By Nick Gimbel

Game 1 (10/4/19): 4-3 OT WIN

With a new look ERAU Eagles starting to take flight in a tough SCHC division, Florida Gulf Coast University came into Daytona with their hopes set on simply making a positive impact in what was their first game of the season.

ERAU, a team that came into Friday night’s match already with 6 games played and a 2-3-0-1 record on the season, was looking to build momentum going into the middle of the semester. Meanwhile, FGCU had not played a single game up until this point. This left a lot of open-ended questions as to what Embry-Riddle was going to see out of Gulf Coast.

FGCU quickly made an impact just 1:03 into the contest with Blake Hartman putting Gulf Coast ahead early. However, this is a group of Embry-Riddle players that has a lot more fight in them than we have seen in past seasons. Noah Austin responded at 5:57 into the opening frame to tie the game up with assists coming from Usiak and Hautau, and then 57 seconds later Ryan Marks put ERAU up 2-1 on a powerplay goal at 6:54 of period number one, Bokun and Bridges assisting on the go-ahead goal. Riddle would take an 11-8 shot lead into the first intermission along with their 2-1 lead on the scoreboard.

Period number two saw Gulf Coast find their rhythm just a little bit more than they had shown in the opening 20 minutes. Theodore Pupilla was able to pound home FGCU’s equalizer on their fourth powerplay of the game at 5:58 of the second period. However, the chances kept coming for the home team. Kyle Usiak was harassed from behind on a breakaway, leading to the first penalty shot of the season for ERAU, but it was Gulf Coast’s netminder Ryan Nussbaum coming out on top and shutting down Usiak on the penalty shot. That would take the game into the second intermission tied at 2 and FGCU slightly edging Riddle 18-17 in shots through 40 minutes.

The third period brought with it more speed and more back-and-forth action; something that FGCU feeds on. Using that speedy transition game, Kyle Horvath gave Gulf Coast their second lead of the game 2:59 into the period. In previous seasons, that would have been a back-breaking goal-against for ERAU, but not this season. Newcomer Jack Bokun took matters into his own hands, skated right into the Gulf Coast zone, and brought Riddle back even 3-3 just a mere 15 seconds after FGCU snagged the lead. After both teams went 0-1 on their respective powerplay chances in the remaining time in the third period, we took the game to overtime.

4-on-4 overtime hockey shows hockey fans the speed that both teams are capable of, and the speed game is where FGCU shines. However, something that will destroy a team’s speed game is an ill-advised penalty. Gulf Coast’s Nick Giarmita took a hooking penalty bringing down Adam Letarte on a breakaway two minutes into OT, giving ERAU a 4-on-3 powerplay, and Turner Kaufmann made Gulf Coast pay. With lots of traffic in front and no sightline to the shot for Nussbaum, Kaufmann was able to sneak the shot through the pads of the Gulf Coast netminder low and on the ice securing a 4-3 OT win in the first game of the two game weekend, stunning FGCU and setting the stage for not only an entertaining rematch the following day, but also a potential rivalry in the making.

Game 2 (10/5/19): 2-1 Loss

The first Saturday afternoon game at home for ERAU presented an opportunity to send a powerful SCHC title contender in Florida Gulf Coast back to the Florida west coast on a somber bus ride. Not used to coming into Daytona and having to battle as hard as they did the night before for a pair of points, FGCU came in more prepared and ready for a fight, and they started off exactly as they did in the previous match.

It only took 2:57 for Gulf Coast to jump out to another early lead as they did the night before, and again it was off the stick of Kyle Horvath. In an eerily similar fashion as the first game, ERAU found a way to tie the game right back up 11:53 into the opening period on a 5-on-3 powerplay BLAST of a one-timer from Jordan Shepherd set up by Bokun and Kaufmann. Both teams would be kept off the score sheet through the final eight minutes of the first period, taking the 1-1 draw into the second 20 minutes.

For the fourth time in five periods through two games, FGCU found a way to jump on the scoreboard in the first three minutes of a period. Blake Hartman, just 2:27 into the middle period, gave Gulf Coast their second lead of the game, and one that they tried to give away; nine times. Through the second period, there were more total penalty minutes handed out between both teams than minutes allotted to play the period itself. A total of thirteen penalties, good for 26 penalty minutes, were given away like candy on Halloween, 18 of those penalty minutes were against FGCU, and the penalty kill of the visitors shined brightly. Embry-Riddle could not catch any kind of break and went an astonishing 0-for-9 on the powerplay in the second period and finished the game 1-for-14 on the man advantage which included four 5-on-3 powerplay chances. Finally, the clock bled down to zero to finish off the second period that saw FGCU leading 2-1.

The third period was a complete opposite of the period prior. Fast-paced action, back-and-forth chances, and lots of speed and skill on display in what was on of the best periods of hockey that the Daytona Ice Arena has seen in quite some time ensued in the final period. Both teams stayed out of the penalty box allowing for the pace to intensify unlike it did in the second, which allowed for both teams to gain numerous chances, but both goaltenders stood tall in their respective nets. Max Minerevini did everything he could to keep Embry-Riddle in the game and give them a chance to complete the comback, but Nick Stiles for FGCU was matching Minervini save-for-save on the opposite end of the ice. Riddle was unable to solve Stiles in the final period, and eventually fell to Gulf Coast 2-1.

FGCU starts off their season 1-0-1-0 (3 points) and ERAU brings their record to 3-4-0-1 (7 points). ERAU looks forward to the 2nd annual “Battle at the Beach” tournament where they will host Alabama-Huntsville, FSU, and UF over the coming weekend along with the Alumni game on Saturday night. Catch all the action at the Daytona Ice Arena or on the Embry-Riddle Eagles Youtube page for all home games live streamed.