No. 1 MTSU club hockey (14-2) swept Vanderbilt University (3-11) in the “Battle of Nashville” at the Bellevue Ice Center this weekend.
The Blue Raiders defended a second consecutive No.1 overall ACHA ranking with a sweep over their in-state rival. The weekend series extends MTSU’s winning streak to 14 consecutive games, fueled by five combined goals from the Ogle brothers.
“They [Vanderbilt] obviously want to beat us pretty bad, and we obviously want to keep our win streak going,” MTSU forward Brendan Ogle said. “It’s becoming more of a rivalry outside of just both teams being in Middle Tennessee.”
Game 1
From puck drop, the Commodores pressured the Blue Raiders early in the first period on the forecheck. Forward Ben Schefter lifted a puck over the right pad of MTSU goaltender Ayden Kopec to give Vanderbilt a 1-0 advantage.
Middle Tennessee responded quickly as Brendan Ogle tipped a puck in front that trickled into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1. Brendan Ogle struck again a few minutes later, going forehand-backhand to break the tie, giving MTSU a 2-1 lead late in the period.
Midway through the second period, an MTSU goal was waved off after officials decided the puck had wedged between the post and the pad of Vanderbilt goaltender Will Duncan. Despite the boos of the Blue Raider faithful, the score remained 2-1.
The Ogle show kept rolling for Middle Tennessee as Kieran Ogle scored off a perfectly placed pass from his brother Brendan Ogle to extend the MTSU lead to 3-1 late in the second.
“Their [Ogle brothers] dominance in this conference is unreal,” MTSU goaltender Grant Williams said. “In practice, watching them is like watching Matthew and Brady Tkachuk. It’s nuts.”
The third period was all Blue Raiders as Middle Tennessee added a goal from Tommy Chunchukov to secure a 4-1 win in the first game of the series.
Game 2
The second game of the weekend series started with Middle Tennessee notching a power play goal midway through the first period. Brendan Ogle received a cross-ice pass and slotted it past Duncan for an early 1-0 advantage for the Blue Raiders.
MTSU struck again late in the first period as forward Donovan Yesnach fired a wrist shot from the faceoff dot, hitting the back of the net, and putting the Blue Raiders ahead 2-0 at the end of the first.
The pace of play picked up as both teams peppered shots on goal, forcing both goaltenders to make saves to keep the period scoreless. Middle Tennessee broke through late in the period after a puck ricocheted onto the stick of Brendan Ogle, extending the MTSU lead to 3-0. With under a minute remaining in the second, Vanderbilt pushed a rebound past Williams to cut the Blue Raider lead to 3-1 at the end of two.
Vanderbilt opened the final frame by applying heavy pressure in the MTSU offensive zone. A slashing penalty by MTSU led to a Commodores power play, swinging the momentum in favor of Vanderbilt. On the next offensive possession, MTSU forward Cam Hawkins scored from the slot to extend the MTSU lead to 4-2.
A fight after a big hit from Aydin Suss and a goal from Kenan Rosas added drama to the closing minutes, but MTSU skated away with a 5-2 victory in conference play.
“We are on a 14-game win streak right now,” MTSU head coach JJ Murray said. “Something that’ll help us not overlook Kennesaw is finishing out strong and hitting that 16-game win streak.”
MTSU will return to the Ford Ice Center on Nov. 21-22 to take on the Kennesaw State University Owls (5-9) in a rematch of the College Hockey South Veterans Cup Championship.
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