Month: September 2014

Meet The Rookies: Jake Rubinstein – Naperville, IL

To kick off the 2014/15 season, we’re going to be running a series of posts we call the “Meet The Rookies” series. As the name implies, we’re going to pose a few quick questions to the players who are new to the club and Vanderbilt this year to help players, coaches, parents, and fans get to know the new club members. Next up - freshman goalie Jake Rubinstein from Naperville, Illinois. 

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Jake Rubinstein. I’m from the suburbs of Chicago. I played goalie for my high school, Waubonsie Valley, where we won the Illinois state ice hockey championship my senior year and I was a two-time IHSHL all-star two years in a row. I am currently studying biology here at Vanderbilt.

What are your Vanderbilt hockey goals?

Simple. Kick some ***.

What is your favorite hockey moment?

Winning the title in the United Center, home of the Chicago Blackhawks, my senior year. It was awesome to play such a big game in an NHL arena, and it was great to put up a shutout in the win.

What was your best “celly” in your hockey career?

I did the Lambeau Leap into my bench.

Why did you start playing?

Not sure other than to say that hockey is the best game in the world.

Game Dates And Times Announced For The MAPCO College Hockey Scholar Shootout

On October 3rd through the 5th, the Vanderbilt Ice Hockey Club will host the first ever MAPCO College Hockey Scholar Shootout at the brand new Ford Ice Center in Antioch, Tennessee. The tournament will feature Vanderbilt’s hockey club alongside programs from five other universities: the University of Florida, Georgia Tech, the University of North Carolina, Northwestern, and Wake Forest. The teams participating, club-level programs that participate in the American Collegiate Hockey Conference (ACHA), all hail from universities that rank in the top-50 academically according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 College Rankings.

Here is the schedule for the weekend (all in Central Time):

Friday, 10/3

  • 7:00pm – VANDERBILT (Home) vs. GEORGIA TECH (Away) - South Rink
  • 9:15pm – WAKE FOREST (Home) vs. NORTHWESTERN (Away) – North Rink
  • 9:30pm – FLORIDA (Home) vs. NORTH CAROLINA (Away) – South Rink

Saturday, 10/4

  • 1:00pm -VANDERBILT (Home) vs. NORTH CAROLINA (Away) – North Rink
  • 3:30pm – FLORIDA (Home) vs. WAKE FOREST (Away) – North Rink
  • 6:00pm – GEORGIA TECH (Home) vs. NORTHWESTERN (Away) – South Rink

Sunday, 10/5

  • 10:00am – NORTHWESTERN (Home) vs. FLORIDA (Away) – North Rink
  • 10:15am – NORTH CAROLINA (Home) vs. GEORGIA TECH (Away) – South Rink
  • 12:30pm – VANDERBILT (Home) vs. WAKE FOREST (Away) – North Rink

 

Admission will be free courtesy of our friends at MAPCO (@MAPCOmart) so bring the entire family, fraternity, choir … bring EVERYBODY out to the Ford Ice Center for an awesome weekend of hockey celebrates the very best virtues of college athletics!

Rookies Shine In Inaugural Games At The Ford Ice Center

The Vanderbilt Ice Hockey team ushered in a new era in its history this past weekend when it kicked off its 2014/15 campaign at the Ford Ice Center, the program’s brand new, state-of-the-art home arena located just outside of Nashville in Antioch, Tennessee. The club’s opponent, SECHC East rival South Carolina, proved every bit as tough as their reputation heading into the weekend as the two clubs split the series one game a piece. The Commodores fell 4-2 on Friday, only to bounce back with a resounding 7-3 win on Sunday morning.

Discipline a Factor in the Opener

Friday’s opener had all the buzz of a late season battle prior to the contest. Twitter and Facebook were lit up about the game, the highlight being a tweet from ESPN anchor and renowned hockey fan John Buccigross.

For the Vanderbilt players, the excitement was driven in large part by the unveiling of the club’s brand new locker room. With 21 locker stalls surrounding three sides of the room and jerseys from years past hung from the rafters, the new space made a huge impression on the boys – both for the growth that it signified and also for the connection it maintained with the club’s alumni and history.

The game itself lived up to expectations as the Gamecocks jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the fourth shift of the game. A defensive zone breakdown left South Carolina’s leading scorer Eric Patterson alone in the slot to hammer home the game’s first goal.

