No. 2 Middle Tennessee club hockey (19-5, 18-1 ACHA) eyes a second-straight College Hockey South conference championship after securing a first-round bye in the opening round of the playoffs.
“We’re excited, but we know we’ll have a target on our back,” head coach JJ Murray said. “You’re still the team to beat.”
MTSU had a rocky end to the spring semester, being swept by AAU No.1 Liberty University and splitting a series with No.16 University of South Carolina. The struggles in the spring semester carried over from last season, where Middle Tennessee lost three of eight after the winter break in 2025.
Despite the late-season skid, the Blue Raiders tied for the No.1 spot in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division III rankings, losing a tiebreaker with Calvin University to fall to the second spot for the first time this season after 16 consecutive weeks ranked in the top spot.
“I think our guys got complacent,” Murray said. “You can’t just show up, your effort has to match your skill.”
Even with the late-season woes, Middle Tennessee battled back in game two of each weekend’s series. The Blue Raiders bounced back in the second against the Gamecocks, winning 7-4 after a 3-4 game one loss.
Against the Flames, MTSU led in the final minutes of both games but dropped both bouts against Liberty. Despite the loss, in game two of the series, Middle Tennessee held the red-hot LU offense which has scored over 10 goals in four contests this season to five goals.
“It’s always tough when you’re sloppy in game one, but the thing I’ve noticed with this team is we bounce back,” MTSU goaltender Grant Williams said. “When we have a bad game, the next day we’ll have one of our best games of the season.”
After showing resilience in the spring semester, the Blue Raiders turn their attention to two key areas, defense and the penalty kill.
Against South Carolina, Middle Tennessee allowed five power-play goals on 15 opportunities in the series against the Gamecocks. This effort boils down to one goal for every three power–play opportunities. The momentum generated from the power play can sink or swim a team, especially in postseason competition.
With a stronger focus on the penalty kill in practice, another key for the coaching staff heading into the postseason is buy-in on defense.
“Not necessarily just our defensemen, but all six guys in the defensive zone buying into our systems and locking in on the defensive end,” Murray said. “If we can get our defense locked in and our goalies locked in, even if we score four goals per game, we should still be able to win.”
The old cliché is “defense wins championships,” but elite goaltending goes a long way in postseason hockey.
MTSU has two consistent netminders in Ayden Kopec and Williams. Kopec started on Fridays and Williams started on Saturdays during the regular season.
A year ago, in the Blue Raiders’ historic run to the CHS championship, Middle Tennessee featured Kopec as the lone starter throughout the postseason. However, this time around, opponents could see both goaltenders.
Williams and Kopec are among the best in College Hockey South and both will see playing time in the CHS playoffs and nationals, Murray said.
Between the pipes, both Middle Tennessee puck-stoppers back up Murray’s praise with Kopec posting a save percentage of .904 and Williams .909. The two starters have three combined shutout performances and allow under three goals per contest.
The Blue Raiders will take on the No.10-seeded University of Central Florida (11-14-1, 9-12-1 ACHA) in the quarterfinals. The Knights defeated the University of Alabama 9-2 to advance to the quarterfinal stage, powered by six power play scores. UCF also boasts a strong defensive core headlined by CHS All-Stars Robert Renner and Joseph Dray.
In the crease for Central Florida is Andrew Kass, who, through 15 conference starts, holds a .885 save percentage while allowing just under four goals a game.
Following the conclusion of the quarterfinals, teams will be reseeded based on the teams remaining in the overall tournament. The reseeding format occurs after each round of the CHS bracket.
MTSU will drop the puck on the postseason against UCF on Friday, Feb. 27, at 5:3o p.m. CDT inside the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, Florida. All CHS conference tournament games can be found on the College Hockey South YouTube channel.
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