Last Sunday, The University of Tampa Spartans were named Southern Collegiate Hockey Conference Champions.  The Spartans defeated the FAU Owls, UCF Knights and USF Bulls, outscoring their opponents 17 to 5.  SCHC MVP, Matt Antonacci recorded eleven points on the weekend, while recording his 50th goal on the season to lift him to 3rd in the nation in points and 2nd in the nation in goals.  Line mate, Larry Adegoke, recorded 10 points himself.  Adegoke has 24 points in just seven games with the Spartans.

The weekend was full of upsets throughout the tournament including #5 ranked USF downing Miami on Friday night.  They followed up on Saturday with a 3-0 shutout against back-to-back champions Florida Gulf Coast.  Bulls goaltender, Sam Coleman turned away 49 of the eagles shots, earning them their first SCHC championship game appearance. 

Prior to Saturday’s semi-final games the conference recognized it’s outstanding players of the 2016-2017 season.  The University of Central Florida had the most All-stars in the conference with five skaters, followed by Florida Gulf Coast and Tampa with 3 skaters apiece.  Florida Atlantic University also added, Hunter Sheehan who led the owls with 32 points on the season.  Florida Gulf Coast University coaches Bob Wasno and Evan Crawford were recognized as the conferences coaches of the year, leading the Eagles to a 22-3-0-1 overall record and the #1 seed going into the tournament.

Now that the tournament is over the SCHC teams await their fate as the final ranking come out on Tuesday to decide who is in and who is out for the chance to play for the ACHA DIII National Championship in Columbus, Ohio.

SCHC First Team All-Conference:

F: Daniel Fritz (FGCU)

F: Jacob Solomon (UCF)

F: Matt Antonacci (UT)

D: Christian Thamert (UCF)

D: Jake Peterson (UT)

G: Jared Burch (FGCU)

SCHC Second Team All-Conference:

F: Luke Branin (UT)

F: Hunter Sheehan (FAU)

F: Drew Bengtson (UCF)

D: Kurt Williams (FGCU)

D: Rodney Lalonde (UCF)

G: Brody Sharp (UCF)

SCHC Most Valuable Player:

Matt Antonacci (UT)

SCHC Coaches of the Year:

Bob Wasno & Evan Crawford (FGCU)