Following Regionals, the Gators traveled to Huntsville, Alabama for the 2012 SEC Tournament. Ranked first in the Eastern Conference, the Gators drew the fourth seeded Tennessee Volunteers in the opening round. With the sour taste of the Richmond loss fresh on their minds, Florida looked to set the tone early against the Volunteers. Taking an early 5-0 lead in the first period, the Gators never looked back, finishing off Tennessee 14-3. Captain Scott Schwartz recorded a hat-trick in the game, juniors Michael Dutka and Scott Schilson also recorded hat-tricks against the Volunteers and sophomore Danny Hill recorded 2 goals and 2 assists.

With Georgia upsetting second seeded Ole Miss in the first round, the semi-final game set up to be a rematch of Georgia’s dramatic overtime win at the Savannah Hockey Classic. Early in the first period, the Gators jumped to a 1-0 lead with a shot by Scott Schilson, but Georgia tied it up minutes later, ending the period with a 1-1 tie. Ryan Sehr looked to be the hero, scoring back to back goals and bringing Florida to a 3-2 lead late in the 3rd period. But Georgia wouldn’t let down, scoring with 44 seconds left, tying the game at 3-3. Then came the fireworks, the face-off following Georgia’s late goal was knocked forward and picked up by winger Michael Jugan, cutting across the blue line he let loose a great shot that beat Georgia’s goaltender with just 35 seconds remaining in the game. Florida held on from there, winning the game 4-3 and earning a chance to face the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game.

Entering Sunday, the Gators were optimistic after 2 great playoff wins over Tennessee and Georgia. Their opponent in the championship game, Alabama, was far from a walk in the park. The previous weekend the Crimson Tide finished 2-0 at the Southern Region playoffs, earning a spot in the National Championship tournament. Alabama showed their strength early, taking a 4-0 lead half way through the second period. Michael Dutka and Zach Roesch tallied back to back power play goals, bringing the score to 4-2. But Alabama broke their lead back open in the third period, and ended up beating the Gators 7-2.

During the weekend the SEC chose both their all-conference teams along with an all-star team that was selected to compete in West Chester, PA against the best players in the nation, for a shot to make the National Select Team which will travel to Europe in the Winter. The Gators were well represented in every award category: forward Scott Schilson and defenseman Scott Schwartz were named to the All-SEC First Team, forward Michael Dutka and defenseman Matthew Stankowicz were named to the All-SEC Second team. Scott Schwartz, Scott Schilson, Michael Dutka and Michael Jugan were also selected to the SEC All-Star team and participated this past weekend in West Chester, PA.

Well now one of the greatest rivalries in college football has hit the ice, and it’s catching on with both Gator and Bulldog fans, and it’s catching on fast.

Every Friday evening before Saturday’s historic football game, the Gators and the Bulldogs do battle on the ice just minutes down the road from the football stadium in what has become a guaranteed hard hitting, high scoring, action packed affair.  The Florida-Georgia rivalry has become just as intense on the ice as it is on the football field.  These two teams don’t like each other, and for anyone that has attended the Friday night fracas, it’s obvious. “This is a game that nobody wants to lose.  The pride that these two teams take in winning this game is immense” says Gator defensemen Matt Stankowicz.

For the fans, it has become tradition to pack the stands on Friday night clad in layers of orange and blue or red and black to cheer on their respective hockey teams and get their big weekend started off right.  For many, attending the hockey game is just as automatic as attending the football game the next day; just more evidence that SECHC (Southeastern Collegiate Hockey Conference)  hockey has built a solid fan base and continues to grow in the south.

Both teams are consistent contenders in the SECHC and both the have this Friday circled on their calendars every season. The Gators are off to a 7-1 start already this season while Georgia is coming in with a 3-3-1 record on the season.  The Gators will be hungry for revenge after being upset by UGA in the Savannah Hockey Classic the last time these two teams met in January.

In many ways this Florida-Georgia match up goes beyond sport. Along the way, something immeasurable transcends this game. “We have to win this game. It’s not about us as a team. It’s about the pride of our fans and representing the University in the best way we know how; and that’s winning” commented Florida forward Mike Dutka. The battle for on-ice supremacy between these two very proud schools kicks off at 9:45 pm this Friday night, October 28^th in Jacksonville, FL.

You can visit the facebook event page HERE for more information about Friday’s game!

http://sechchockey.com/sechc-pre-season-coaches-poll-watchlist-announced/

SECHC Pre-Season Coaches Poll, Watchlist Announced

The 2011-12 season is just around the corner as Ole Miss takes on Memphis this weekend. As the season approaches quickly, the South Eastern Collegiate Hockey Conference is releasing the inaugural pre-season coaches’ poll and players-to-watch list for the upcoming season.

In the first ever conference coaches’ poll, Arkansas and Florida are picked to lead win the divisions this season. Arkansas is two-time defending conference Champions and Florida has reached the title game the last two seasons.

Despite their dominance the last few seasons, neither team received unanimous first-place votes. Both Arkansas and Florida received three first-place votes each.

Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams and only voted for their respective divisions.

Alabama and Ole Miss both received a first-place vote in the west rankings. Georgia and Tennessee also received first-place votes in the East.

Alabama and Ole Miss shared a tie for the second spot in the West, both receiving 12 points each. Mississippi State was picked to finish fourth, receiving seven points. Auburn was picked to finish fifth in the west.

In the East, Georgia was picked to finish second, receiving 12 points while Tennessee was third with 10 points. Vanderbilt edged out South Carolina by a point for fourth in the rankings with a total of seven points.

The SECHC also releases the 2011-12 returning players watch list. This list was also picked on by the coaching staffs of the schools.

Perhaps the biggest change for Florida this season will come behind the bench.  This past offseason Florida hired new head coach Tracy Jacobson and assistant coach Michael Marcinkiewicz.  Coach Jacobson comes from Fargo/Moorhead, Minnesota and brings over 30 years of playing experience and 6 years coaching experience.  Coach Marcinkiewicz hails from Granby, Quebec and has played the game for 35 years and coached for 5.  Coach Jacobson will work mainly with the Florida defencemen and special teams while Coach Marcinkiewicz will run the offense for the most part.  The Gators are in good hands with this coaching staff and expectations are high for the 2011-12 campaign.