Hat Tricks And High Scoring Featured In College Club Hockey Week Four

Jan 13, 2022; San Jose, California, USA; General view of a hockey stick before the start of the first period between the San Jose Sharks and the New York Rangers at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 13, 2022; San Jose, California, USA; General view of a hockey stick before the start of the first period between the San Jose Sharks and the New York Rangers at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Week four was your week if you love hat tricks and big scoring. Hat tricks and big scores were the order of the week across college club hockey in Ye Olde North State.

Wednesday the Tar Heels of UNC laid a whipping on their arch rival Blue Devils of Duke University 15-4. Sporting pink ribbons on their sweaters in support of Breast Cancer Awareness, the Heels held the Duke in the corner from wire to wire. Carolina had 4 on the board before the Blues notched on in the first, and the 1st ended with a score of 5-1.

The 2nd period was when things got a little ugly. Tommy Gilligan hit two making it 9-1 and completing the first Tar Heel hatty of the night. Duke was able to find the back of the net to make it 10-3 at the close of the second.

Leighton Walsh scored early in the 3rd to make it 11-3 and completed his hat trick for the night. He would score again in the third to make it 13-3.

The Heels took the 5th off and were back on the ice against the Ice Deacs of Wake Forest on the 6th

Thursday the NC State Icepack squared off with the bunch from Lynchburg in the land that Jerry built (and I don’t mean Garcia). Garrett Auriene started the scoring in the opening frame to make things 1-0 Pack, but Liberty knocked two home right away. Ricky Frosch would not let the period end without the Pack getting on the board again and the score was 2-2 after one. Aiden Brenner would make it 3-3 in the second and Jackson Cowen put State up 4-3 midway through the second. Zach Herman would put the nail in the coffin in the third, and that was all she wrote for Liberty.

Friday Appalachian State headed to Nashville to take on Middle Tennessee State and would leave Music City like so many like so many bridesmaids, hungover and in bad need of some ice. The IceNeers would be swept with a combined score of 15-7.

Appalachian State will be back to work October 25-29th at the ACCHL Invitational in Winston-Salem

After a day off, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels took on Wake Forest on Friday. Carolina’s Matt Grady spent most of the 2nd and all of the 2rd on hatty watch as the Heels kept the Deacs under control from puck drop to final horn with a commanding 7-1 win.

UNC hosts the Seahawks of UNC-W Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th.

Wake Forest heads to ebb the Crimson Tide of Alabama Thursday and Friday.

In the Queen City, the 49ers of UNCC hosted the IceHawks of UNCW in a goal fest for Seahawks. Zach Schrock and Cory Levy lead the scoring for Wilmington in an 8-0 digging on the 9ers. Cory Levy would add to the Hat Tricks Total to bring the tally to 3 across the week for North Carolina Teams.

The scoring would not let up Saturday and neither would the hat tricks

J.R Slayton would continue his scoring streak for the Panthers of High Point University on Saturday as well. HPU took on the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and won handily 5-0.

Slayton has now scored in every game this season and leads the team in assists as well.

NC State would be held to just one against Liberty in the lowest scoring game of the weekend Saturday.  in a feat that is not totally uncommon in Lynchburg. Zach Herman’s goal in the second drew the Icepack even, but a late goal in the 3rd was enough to cast the final stone in a glass house in Lynchburg.

Meanwhile in Charlotte, the Seahawks of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and the 49ers of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte were back it Saturday in another high scoring showdown and another tally in the hat tricks column. The Seahawks would win this one 7-1 and Nick D’Andrea would have the hatty.

UNC-W takes their high power offense to meet up with Joel Hughes and the stingy D of UNC for two over the 13th and 14th.

We here at Cardiac Cane will continue to bring you all the coverage of College Club Hockey here in North Carolina, and will be covering both the Fayetteville Marksmen and Carolina Thunderbirds minor league hockey.

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