Written by: Mickey Gonzalez

This weekend saw UCF finish the regular season in another home and home series with the University of Tampa Spartans.

Friday’s game took place in Clearwater, on UT home ice. The Spartans scored first, about through the first period. Brandon Blaszczyk followed shortly after with his own goal. The second period started with a 1-1 tie. UT scored again halfway through the period, then got another goal with a minute left. Liam McGrath lessened the gap with a UCF goal seconds before the end of the period. In the third period, Landon Gatz tied the game with a power play goal. The Knights put in a strong effort, but Tampa managed two more goals in the last six minutes. The final score was 5-3, UT.

The second game of the weekend brought the Knights back to home ice. The rink was full of emotion. Not only was it the last game of the season, it was Senior Knight, where we honored our four graduating seniors—Brandon Blaszczyk, Liam McGrath, Andrew Schneider, and Christopher Zalik. UCF was set on a good end to the season. Obviously, so was UT. The first two periods were an intense back-and-forth between the teams, but there were no goals. The start of the third period was electric. Knights and Spartans. Every player was determined to get the first goal of the game and pull their team ahead. Ultimately, UT scored first, with seven minutes left in the regular game. But UCF wasn’t going to end the regular season on a loss. Johnny Brockman, assisted by Tyler Walkinshaw, tied the game back up a couple minutes later. With five minutes left in the period, both teams were desperate for another goal. Neither managed it. The game went to overtime. Five minutes. Four-on-four. No goals. The final score was 1-1. UCF ended the regular season with a hard-fought tie.

Your UCF Knights will take to the ice again this Friday, February 8, for the SCHC playoffs. They’ll be facing off against the University of Miami at AdventHealth Center Ice. The game starts at 8:30pm. Admission is $10 per day and gets you access to both games each day.