commodores Through First Half of the Season

by Ryan Rogers

At the conclusion of the first semester, your Vanderbilt Commodore Club Hockey team sits at a comfortable 7-6. With the first half of the season complete and no games scheduled until mid-January, this seems as good a time as any to recount the campaign thus far.

 

September

Commodore hockey began the season with tryouts and two weeks of practices in early September, leading up to an opening weekend at home consisting of two games against Eastern Kentucky University. The team this year returned veteran leadership and added rookie talent that have combined to yield success thus far.

 

In the opener against EKU on September 20th, the Commodores dominated the first period, outshooting the visiting team handily but yielding no goals in the opening frame. In the second period the scoring opened up with the Commodores netting four and further expanding the gap in shots. The game went final at 4-0, Vanderbilt putting 66 shots on net. In the Sunday game, Vanderbilt completed the two-game sweep of EKU in a comfortable 12-1 with three of those goals coming from freshman Christian Cottone.

 

The weekend against Eastern Kentucky was followed by a two-game home set against a strong Arkansas team. This weekend would be less successful, with the Razorbacks taking both games, by scores of 13-1 and 6-3 on Friday (9/27) and Sunday, respectively. Arkansas currently maintains a record of 22-1 and sits atop the ACHA M3 rankings.

 

October

The month of October began with the team’s first road trip, a weekend trip visiting an SECHC opponent, the University of South Carolina, the first game being played on Friday, October 4th. The weekend would prove to be a challenge for a short Commodore bench as USC took the Friday and Saturday games by scores of 7-0 and 7-2. With an overall record of 2-4 and an SECHC record of 0-4 following a disappointing weekend in Columbia, Vanderbilt turned its attention to a home-and-home series against local rival and SECHC opponent Middle Tennessee two weeks later.

 

The first game against Nashville rival MTSU, an away game, was played on Friday, October 18th and marked Vanderbilt’s final game of the season to be played at Ford Ice Center in Antioch. In the primetime Friday night contest, the Commodores grinded out a much needed 5-2 win against a gritty Blue Raider team to halt a 4-game skid. As MTSU games tend to go, there were plenty of penalties on both sides, but Vanderbilt capitalized on odd-man opportunities.

 

The Sunday morning game against MTSU was Vanderbilt’s opener from their new home, Ford Ice Center Bellevue. With the puck dropping before most college students wake up, the Commodores got off to a slow start, playing a sloppy opening period. The team cleaned things up and managed to right the ship, winning the game by a score of 4-1, finishing the sweep and collecting two important SECHC wins.

 

At the end of October, Vanderbilt hockey sat at an even 4-4 overall, with a 2-4 record in SEC competition.

 

November

November held one of the more important weekends for Vanderbilt Club Hockey, with the team hosting the annual Scholar Shootout, a round-robin tournament played by four teams. This year, the Commodores hosted High Point, Alabama, and Notre Dame, playing one team per day beginning on Friday, November 8th.

 

The Commodores first game of the tournament was a violent contest played against High Point University. The game yielded more than 30 individual penalties including multiple misconducts, an ejection, and an altercation involving some fans that resulted in a lengthy delay during the second period. The commodores pushed through the adversity and escaped the Friday night royal rumble with a 7-3 win.

 

The second game was played on Saturday night against a highly-skilled Notre Dame team. The Irish took the tilt 9-2, capitalizing on some Vanderbilt penalty trouble. Notre Dame went on to sweep the weekend and win the tournament.

 

Vanderbilt’s final game of the Scholar Shootout was played on Sunday, November 10th against the Crimson Tide. The Commodores outplayed and outshot their opponents, but Alabama ultimately took the game 4-1, relying on strong goaltending and an opportunistic offense.

 

November concluded with two forfeit victories against Mississippi State.

 

Looking Forward

Vanderbilt Club Hockey returns to action on January 17th with two home games against Santa Clara. The team has showed promise with some confident wins against solid opponents, relying evenly on contributions from both veterans and rookies. With a record of 2-4 in SEC play, making the conference tournament will require winning some important games, something the Commodores are entirely capable of.

