Second chances are rare in life. Most people can think back to something he or she could have done better, or could have done differently at the very least. On Friday night, the Eagles would get a second chance. A second chance to play a Florida Atlantic University team that beat them a month earlier. With new found confidence after taking perennial powerhouse University of Tampa down to the wire, the Eagles were a new force to be reckoned with.

Tale of the tape. Your Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Eagles come into Friday night at 7-5. Their home record is 4-4, and their away record is 3-1. By this analysis, the Eagles look to be home wreckers, as they play better on the road. Their only road loss was in Tampa on opening night to the Spartans of the University of Tampa. At home, they have an even record, granted the Eagles play more home games, and invite high caliber teams into their arena such as Florida State, Auburn, and as of this season Florida Atlantic University. Their record may be even at home, but their home ice advantage is unmatchable. The student section attends the game in droves, and are the loudest crowd the Eagles have played in front of the entire season. With the Eagles, and an army of fans supporting them, the Daytona International Skateway can become a hostile environment for opposing teams. The Eagles score, on average, 6 goals a game, and allow, on average, 4 goals a game. The Florida Atlantic University Owls come into Friday night with a record of 1-6. Their one win came against the Eagles in Daytona, with a final score of 6-5. This was the closet game of the year for the Owls, and after dropping four straight games since their last meeting with the Eagles, they look to get another win in Daytona. The Owls score, on average, 2 goals a game, and allow, on average, 5 goals a game. The Owls have only scored over 2 goals in a game one time this year, and that was against Embry-Riddle. If the Eagles want to win on Friday night, they need to limit the Owls’ offensive production, and ideally hold them to only 2 goals. How many times have the Eagles held a team to 2 goals? Five times this season, winning every matchup in which this occurs.

The first period had the Eagles and Owls fairly equal in shots, 12 for the Eagles, and 13 for the Owls. Each team had half of their shots come in grade A scoring areas, but the Owls were the only ones to score making it a 1-0 game at the end of the first period. Nicolas Prulhiere, the goaltender for the Eagles, would face consistent pressure from the Owls as the game progressed. The Owls were forcing the Eagles to shoot from the points, allowing Brendan Barger and Spencer Kuhlman to lead the team in shots in the first period. Barger had two shots from the point, while Kuhlman had two shots from the point, and four shots from the left face-off circle, a favorite spot of his to shoot from.

The second period had the Eagles shut out again. The Eagles did shoot 9 times, with 3 coming in grade A scoring areas, but to no avail. The Owls would shoot 15 times in the second period, a game high, with 7 coming in grade A scoring areas. The Owls scored on two of their shots, both coming from in the slot, to make the game 3-0 at the end of two. Turner Kauffman got the Owls’ goalie moving, as he took three shots throughout the second, one from the left side of the net, one directly in front of the net, and one from the right side of the net.

The Eagles rebounded in the third period. A slot shot by Glenn Corey beat the FAU goaltender, and a goal by Kyle Usiak gave the Eagles a two goal spark to try to make a comeback. The Owls did not allow it though, netting one more on the way to the final whistle. The final score would come to 4-2 FAU. The Eagles ended the third period with 15 shots, with 5 of those coming in grade A scoring areas. The Owls ended the period with 9 shots, with 3 coming in grade A scoring areas. This would bring the shot totals to 36 shots for the Eagles, and 37 shots for the Owls. Prulhiere stopped 33 of 37 shots, stopping eighty-nine percent of the shots he faced. Barger and Corey led the Eagles shooting charge in the third period, forcing the FAU goaltender to stop a flurry of shots.

A second chance that didn’t go the Eagles way, but a close loss can teach a team a lot more than a blowout win against a sloppy opponent. One takeaway is the Eagles produced a good amount of shots. A big theme with the Eagles, as is consistent of Friday’s game, is they are a second half team. I mentioned it before in the year, but the Eagles seem to start slow, and pick up the pace as the game goes on. They will start netting goals around the end of the second period, and particularly the third period. The Eagles are famous for dramatic comebacks, but sometimes the clock isn’t on their side. Games that the Eagles have jumped to an early lead or came out of the gates firing resulted in wins, and some of their best games this season. When the Eagles are on, as seen in the third period, they can be hard to stop.

The Eagles are now 1-2 in the month of November, and have a tough opponent up next. The University of Florida Gators come from the swamp to play in Daytona next Friday night.

-Nick Conrad