Category: Recap

Vanderbilt Starts Slow, Finishes Strong Versus Georgia

The Commodores entered this past weekend riding a five-game winning streak and looked poised to trounce a Georgia squad which had dropped six of its past eight. Apparently no one told the Ice Dogs. They pushed the boys in black and gold to the very brink on Saturday before Vanderbilt prevailed in a shootout and rolled to a 9-2 victory on Sunday.

Saturday afternoon began slowly, and it wasn’t just for Vandy. A miscommunication with the officials led to Ford Ice Center’s Hockey Director Craig MacDonald donning the stripes and managing the game solo on minutes notice until reinforcements arrived in the second period. Perhaps the unusual situation unnerved both teams, as they combined for a scoreless and penalty-less first frame. In the second, John Longman scored two goals and Ryan Doppelheuer added one to give the Commodores what seemed to be a commanding 3-0 lead. A late goal with 21 seconds left pulled Georgia within two as the teams prepared for the third period. Longman would finish off his hat trick in the third, but a series of defensive miscues by Vanderbilt gave Georgia the opportunity to surge back, netting three goals in the period and sending the game to overtime.

The overtime period seemed like it would be over quickly, with Longman and Doppelheuer driving to the net less than a minute into the extra time. However, thanks to a sprawling save by Georgia goaltender Nick Carlotto and two posts rung, the Ice Dogs stayed in the game. The two squads traded chances before the final buzzer sounded, resulting in a tie for ACHA rankings. However, a shootout was still to be held in order to determine SECHC East standings.

“I felt like we had a few opportunities to pull away and we were never really able to do it,” noted captain Greg Kirk. “It is something that we are disappointed by but I’m proud of the team for sticking together and battling through it.”

Longman, Doppelheuer and Jack Gibbons couldn’t score in the shootout for the Dores, but Ryan Kellenberger responded by shutting down Georgia’s shooters and kept Vandy in the game. In the first sudden death round, Coach Thomas Bernstein called on Zach “Silky” Satin, a defenseman known for his slick moves and graceful stride. Satin didn’t disappoint, beating the Georgia netminder to give the Commodores an opportunity to finally seal the victory. Kellenberger stood tall on the final save to salvage an important SEC East point in what was an otherwise disappointing outing for Vanderbilt.

“I go into every game with a general idea of who I’ll look to in the event that we go to a shootout,” explained Bernstein. “Popping out your two top scorers is a no-brainer, but after that you have to work off of what you saw in the game, plus who wants it. Gibby wanted that third try badly and I loved that fire. He deked their goalie out of his pads but got unlucky by hitting the post. I just felt Zach had a really strong game and would deliver for us. Turns out it was a good decision. In a game where I would have liked to have had some decisions back, that was thankfully a good one.”

If there was any concern about the team’s performance on Saturday, it was quickly quelled on Sunday. Longman scored two in the first 40 minutes and Greg Kirk added a blast from the point as the Commodores headed into the third period up 3-1, slightly overshadowed by a controversial call made by the officials which nullified a seemingly good goal by Bobby Mallon. The third period began just as precariously, with Ryan Doppelheuer serving a 10 minute misconduct for arguing the previous call. However, Vanderbilt was determined not to make the same mistakes as the day before. Matt Murphy scored a goal in the first minute and added another while Jack Gibbons, Tucker Rhodes, Doppelheuer and Mallon each added a tally of their own. A late goal by Georgia was not enough as the Commodores dominated, 9-2.

“I think we realized we didn’t play our best game Saturday,” commented John Longman, who became the club’s first ever 30-goal scorer with a five goal weekend, “and we really focused up Sunday and showed what we are capable of. Veteran guys and leaders like Greg Kirk and Ryan Kellenberger really helped us refocus, and it was exactly what we needed with such big games against Tennessee coming up.”

Those games, Friday night at 7:45 PM and Saturday afternoon at 3:45 PM (both at Ford Ice Center) are crucial to the hopes of clinching a first place berth in the SECHC East, which would set the team up nicely for success in the SECHC Tournament. Follow the Commodores on Facebook (Vanderbilt Club Ice Hockey), Twitter (@VandyIceHockey) and Instagram (@vanderbilt_hockey) as well as right here on the official team website for more news and videos as the team gears up for its exciting regular season finale.

