Tonight’s broadcast schedule

Father Ryan vs. Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb - 7:05 PM pregame, 7:10 PM faceoff BROADCAST LINK

Ravenwood vs. Montgomery Bell - 8:35 PM pregame, 8:40 PM faceoff BROADCAST LINK

Previewing tonight’s games

The games that MTSN will be broadcasting are in BOLD.

Predators Cup Winners’ Bracket Semifinals
Both games will be played @ Centennial A
#6 Father Ryan vs. #2 Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb - 7:10 PM
Paths to this game
Father Ryan
Defeated Pope-Prep-MLK-GCA 2-1 in overtime in the first round on Monday

Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb
Defeated Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill 8-3 in the first round on Monday

Season series: Father Ryan won only meeting 3-2 on January 22
2023-24 has been the season of the goalie. We have some great goalies in GNASH in the past, but we seem to have a lot of them in the league this season. One of them is obviously Zach Fonnesbeck of Father Ryan. He turned in yet another great performance on Monday, stopping 33 of 34 Pope shots on the Irish’s way to a 2-1 overtime victory. Now, he faces another team he was fantastic against recently; last month, he made 42 saves on 44 Ice Tigers shots. They’ll definitely need him to keep it up, because Ensworth will absolutely remember last month’s shocker; it cost them the Preds Cup 1 seed. The Ice Tigers opened their Predators Cup in excellent fashion on Monday, thrashing Mt. Juliet 8-3, having a 7-1 lead after two. Don’t expect a repeat performance tonight because Fonnesbeck has been on a roll.

But I am picking Ensworth to win this one.

Consequences of this game’s result
Winner plays Ravenwood/MBA winner next Wednesday @ 7:30 PM @ Antioch-North in the Winners’ Bracket Final
Loser plays Franklin next Wednesday @ 8:30 PM @ Centennial B in a Losers’ Bracket Quarterfinal

#8 Ravenwood vs. #4 Montgomery Bell - 8:40 PM
Paths to this game
Ravenwood
Defeated Summit-Page 6-4 last Thursday in the first round

Montgomery Bell
Defeated Franklin 4-2 last Wednesday in the first round

Season series: MBA won both meetings - 5-2 on October 30 and 6-1 on January 29
Let’s be honest: Just about everyone thought that Ravenwood would’ve been eliminated on Monday. They’ve been in “building for next year” mode since changing coaching staffs midseason, and really didn’t look like a threat to knock anyone off when this tournament started. But, last Thursday, they took advantage of shaky Summit goaltending, and got a good performance in goal from freshman Colin Gower, and were able to beat the Spartans. Now, they once again have to face the mighty Hunter Wieck. Wieck has been unflappable this season; his worst game was MBA’s first way back on September 27, when they beat Rutherford 6-4. Since then, he’s only allowed more than two goals in a game twice: October 20, when the Big Red beat Father Ryan 8-3, and November 15, a 3-3 tie with Mt. Juliet. It’s going to take a mighty effort from the Raptors all around to pull off what would be a bigger upset than the one they pulled last Thursday. Brady Miller should be cleared to return to the Ravenwood lineup after sitting out last week with a concussion; the question is, will he start, or will James Gately decide to see if Gower can create some more crease magic?

Either way, I’m picking MBA in this one.

Consequences of this game’s result
Winner plays Ryan/Ensworth winner next Wednesday @ 7:30 PM @ Antioch-North in the Winners’ Bracket Final
Loser plays Mt. Juliet/Pope winner next Wednesday @ 7:10 @ Centennial A in a Losers’ Bracket Quarterfinal

Predators Cup Losers’ Bracket first round game
#7 Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill vs. #3 Pope Prep-MLK-GCA - 9:15 PM @ Antioch-North
Paths to this game
Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill
Lost 8-3 to Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb on Monday in the first round

Pope Prep-MLK-GCA
Lost 2-1 in overtime to Father Ryan on Monday in the first round

Season series: Pope won both meetings by the same score of 2-1 on September 25 and February 5
How odd that these two play what will be their third and final meeting of the season nine days after their second, with their first having been 133 days before that. Both teams took frustrating defeats on Monday: Mt. Juliet got whipped by Ensworth, while Pope once again got stonewalled by Zach Fonnesbeck in a tough loss to Father Ryan. The thing is, the differing ways in which the two teams experienced defeat could benefit the Bears; Ensworth dominated them from the start, so, it was easier to swallow, whereas the Knights were in the game until Jacob Boron scored the OT winner. MJ have nothing to lose, while Pope are staring down an early exit they weren’t expecting. This will be another close game.