Vandy Opens The Season With 2-1 Start In SEC Play, Including Split Versus South Carolina

Following an opening weekend drubbing of Mississippi State 15-1, Vanderbilt cruised to a 7-2 win in its weekend opener versus SEC rival South Carolina despite an even split of 24 penalties. The Dores dropped a chippy Game 2 against a stout and stubborn Gamecock Defense.

The Vanderbilt Commodores Ice Hockey Club kicked off its season with an SECHC matchup against Mississippi State in what proved to be a lopsided affair that saw a little bit of everything – a 10-goal first period, goals from a slew of freshmen, appearances by all three Commodore goalies, and even the club’s first live-streamed event on Periscope. In attendance were a number of VU Hockey greats in town for the club’s alumni game set for the following Saturday. The legends dated from 1976 (Wade Cowan) through the mid-90s (Roland Baggot) and all the way up to the 2000s (Jordan Katz, Ryan Weekes, and Scooter McLaughlin), to name a few. It was a fantastic start to the season for the club and a great weekend for all involved – current and alumni players, both on and off the ice.

The following weekend saw the Commodores square off against perennial SEC power South Carolina. Having split with SC the previous two seasons, Vanderbilt’s goal was to sweep the weekend and set the tone for the season. Unfortunately, like the previous two, the club would only get halfway to that goal.

In Game 1 of the weekend, the Gamecocks took an early lead in the first period after a puck from the point deflected off multiple defenders and looped its way over Commodore net minder Ryan Kellenberger’s shoulder into the net. Nick Honkala would knot the game up with 7:24 remaining, and after the intermission, scored again to put the Commodores ahead 2-1 just over 2 minutes into the period. Freshman Jeremy Gross proceeded to score after a filthy setup from rookie Sophomore Patrick McNamara, extending the lead to 3-1. Patty Mac made his way past one defender and bounced back around another before dishing a great pass to an open Gross. The freshman buried his chance, and followed it up with an even better celebration, uncharacteristic of a young rookie. The ‘Dores took a two-goal advantage into the second intermission.

It was all gas for Vanderbilt in the third period. Nick Sanchez, another rookie Sophomore, opened the scoring 2:07 into the period for his first career goal, and would add another eleven minutes later in the period. Ryan Doppelheuer would add 2 goals as well, one of which was a well-placed wrist shot to the top shelf on the power play. Those goals came courtesy of 2 assists from Doppelheuer, two from captain John Longman, two from Sanchez, and one from Zach Satin. Senior goaltender Ryan Kellenberger, fresh off of his SEC-MVP winning season, made 27 saves on 29 shots for the ‘Dores. The game would end 7-2 in favor of Vanderbilt, but not before the referees called 24 penalties (12 on each team), most of which were contested by both teams’ coaches.

South Carolina proved a much tougher opponent in the second game of the weekend, coming out with more intensity and physicality than in the opener. Vanderbilt absorbed the pressure well early on behind great play from Kellenberger. It wasn’t until a little over halfway through the second period when the Commodores finally broke through. Rookie Senior Spencer “Rosie” Rosenstein broke the deadlock with an incredible wrist shot. He stripped a defensemen on the doorstep, and falling over, managed to roof one directly above the head of the Gamecocks goalie. Rosie of course cele’d, though his form fell short of the rookie Gross.

The Gamecocks would knot the game minutes later and the game eventually became a back and forth affair of chances, but the Gamecocks had the last one, and buried it with under 3 minutes remaining. The ‘Dores couldn’t rally back from there, and fell 2-1.

The weekend split leaves the ‘Dores’ record at 2-1. Their next games are home for the Scholar Shootout Tournament, where Vanderbilt is looking to defend its title (and the coveted Keith Davis Memorial Trophy – a.k.a. “The Davey”). The 3-game weekend will include match-ups against Georgia Tech on Fri. October 7, Notre Dame Sat. October 8, and Northwestern Sun. October 9.