Commodores Kick Off Semester With Throttling of Life University

Last season, the Vanderbilt Commodores gave up five goals in the third period in a 10-5 defeat at the hands of Life University. This year the club was determined to come out of the meeting with a different result. Thanks to a natural four goal hat trick by Ryan Doppelheuer and a four point night by Nick Honkala in his debut on the first line, the Commodores prevailed 10-2.

The game opened quickly, with Calen Leverant scoring fewer than four minutes into the game. Nick Honkala followed up with another goal only 29 seconds later, and a nifty dangle by Jack Gibbons put Vandy up 3-0 less than halfway through the first period. A costly defensive error led to a Life University goal, as Matt Reiman beat Ryan Kellenberger to cut the deficit to two. That was as close as the Running Eagles would make it the rest of the game, as Tucker Rhodes pounced on a loose puck with 26 seconds left in the period and rifled it past the goalie to give the Commodores a three goal lead which would increase as the game continued.

“I jumped on the ice and went straight to the puck,” said Rhodes, who made plays all over the ice and was given the team’s celebratory hat which is given to the hardest working player after each victory. “Maybe the goalie thought one of his defensemen would get to it, but it was just sitting in front of the net. I picked it up right in front and got a great chance on net. Thankfully it went in and it helped us head into the locker room strong.”

Although there was only one penalty committed by either team in the first period, the rest of the game featured a combined 24 penalty minutes. After Ryan Doppelheuer scored his first of the game early in the second, defenseman Andrew Dellapina was called for a double minor, giving Life its best opportunity to claw back into the game. Doppelheuer responded by scoring a shorthanded goal and then putting in two more before the period expired to net a natural four goal hat trick as well as give the Commodores a resounding 9-1 lead.

“He had a great game,” new linemate Nick Honkala said of Doppelheuer. “It’s just unbelievable how easy it is for him to put the puck in the net. I definitely felt some added pressure coming into this game with the way that our first line contributes in terms of scoring, but pretty early on I realized that playing with him and Johnny (Longman) is just so easy.”

The third period was largely uneventful, as each team scored a goal but did little to change the outcome of the game. Kellenberger stopped 32 of 34 saves in a strong performance, surrendering goals only to a breakaway opportunity as well as a miscommunication in front of the net. Longman scored his second of the game, adding to the first line’s total of seven for the night.

The game, being the first played at Ford Ice Center since October, kicked off a stretch of games the Commodores will play in their home rink. Next weekend the club plays Eastern Kentucky at 7:45 PM on Friday and 2:00 PM on Saturday before finishing up the regular season with four games against SEC East opponents Georgia and rival Tennessee.

New Players, New Locker Room and Newfound Success: Looking Back On Vanderbilt Hockey’s 2014 and Looking Ahead

As we ring in the New Year, let’s take a moment to look back on Vanderbilt Hockey’s 2014. It was a year filled with exciting new events and opportunities, an influx of young talent and, perhaps most importantly, newfound on-ice success.

Upon arriving back on campus in August, returning members of the club were introduced to some new faces. Included among the freshmen were a trio of sophomore transfers: goaltender Ryan Kellenberger, defenseman Bobby Mallon and forward Ryan Doppelheuer. Each transfer has been a huge boost to the club: Doppelheuer and Mallon lead forwards and defensemen, respectively, in points with 44 combined between them, while Kellenberger has started two-thirds of the team’s games in net and has posted a 2.72 goals against average and .917 save percentage. In addition, Mallon has been named Fundraising Chair for the upcoming season and has assumed the role of de facto DJ in the locker room, blasting tunes from the massive speaker he brings to all road trips.

“I think the pregame tunes really allow us to get out there and play to win,” said Mallon, a proud resident of Philadelphia, PA. “There’s nothing better than hearing our post game victory song (Right Back Where We Started From – Maxine Nightingale) after a nice win. In fact, the only reason that guys like (Matt) Neurohr and (Tucker) Rhodes try so hard is so that they can hear the song after the game.”

The team was in for yet another surprise only a few hours before the first game, as the players were treated to the official unveiling of the team’s brand new locker room, located at the Ford Ice Center in Antioch, TN. Ford Ice, which held its grand opening merely weeks earlier, is now the gold standard for ice rinks in the Southeastern United States. The facility features two full-size sheets as well as a concession stand fully loaded with food and drink, including beer. As for the locker room, it features twenty-one wooden stalls, complete with space to hang and store equipment as well as nameplates featuring each players’ name and number. The room also includes a speaker system, a high-definition television used for pre-game preparation as well as the occasional game of NHL on the Xbox 360, and a rug with Vanderbilt’s Star V logo in the center of the floor. Perhaps the coolest feature, however, is a Vanderbilt Hockey-centric touch: above the lockers, all the way around the room, hang Vanderbilt Hockey uniforms of the past and present, visually documenting each step in the club’s history dating back to its founding in 1976.