But I think Pope come out on top again.

Consequences of this game’s result
Winner plays Ravenwood/MBA winner next Wednesday @ 7:10 PM @ Centennial A in a Losers’ Bracket Quarterfinal
Loser is eliminated

Henry Hine Cup Losers’ Bracket Quarterfinals
#4 USN-BA-Nashville Christian-FRA-Goodpasture vs. #2 Centennial - 7:30 PM @ Antioch-North
Paths to this game
USN-BA-Nashville Christian-FRA-Goodpasture
-Defeated Brentwood 3-0 last Wednesday in the first round
-Lost 5-2 to Rutherford Rampage on Monday in a Winners’ Bracket Semifinal

Centennial
-Lost 6-3 to Hendersonville-Beech-Gallatin last Wednesday in the first round
-Defeated Station Camp-Liberty Creek 4-2 on Monday in the first round of the Losers’ Bracket

Season series: Teams split their two meetings - USN won the first 4-3 on October 4, and Centennial won the second 5-2 on November 27
By the end of tonight, two of the Top 5 seeds in the Hine Cup will be gone, as the other elimination game pits 5 seed Brentwood against the 3 seeded Outlaws. This is the first matchup of the entire postseason where the two teams meeting split their regular season series. USN won the first game 4-3 when Ryan Barrett scored the winner with 37 seconds to go; Centennial won the second game, pulling away late with two empty net goals. By the time the latter game occurred, USN had its full roster for the season, as Vasili Santas had finally joined them after football. However, Centennial had only 13 skaters (not counting their goalies) on Monday; the most notable absence was Aiden Knecht, who was wearing a leg brace on his left leg, helping out the coaching staff on the bench. Aiden Gardner was also not in the lineup, nor was Alex Aziminia. If they’re all injured, Centennial will have a very hard time getting through the Losers’ Bracket.

Regardless of how strong the Cougars’ lineup will be tonight, I’m picking USN to stay alive.

Consequences of this game’s result
Winner plays Brentwood/Outlaws winner next Wednesday @ 8:40 PM @ Centennial A in the Losers’ Bracket Semifinal
Loser is eliminated

#5 Brentwood vs. #3 Tennessee Outlaws - 8:30 PM @ Centennial B
Paths to this game
Brentwood
-Lost 3-0 to USN-BA-Nashville Christian-FRA-Goodpasture last Wednesday in the first round
-Defeated Independence-Ravenwood 2 8-2 on Monday in the first round of the Losers’ Bracket

Tennessee Outlaws
-Defeated Station Camp-Liberty Creek 4-3 last Wednesday in the first round
-Lost 5-3 to Hendersonville-Beech-Gallatin on Monday in a Winners’ Bracket Semifinal

Season series: Outlaws won only meeting 5-4 on February 5
Here’s a matchup between a team that survived the axe on Monday, and one that got dropped into the Losers’ Bracket in the following game. The dynamic is typically different: One team is hanging by a thread, the other got a gut punch. In the first meeting nine days ago, Brentwood had Andrew Sallee in goal, but for both of their playoff games so far, Payne Fielder has been in the crease for the Bruins. He’s the more experienced of the two, having gotten some time in the Predators Cup last year. The Outlaws got quite unlucky against Hendersonville the other night, having a 3-1 lead slip into a 5-3 loss.

I think Brentwood win this time.

Consequences of this game’s result
Winner plays USN/Centennial winner next Wednesday @ 8:40 PM @ Centennial A in the Losers’ Bracket Semifinal
Loser is eliminated

Brackets

Predators Cup

Henry Hine Cup

Monday’s final scores

The games that were broadcast by MTSN are in BOLD.

Predators Cup first round games
Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb 8, Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill 3
Father Ryan 2, Pope Prep-MLK-GCA 1 (OT)

Predators Cup Losers’ Bracket first round
Franklin 6, Summit-Page 3

Henry Hine Cup Winners’ Bracket Semifinals
Hendersonville-Beech-Gallatin 5, Tennessee Outlaws 3 PODCAST LINK
Rutherford Rampage 5, USN-BA-Nashville Christian-FRA-Goodpasture 2

Henry Hine Cup Losers’ Bracket first round
Brentwood 8, Independence-Ravenwood 2 2 PODCAST LINK
Centennial 4, Station Camp-Liberty Creek 2 PODCAST LINK

Podcasts

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The next newsletter comes out tomorrow, February 15.