Tar Heels rally late to beat Georgia 5-4, complete perfect opening weekend
By Caleb Herrera
Hillsborough, N.C. – Tar Heel Hockey (2-0) defeated the University of Georgia (0-2) in a 5-4 thriller Saturday night at the Orange County Sportsplex, capping off a perfect opening weekend for UNC.
After a dominant 6-0 win over Tennessee the night before, the Tar Heels faced a battle-tested Georgia team coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to the N.C. State IcePack. Goaltender Lucas Brown got the start for the second straight night.
Georgia controlled possession early, spending extended time in the offensive zone before capitalizing at the 13:09 mark of the first period. A turnover near the red line led to a shot that beat Brown high on the blocker side, giving Georgia a 1-0 lead.
The Tar Heels earned a pair of power-play opportunities midway through the period, including a brief 5-on-3, but couldn’t convert. After several key saves from Brown, UNC finally broke through when forward Zach Kodesh deflected a shot from defenseman Cam Glonek to tie the game at 1-1.
Georgia answered quickly to retake the lead with under two minutes remaining, but UNC captain Patrick O’Shaughnessy buried a rebound with 19.6 seconds left to send the game into intermission tied 2-2.
Momentum swung in UNC’s favor in the second period when forward Will Smith went coast-to-coast and ripped a shot top corner to give the Tar Heels their first lead of the night. Georgia responded on the power play minutes later, knotting the score at 3-3.
Both teams traded chances throughout the third, and Georgia reclaimed the lead just 15 seconds after a deflection off a faceoff found its way past Brown.
With under three minutes to play, UNC found life when Will Hilton scored from the right faceoff dot on a 4-on-4 sequence, tying the game at 4-4. Then, with only 39 seconds remaining, Smith capitalized on a Georgia miscue and buried his second goal of the night to seal the 5-4 victory.
The Tar Heels’ comeback effort was anchored by Brown’s composure in net, rebounding from early pressure to make several key saves late.
With the win, the Tar Heels move to 2-0 to start the 2025-26 season.
