ORLANDO, Florida. - The Tampa Spartans Men’s Hockey Team scored 3 goals in their shutout win against UCF to take the first game of the series.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: UCF 0, Tampa 3

Records: Tampa (22-1-1), UCF (3-15-0)

Location: RDV Sportsplex Ice Den | Orlando, FL

HOW IT HAPPENED GAME 1:

1st Period

-There was a slow start for both teams in this game, as the first goal came with only 6 minutes left in the first period by UT sophomore Connor Berry and assists coming from Stephen Buck and Christian Kukas

-This assist gave Senior Alternate Captain Stephen Buck his 100th point in his career during his third season for the Spartans, joining his linemate, Evan Hoffberg, in the 100 point club

2nd Period

-The second period started off with some more action coming from Senior Defenseman Jake Thain on a pass from Billy Cody and Gus Aldridge to give Tampa a 2-0 lead.

-On a Tampa powerplay opportunity, Evan Hoffberg capitalized on a tipped shot to make the score 3-0 UT.

3rd Period

-The third period, in Orlando, consisted of no scoring but two penalties take by both teams

-With this scoreless third, Tampa’s goalie Vinny Salgado notched his first shutout of the year facing 23 shots on goal.

GAME 2: UT vs. UCF

TAMPA, Florida. – The University of Tampa’s Men’s Hockey Team celebrated their 11 Seniors with 11 goals in their high-scoring win against UCF to finish off the weekend with a win.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: UCF 2, Tampa 11

Records: Tampa (23-1-1), UCF (3-16-0)

Location: Clearwater Ice Arena | Clearwater, FL

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Senior Night

-The seniors celebrated tonight:

– Ryan “Soap” Riter -- Angelo “Feathas” Picariello -- Christain “El Capitan” Kukas -- Bill “the Best” Cody -- Stephen “Bucky” Buck -- Gus “GusBus” Aldridge -- Jake “Just Jake” Thain -- Cam “Saccoslav” Sacco -- Josey “J. Dollas Lamar III Jr.” Davis -- Ryan “Tables” Murray -- Evan “Chopberg, Hoffberg

1st Period

-Tampa started off the scoring in this game as Billy Cody scored for his first of the night

-Tampa’s Senior Josey Davis buried one soon after the first goal to give the Spartans a two-goal lead

-UT’s Frank Catalina kept the scoring going with assists coming from Tyler Kelly and Senior Angelo Picariello

The first period’s scoring ended with a Spartan goal from Matt Needleman to make it 4-0 after one period of play.

2nd Period

-UCF started to fight back with a goal of their own but that was short lived as Tampa Sophomore Ryan Andrews scored off of his own rebound to make their lead by 4 goals again

-UCF then got a powerplay opportunity, but they were not the ones who took advantage as the Spartans got a couple of goals down a man coming from Frank Catalina and Justin Evans. This is Evans first goal of the year coming off of a nice pass from Grant Parrish.

-Ryan Andrews of the Spartans scored his second of the night on a nice glove side shot

-This period ended off with a splash as Senior Evan Hoffberg popped UCF’s goalie’s bottle with assists coming from Ryan Riter and Grant Parrish to make the score 9-1.

3rd Period

-Billy Cody got his second of the night on a nice goal as he cut across the net and tucked it in for another.

-The Spartans’ scoring ended with a nearly no-angle goal coming from Senior Ryan Murray as he popped the bottle as well. The assists came from Seniors Cam Sacco and Jake Thain to give a Tampa a total of 11 goals.

-UCF finished off the game on a positive note as they scored another making the final score 11-2 in favor of Tampa.

UP NEXT:

      -The Spartans will take on the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Eagles next weekend

      -Stay tuned for postseason updates and information about the 2021-2022 season.

Follow UT Hockey: @UTampaHockey

On Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.