Heartbreaking Finish in Philly

With an extraordinary year and major accomplishments, both teams were viciously anxious for this year’s national championships. Thanks to a coach bus donated by Mears transportation, the team headed to the airport early Wednesday morning with ease. After checking in it was a long bumpy ride up north. Once finally landed the teams anticipation to play grew even stronger. Thankfully the team had a skate that Wednesday night, to get used to the surface and rink. Both teams looked great and were ready to dangle in our upcoming games.

The D1’s first game was against North Texas. It was obvious that the knights came to play with an impressive 10-1 victory. The B team’s first matchup was against powerhouse UMSL, and they unfortunately had a close loss. The next game was D1 vs. Mizzou. This game was full of penalties, which ultimately controlled the outcome. The knights lost their first playoff game of the year in a 5-2 loss. The B team came back strong with an astonishing 13-0 shutout against Texas Arlington. The next morning the D1 Knights got a rematch against Buffalo. Once again hindered by penalties the knights had their 2nd loss in pool play. The B team also lost their last game in pool play, to West Chester. It would now be up to the seeding meeting to decide both teams’ future.

The D1 squad faced Regional Champion Colorado State in the first round. Realizing it was do or die, the Knights came out on fire and was victorious with a 10-4 final. That was until the Red Army came along, better known as the University of Missouri St. Louis or UMSL Tritons. UMSL was the team that knocked the knights out in the semi finals at last year’s national championship event. This year was different though, the game was neck and neck. After the first period it remained scoreless. UMSL struck first with a power play goal. The knights quickly returned with a power play goal from star Connor Cafferty. The second period ended with UMSL up 2-1 with the knights on the door step of tying the game. Unfortunately, in this battle, the infamous “Red Army” held off the Knights and claimed the victory. UMSL went on to win the national championship with an amazing upset against 7 time defending national champions, Lindenwood University. The D1 team made a strong run and ended up making the sweet 16. Next year the team is preparing for some strong additions and another final four appearance.

The B team also had a strong run through the playoffs. Their first game was against UC Santa Barbara, and they showed those Californians what Florida hockey is all about; with a 7-3 victory. In the quarter finals the B team got a chance to make up for a round robin loss with a rematch against UMSL. This time not letting anything get in their way, the knights B team won 9-6. The team was lead by Junior Jason Crook who had an impressive 4 goal game. Advancing on to the Semi Finals, the Knights now faced East Coast powerhouse Penn State. This was a rough match-up and the knights were exhausted from a long run through the tournament. They dropped this game, but finished the tournament with a back to back final four appearance. The B team will be looking to make a 3 peat next year with yet another final four appearance, and the help of a strong incoming freshman class.

The experiences and friendships created through this season will last a lifetime. For a lot of players this is the final level of competitive hockey they will play. Upon growing older and achieving great success in the business world, it is hoped that this hockey organization is a staple in their college memories.