The NC State Icepack is back over .500 in Division II play with a 6-4 win against the Virginia Tech Hokies on Friday, Jan. 27 at Invisalign Arena.
Before the game, the team released its new all-black jerseys, which will make their debut at the “Frozen Finley” game against the UNC Tar Heels on Monday, Feb. 20 as part of the NHL Stadium Series event week.
The jerseys take inspiration from NC State football’s blackout jerseys, which were last seen under the lights at Carter-Finley Stadium when the Pack defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Sept. 17, 2022. The Icepack media team spent countless hours prepping for this groundbreaking release for the club.
“We had a lot of 1 a.m. nights,” said Icepack social media manager Gianna Forbis. “A lot of clipping, editing and making sure that we have the right music; so much work from the team videographer Zack Selwaeh. It took a lot of minds to come together and create this jersey reveal, so we’re very happy that it worked out.”
With hype at an all-time high for the team, the Icepack still had a matchup with the Hokies later that night to focus on.
NC State got off to an electric start in the first period, scoring twice within the first six minutes. The offense then hit a little bit of a roadblock for the remainder of the first and beginning of the second, unable to advance the puck to the Hokies’ end. In this time, Virginia Tech took a 3-2 lead with just under seven minutes left in the second frame.
Sophomore forward Zack Robinson finally broke through for the Icepack on the power play to tie the game up at 3-3, and with the floodgates open, it was all NC State the rest of the way.
The star of the game, however, was senior forward Matt Miller, who scored twice in the game after putting up three goals and five assists against Wake Forest one week prior. He surpassed 100 career points for the Icepack against the Demon Deacons, which has had a tremendous impact on his teammates and coaches.
“I’ve known Matt for a long time; I actually started coaching him back when he was about 14 years old,” said goaltender coach Alex Rossetto. “It means a lot to me, personally, to see someone like that grow — that’s a great kid. Just to see the effort that he’s put in over this time and all of it coming together like that is awesome.”
With the win, the Icepack advances its win streak to six and puts itself in prime position for a playoff push. The locker room and coaching staff are feeling more confident now than they have all season.
“This is a type of game that I feel like in the first semester we weren’t winning,” said head coach Tim Healy. “Those were games that we were finding ways to lose and now we’re finding ways to win, and it’s awesome when you see it on the bench… It’s just a great day for Icepack nation right now with the jersey drop today that upstaged the NHL’s drop, so there’s there’s a lot going on for our team.”
The Icepack hits the road on Saturday, Jan 28. as it looks to sweep Virginia Tech in the two-game series. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. at the LancerLot Sports Complex in Vinton, VA.
