Coming into this past weekend, the ERAU Eagles were riding a rough patch in their season. They had faced two battle-tested conference rivals in University of Central Florida and University of South Florida, walking away with 8-3 and 10-1 road losses respectively and falling to a 2-3 record. They were tough lessons this early in the season, but despite the scores, the team still felt they belonged in their new conference and had more to prove.

            The Eagles returned home to Daytona hoping to snap the 2-game skid they were on. Their opponent would be the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles, ranked #1 in the ACHA South Division last year and consistently in the hunt for the National Title. Despite a great effort in net by Nico Prulhiere and Mitchel Kim, coupled with a fantastic home crowd of 421 attendees, your Eagles were routed by their inter-state brethren in a decisive 9-1 fashion. Kyle Usiak tallied the lone goal for ERAU, with assists coming from Alex Faller and Ryan Knapp. Less than 24 hours later Riddle would stage one of the biggest upsets of the young season.

            The rematch was set for Saturday afternoon, with a David-and-Goliath like feeling in the air. The game started in the same fashion as Friday night, with FGCU going up 3-0 within the first seven minutes of the game. Only this time they would be held scoreless the rest of the game and be forced to watch Riddle claw back to emerge victorious with a 5-3 final. Alex Faller notched 2 goals in the bout, Brantley Miller and Ryan Marks scored 1 apiece, and Captain Brendan Barger sealing the deal with an empty net mark. Max Minervini earned MVP of the game with his stellar 61 save performance.

            Coach Joyce praised his team’s rallying performance: “They took it upon themselves to do the little things keep it simple, get the puck deep, take the body. They played hard and smart and pulled out the win.”

            Catch the Eagles in action this upcoming weekend at Daytona Ice Arena as they host Florida State University, Clemson University, and University of Florida in a Homecoming Weekend Tournament.

Written by Andrew Caputo