“It’s a huge step for the club, having a locker room for ourselves,” explained 2015 Vice President and Alternate Captain Jack Gibbons. “Not only does it elevate the level of the team but it’s also fun for the guys to have–it makes everyone a little more excited for games and practices. Having the jerseys hanging is a really cool touch; it’s a great way to see how far we’ve come as a club and a reminder of all the guys who came before us and built this club into what it is today.”

The night of the locker room’s unveiling was unfortunately spoiled by a season-opening loss to SEC East foe South Carolina which featured undisciplined play by the Vandy squad. However, the team refocused quickly and responded only two days later with a decisive 7-3 victory, one that would set the tone for the semester. The team then traveled to Georgia to take on another division rival, Florida, and returned home with another two victories and a commanding lead in the SEC East division.

As the calendar turned to October, the club prepared for its newest venture: the MAPCO College Hockey Scholar Shootout. The event was billed as a three-day tournament featuring six clubs from schools ranked in the Top 50 academically by US News & World Report and was designed to showcase the talents of well-rounded student-athletes. While Vanderbilt ran through the competition, outscoring its opponents by a total of 28-6 en route to winning the Shootout’s trophy (“The Davey”, named after the club’s founder), all teams involved had a great time and were afforded the opportunity to face off against some teams they might otherwise not have ever played against. Head Coach Thomas Bernstein had this to say about the development of the Scholar Shootout:

“I’m proud of all that the boys accomplished throughout the fall semester, in particular with the execution of the Scholar Shootout. The tournament encapsulates everything we love about Vanderbilt hockey—our creativity, our celebration of the intersection of academics and athletics, and of course our strong performance on the ice. Our culture is to build, and when our players look back on their Vanderbilt hockey experience in 25 years, I’d like to think they’ll be proud of building and participating in traditions such as the Scholar Shootout.”

The rest of the semester was a roller coaster ride, with close wins as well as devastating losses. Some of the highlights (and lowlights) include:

  • A crazy come-from-behind victory against Kennesaw State in the final home game of the semester
  • Two tough losses to the University of Alabama, the top team in the SECHC
  • A shootout victory against Georgia Tech
  • A late collapse against Ole Miss

The semester concluded with yet another milestone for the club: a Northeast road trip featuring games against two Division II clubs against whom the Commodores had never played before this year. The trip, a homecoming of sorts for a large portion of the team, began with a thrilling comeback win against a University of Virginia squad supported by a large and raucous home crowd and ended in the historic Hobey Baker Rink, as the club’s largest fan section of the season (largely fueled by parents) cheered the team on to a 4-2 victory over the Princeton Tigers.

The team finished the semester with an 11-4 record, a vast improvement over the previous season, and a #9 ranking in the ACHA’s second Division III regional rankings. If the Commodores can stay in the top 10, they will travel to Orlando in late February to take on some of the South’s best clubs with an opportunity to play in the Division III Nationals up for grabs.

The club will be saying goodbye to fifth-year senior Anthony Bilotta, who will return to the club in a coaching role next semester. While his spot on the first line will be difficult to fill, sophomore Alternate Captain John Longman, as well as the aforementioned Doppelheuer, will look to continue their scoring ways. The two combined for an extremely impressive 37 goals and 24 assists during the semester, leading the way for the Commodores.

Longman will also have added responsibility as he enters 2015 as the newest President of the Vanderbilt Ice Hockey Club. Longman said that he is “looking forward to sustaining our success from the first semester and I want to help lead the team to the next level both on and off the ice.”

Longman has big shoes to fill, but he has the benefit of working alongside his predecessor for the coming months. Greg Kirk, now a second-semester senior, has finished his time as club President and is looking forward to topping off his Vanderbilt Hockey career with some success.

“I am excited for the future of the club,” explained Kirk. “John, along with everyone else on the executive board, is really motivated and they are already making their own impact on the club and its continued growth.” As for his final semester, the Captain reflected and said that “it’s been a great past few seasons with the team and one of the best parts of my Vanderbilt experience. I’m looking forward to finishing the season strong and continuing our winning ways. The program has come a long way in my years here.”

