Georgia Hockey defeated the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 6-2 on Saturday, November 19 at the Carolina Ice Palace in North Charleston, South Carolina.
After beating Clemson the night before, head coach John Camp made sure his players kept their heads up despite the tiredness. In addition to fatigue, the team was also missing Robby Witwer [ankle injury]William McDonald [shoulder injury] and Truman Haugen [illness].
“This trip was unlike most consecutive weekends as we had to travel again on Saturday morning to go from Greenville to Charleston,” said junior forward David Eberly. “That’s why the coach really emphasized that we have to stay locked in and prepared even when the circumstances weren’t the best.”
Despite the circumstances of the trip, the Ice Dawgs won against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. The final score was 6-2, bringing the CHS Eastern Division record to 5-2-0.
“I think we played really well given the circumstances,” Eberly said. “On top of the travel we also have a couple of injured lads and a lot of players were feeling down with the weather but I’m proud of the effort we put in and we got the results we were looking for.”
Early in the first half, junior forward Josh Mesaros gave Georgia an advantage by scoring a goal. Freshman forward Declan Conway followed up on Mesaros’ goal to put the score at 2-0.
The team’s success rate increased in the second period. Young forward Case Santa Maria scored a goal on a 5-4 power play. The scoreboard stayed at 3-0 until Coastal Carolina scored their first goal at the 14:38 time mark.
After Coastal Carolina scored, Georgia gained control due to a sluggish performance by the opposing team’s goaltender. Junior defender Zach Puma scored after a puck bounced off the goal net. Then Eberly scored the team’s last goal of the second half by sneaking a puck past the goalie.
“I saw Parente fly to get the dump in and when the goalie lost control of the puck behind the net I knew I had to go forward,” Eberly said. “I saw Punzy in the middle so I took the other side as a support and Parente’s pass found me randomly for the easy end.”
Leading 5-1 into the third half, the Chanticleers scored their second goal but were too far behind to catch up with the Ice Dawgs’ score. As the game drew to a close, junior defender Lleyton Poole scored Georgia’s last goal.
The Ice Dawgs take on the Kennesaw State Owls in their 5th home game at Akins Ford Arena at the Classic Center. The game will take place on December 1st at 7pm