The Stephen Russell Memorial Tournament trophy returned to what many consider its rightful home, the place where Stephen himself played, NC State, last weekend.
With a successful weekend, the NC State Icepack (11-3-0, 5-0-0 Atlantic Coastal Collegiate Hockey League) won all three of its tournament games to secure first place in the Stephen Russell Memorial Tournament with 31 points and grab six points in the ACCHL standings. Sophomore Riley Johnson was also named tournament MVP.
The Pack’s 31 points came from three different areas of scoring, game wins, period leads and the final skills competition and relay. It earned 12 points for the three game wins, 13 points for how it closed out each period and the final six points from placing second in the skills competition.
The first match on Friday, Nov. 8, saw a thriller to the very end as NC State held off the University of Virginia who entered the game 5-2-0, for a 7-5 win.
In the first five minutes of the match, UVA had jumped out to an early two-goal lead; however, the Icepack’s strong offense quickly responded and within moments, senior Laythe Jadallah, junior Cam Mazikowski and sophomore Parker Szarek had all netted goals to give NC State the lead 3-2.
UVA equalized it again, but late goals from freshman Victor Hugo and Johnson pushed the Icepack to a 5-3 lead after the first period.
The scoring slowed in the second period but not by much. Freshman Matt Miller pushed the Pack’s lead to three, but two quick goals from the Cavaliers past the midway point of the period had pulled the game back within one at 6-5.
The Icepack held off UVA’s push throughout the rest of the game and Johnson added another to give NC State the 7-5 win in its first game of the tournament.
The Pack returned to the ice the next day, Nov. 9, to take on its second opponent, Georgetown University, entering the game with a 4-3-0 record.
Johnson, who surely made a name for himself this tournament, jumped out of the gate, netting two goals in only the first two minutes of play before the Hoyas could even respond.
It took a while, but Georgetown managed to grab one midway through the period to cut the Icepack’s lead, but Szarek scored near the end of the first to re-extend NC State’s lead to two.
The second period is when the floodgates opened, however, as NC State’s offensive pressure exploded. Johnson and Szarek each completed a hat trick in the period and three other Icepack members including Miller, junior Ian O’Rourke and junior Eric Todd all scored. The Hoyas picked up one, but it didn’t do much to challenge the 9-2 lead the Pack had gained.
NC State picked up two more goals, with Todd and freshman Chris Solomon joining the fun, as it cruised to an 11-2 win and its second straight at the tournament.
The Icepack’s final game took place on the last day of the tournament, Nov. 10, and was against the Virginia Tech Hokies, hosts of a 11-3-2-1 record.
It was another high-flying offensive match as NC State ended the first period up 3-0. Goals were thanks to two from Solomon, scoring each in succession only 38 seconds apart, and one from Miller.
In the second, Szarek kept the ball rolling for the Icepack netting his fifth goal of the tournament in the opening minutes of the period.
Virginia Tech got one on the board a little bit later, but all the momentum the goal might have generated was squandered as freshman Garret Auriene was awarded a penalty shot which he buried to give the Pack a 5-1 lead.
The Hokies managed to get it going again late into the second again with a power play goal, but this time it was Todd who knocked the wind out of Virginia Tech’s sails, scoring a shorthanded goal less than a minute later.
It still wasn’t over there however, as the Hokies grabbed two more goals in the third period, but the Icepack held on to prevail 6-4.
NC State hadn’t won the tournament since 2015 and had come up short by only a single point last year to UVA.
Now tournament champions and leading the ACCHL, the Icepack look forward to continuing its dominant season as it hosts Wake Forest Friday, Nov. 15 at the Raleigh Iceplex at 9:30 p.m. where they will be debuting a new alternate jersey.