Vanderbilt would respond with some tremendously physical (and, at least in the early phase, clean) play. The club would draw a series of penalties and ultimately net the equalizing goal, a top shelf laser from the stick of defenseman Zach Satin at 12:16 in the second period. The sophomore’s goal was assisted by rookie transfer Bobby Mallon and sophomore Nick Honkala.

The game would devolve from there with a litany of penalties and undisciplined play from both teams. Despite a stout penalty kill performance throughout the night, the ‘Dores would yield a man-down goal to start the third.

South Carolina added an even strength goal at 9:32 in the final stanza to go up by two goals, seemingly icing the game … that is, until rookie transfer Ryan “Superstar” Doppelheuer cut the lead to 3-2 with 1:12 left in the contest.

Unfortunately for Vanderbilt, South Carolina would fire in an empty-netter from long distance to seal the win for the squad from Columbia. Final score, 4-2 Gamecocks.

Rebounding with Purpose

Vanderbilt entered Sunday’s tilt with a sour taste in its mouth. Had they played more five-on-five hockey, which was an opportunity fully within the team’s own control, the result may have been different.

Sunday would follow a more favorable script.

Leading off the scoring was senior Anthony Bilotta, assisted by Doppelheuer and last year’s “Murph” award winner as the club’s most valuable player John Longman. Patterson knotted the score at 1-1 at 13:13 of the period, only to see Doppelheuer score a pair and Longman notch his first of the season. It was 4-1 after 1.

Firing into the second period, it was all Bilotta, Doppelheuer, and Longman as all three tallied another to extend the lead to 7-1. The team was also aided by the play of junior Matt Neurohr and sophomore Tucker Rhodes who logged valuable minutes applying a ruthlessly effective forecheck as well as killing penalties.

The final score, 7-3, proved to the club that if it could stay disciplined and simply worry about playing hockey, it could beat a quality opponent like South Carolina. Given the team’s schedule in 2014/15, a brutal slog through many of the South region’s most challenging opponents, that confidence will come in handy.

Locking Down the Net

One particularly bright spot throughout the weekend was the play in net of rookie transfer Ryan Kellenberger, a nominee for the ACHA South region’s Player of the Week honors.

Kellenberger allowed just 3 goals in each of the two games while making 33 saves and 28 saves on Friday and Sunday, respectively. 3 of his 6 goals allowed were power play goals.

The club counted on Kellenberger to help set the tone for both the weekend and season and boy did he deliver. Both performances were exceptional, and were it not for Friday’s penalties and undisciplined play, he may have swept the weekend. Not surprisingly, Kellenberger received the game puck following Sunday’s win.

In the Driver’s Seat

Despite Friday’s loss, the Commodores still control their own destiny in the SECHC East division if they can win out versus Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. Of course, winning six straight in the division will be no small feat as Florida is returning the majority of its 2013/14 roster which went deep into Regionals while Georgia and Tennessee are both well on their way to building the foundations for success this season. If the Commodores can battle and win all six, they’ll own the tiebreaker with South Carolina based on goals scored and goal differential and subsequently avoid perennial West powers Arkansas, Alabama, and Ole Miss in the first round of February’s SECHC tournament.

There will be no rest for the weary as the Commodores will immediately dive back into SECHC East division play versus Florida this weekend. The clubs will face-off at The ICE in Cumming, Georgia, a neutral site that accommodates the travel demands for both teams.

If you’re in the area, please drop in Saturday night at 10pm ET and Sunday morning at 11am ET as it should be another pair of hotly contested battles.

Thanks to all who came out to cheer on the club on Friday and Sunday. The crowds were beyond engaged which was awesome to see. Please keep the support coming, have a GREAT week ahead of next weekend’s games, and, of course … ANCHOR DOWN!

Meet The Rookies: Chase Jaeger – Larchmont, NY

To kick off the 2014/15 season, we’re going to be running a series of posts we call the “Meet The Rookies” series. As the name implies, we’re going to pose a few quick questions to the players who are new to the club and Vanderbilt this year to help players, coaches, parents, and fans get to know the new club members. First up? Freshman center Chase Jaeger from Larchmont, NY. 

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