Coach Bernstein summed up everything pretty well when discussing what he sees looking ahead to next semester. “I look forward to seeing how the players continue to build on last semester’s performance heading into the spring. We have a terrific group of young men on the roster. It should be a ton of fun to see what they can accomplish.”

The club has a lot to live up to, but there are certainly already positives to look forward to this coming year. From a seven-game homestand to finish out the regular season, to a spot in the SEC tournament and potentially even Regionals or Nationals, the 2015 iteration of the Vanderbilt Commodores looks poised for even more success.

MAPCO Scholar Shootout Update: Day 1 in the Books, Trophy Announced

Day 1 of the MAPCO College Hockey Scholar Shootout wrapped up with plenty of fireworks and intrigue. Hosted by the Vanderbilt ice hockey club, the tournament features programs hailing from Universities that rank in the top-50 academically according to the 2014 U.S. News. & World Report.

Here’s your day 1 wrap-up:

  • Vanderbilt 13, Georgia Tech 2 (7:00pm CT)
  • Northwestern 9, Wake Forest 4 (9:15pm CT)
  • Florida 4, North Carolina 3 (9:30pm CT)

The Host Rolls

Powered once again by the team’s top line and power play units, Vanderbilt rolled over its long time out-of-conference rival Georgia Tech in the tournament’s opener. Sophomore Ryan Doppelheuer and junior Jack Gibbons both netted hat tricks while sophomore John Longman notched two and senior Anthony Bilotta scored one. All totaled, seven different players registered for Vanderbilt.

In his first start in net, Commodores freshman Jake Rubinstein stood tall making 25 saves on 27 shots for the win.

Jack Kisor and Joey Schutz accounted for the Georgia Tech goals.

Wildcats Pounce Early, Stave Off Late Demon Deacon Surge

In a penalty-filled game that saw both teams collectively net 18 penalties and Wake Forest receive two game misconducts, Northwestern jumped to a 6-1 second period lead and held on for the 9-4 win. Details to follow with this one. Unfortunately, the statistician’s scoresheet was too blurry to read.

Gators Come From Behind To Win Thriller

After falling behind 3-1 early in the second period, the Florida Gators stormed back with two second period goals of its own plus the game winning score midway through the third period to nip the North Carolina Tarheels 4-3. Ryan Geffin netted both the tying and go-ahead goals for Florida.

Alternate captain Matt Gellatly, AJ Hamel, and Akul Gupta scored for North Carolina in a close game that ended with a furious 6-on-4 blitz by the Tar Heels. They will have a quick turnaround as they take on the hosting Vanderbilt club today (Saturday, 10/4) at 1pm.

Introducing The College Hockey Scholar Shootout Trophy: “The Davey”

With the tournament’s focus on student-athletes excelling both on the ice and in the classroom, Vanderbilt’s tournament committee set about to commission a trophy worthy of the commitment of its participating programs. After much deliberation, the committee conceived and built what it believes is an artifact worthy of the event.

Today at the tournament, Vanderbilt will unveil the Keith Davis Scholar Shootout Memorial Trophy – otherwise known as “The Davey” - in honor of the Vanderbilt ice hockey club’s founder Keith Davis (Vanderbilt ’79) who passed away in 2011. A successful doctor and businessman following his graduation from Vanderbilt, Keith embodied the student-athlete ideal throughout his life and so it seemed only fitting to memorialize his contributions to the Vanderbilt and Nashville hockey communities with this trophy.

In terms of the trophy’s construction, the team wanted to make sure the artifact had the proper amount of staying power and gravitas so it looked north for inspiration … and materials.

Forged from a palette of birch wood left over from the original Northland hockey stick factory in Hastings, Minnesota, engineers from a lumber mill in Dickson, Tennessee, fashioned an unformed chunk of wood into a 5-foot, 30-pound, giant pencil. A not-so-subtle reference to the studious qualities of the tournament’s participants, the Davey should look great in on-ice celebration photos for years to come.

Saturday’s Schedule

Be sure to drop by the Ford Ice Center today for another slate of exciting college hockey action. Here is the schedule:

  • 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

Thanks so much for your support of this tournament and looking forward to seeing everyone back at the Ford Ice Center for a full slate of hockey action!