The University of Georgia Ice Dawgs put on a dominant display in their first weekend home opener at the brand-new Akins Ford Arena, sweeping the South Carolina Gamecocks in back-to-back games on January 24th and 25th.
The two teams crossed paths just once earlier this season in Irmo, SC, where they tied 3-3.
Game 1:
The first game took place on Friday, January 24th at 7:00 pm.
Right from the moment the puck dropped, both teams played with extreme intensity in the offense and defensive zones.
Sophomore Evan Moore (18) scored the first and only goal in the first period with about eight minutes left, giving Georgia a 1-0 lead.
His goal was assisted by assistant captain Josh Mesaros (26) and sophomore Alex Laracy (38).
Neither team scored in the second period despite plenty of opportunities on both sides.
The third period continued to be a nailbiter as Georgia fought hard to hold onto their one-goal lead.
The Gamecocks pulled their goalie with 1:40 left in the third for one last attempt to tie the game.
But Georgia’s senior forward Ryan Bailey (13) intercepted a South Carolina pass, sending the puck up the ice to assistant captain Evan Parente (3), who sealed the game with an empty-net goal to give the Ice Dawgs a 2-0 advantage.
The final score was 2-0 Ice Dawgs.
Senior goalie Ryan Testino (31) played lights out stopping all 34 shots by the Gamecocks.
He secured his second shutout of the season as well as his first shutout in the new arena.
Testino said, “It was great to get the second shutout of the season and the first in the new rink. It means a lot more shutting out the defending national champions because they have a great team. Beating them gives us good momentum going forward, especially if we play them again in the CHS tournament.”
Game 2:
The second game took place on Saturday, January 25th at noon.
To open the first period, the Gamecocks scored only seven minutes in, putting the Ice Dawgs down 0-1 early on.
However, sophomore James Hedquist (22) tied the game just five minutes later with his own goal making it 1-1.
To make matters even worse for South Carolina, both Laracy and junior Declan Conway (29) each scored goals of their own to increase Georgia’s lead to 3-1 before the end of the period.
With his goal, Conway reached 100 career points as an Ice Dawg with 44 goals and 56 assists over the past three seasons.
Both of these goals were assisted by Bailey, who has 15 assists on the season so far.
On his game mentality, Bailey said, “I try to focus on doing whatever I can to help the team win, whether that’s creating scoring chances, playing solid defense, or setting up my teammates. I just try to stay consistent and make the game fun for me and my teammates, as well as doing my part every shift to contribute where it counts.”
The Ice Dawgs didn’t let up in the second period, with Mesaros scoring less than a minute in to push the lead to 4-1.
South Carolina tried to rally in the third period, but the Georgia defense held firm, and captain Robby Witwer (14) added a fifth goal to seal the 5-1 victory.
Junior goalie Isaac Haugen (41) recorded his eighth win of the season stopping 28 of 29 shots by the Gamecocks.
On his mental game, Haugen said, “I went into the game with the mindset of controlling what I could control. When they scored, I just had to put it behind me and say, alright, no more goals from here on. I think breaking the game down into smaller chunks is always key for me, just focusing on winning five minutes at a time until the buzzer sounds.”
He continued to say, “The team also got me some great goal support which made my job a lot easier and allowed me to just have fun out there.”
The Ice Dawgs will take on Farmingdale next weekend, with games scheduled for Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday morning. Georgia will also honor its seniors during Saturday’s Senior Night festivities.
Upcoming Games:
- Friday, January 31- Georgia vs. Farmingdale (5:30 PM)
- Saturday, February 1- Georgia vs. Farmingdale (5:00 PM)
- Sunday, February 2- Georgia vs. Farmingdale (11:30 AM)