Tar Heels dominate in season opener, shut out Tennessee 6-0
By Caleb HerreraÂ
Hillsborough, NC – Tar Heel Hockey (1-0) defeated the University of Tennessee (0-1) in a 6-0 shutout in their season opener at Orange County Sportsplex on Friday night.
There was little sign of rust from either side after the opening faceoff. Tennessee set the tone early with a physical brand of hockey, crashing the crease and creating traffic in front, but the Volunteers couldn’t capitalize on deflections or either of their two power-play opportunities. The game remained scoreless until Adam Zukowski found sophomore Kevin Ma in stride, who buried the opening goal to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead.Â
The Tar Heels got an early power-play opportunity in the second period due to a boarding penalty taken by defenceman Finn Destefano. However, UNC struggled to establish possession in the offensive zone and failed to generate any sustained pressure with the man-advantage.Â
After another penalty taken by Destefano at the 15:52 mark, the Tar Heels were given another chance on the power-play. The man-advantage was short-lived as a penalty by Florian Zajic erased the opportunity and sent the teams to play 4-on-4. Neither side managed to capitalize.Â
The offensive chances continued back and forth, with captain Patrick O’Shaughnessy gaining a breakaway opportunity but was denied by Tennessee goaltender Lincoln Simons.Â
With 3:18 remaining in the period, the Halifax, Nova Scotia native Jack Sangster scored on a wide open net after Simons couldn’t handle the rebound from a shot by Kevin Ma. The goal was the first of Sangster’s UNC career, giving the Tar Heels a 2-0 lead to end the second.Â
Momentum continued to swing in the Tar Heels’ favor, with Nick Ansbacher adding to the lead at 17:34 in the third.Â
Playing with the lead, UNC focused on limiting Tennessee’s chances both at even strength and on special teams. The Volunteers earned another power play in hopes of spoiling Lucas Brown’s shutout bid, but instead it was Patrick O’Shaughnessy who struck shorthanded, extending the Tar Heels’ lead to 4-0 and draining any momentum Tennessee had built.
At 13:08 remaining, UNC forward Matt Grady was assessed a major penalty and ejected from the game.Â
With 7:54 remaining in the game, UNC went back to the power play and capitalized as defenceman Will Hilton buried a shot to make it 5-0. The game served as a litmus test for the power-play at its current level and where it can go as the season progresses.Â
“It’s just drawing it up in practice, practicing a lot, just building chemistry on and off the ice, learning people’s tendencies, what they like to do, where they usually are on the ice, building that and knowing where people are,” Hilton said.
With 1:17 remaining, Will Smith, coming off an impressive freshman season, delivered the dagger to give the Tar Heels a 6-0 lead. As the clock approached zero, UNC continued to have puck possession, limiting any further offensive opportunities by Tennessee and secured Lucas Brown’s shutout.Â
“Brownie [Lucas Brown] really stepped up tonight, and he made some big saves for us,” head coach Steve Rice said. “Maybe they had some letdowns halfway through the second, I feel the last part of the first period and then into the second and third, we kind of really took control. We controlled the puck well. We were really good at getting the puck in deep and trying to hit their D and trying to tire their D.”Â
Brown said that with the roster turnover from last season to now, it’s been an adjustment to learn player’s tendencies.Â
“I think a good point for me, playing the puck is not ever perfect, especially when you have new kids coming in again and again, but we practice more this year, we’re playing harder teams, so we’re going to learn that over time,” Brown said. “I think it’s going to get better and better.”Â
The Tar Heels return to Orange County Sportsplex on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 8:30 p.m. to take on the University of Georgia, who are coming off a 2-1 loss to the North Carolina State University IcePack.
