Tonight’s broadcast schedule

Montgomery Bell vs. Father Ryan - 7:35 PM pregame, 7:40 PM faceoff BROADCAST LINK

Tonight is the final night of the 2023-24 GNASH regular season.

Senior Night ceremonies

Father Ryan, Tennessee Outlaws, and USN-BA-Nashville Christian-FRA-Goodpasture are holding the final Senior Night ceremonies of the season this evening.

Scenarios

GNASH Cup
Franklin will only win the GNASH Cup if Montgomery Bell LOSE TO Father Ryan. Otherwise, Montgomery Bell will win the GNASH Cup if they DEFEAT OR TIE WITH Father Ryan.

Predators Cup seeding scenarios

Henry Hine Cup seeding scenarios

Previewing tonight’s games

The game that MTSN is broadcasting is in BOLD.

The six Tier 1 teams who are competing for the GNASH Cup have two records: their second half record, and their GNASH Cup record. If a team has an asterisk (*) next to their GNASH Cup record, it means that they have been eliminated from GNASH Cup contention.

Brentwood (3-2-1) vs. Tennessee Outlaws (3-3-0) - 5:15 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp
The Hine Cup 1 seed is now long gone for Brentwood, Rutherford having snatched it last Wednesday when they beat the Outlaws in Antioch. The 2 seed is still attainable, but the Bruins have to win this game, and then hope that Indy and Centennial at least finish in a tie, because Brentwood own the head-to-head on the Cougars. Meanwhile, the Outlaws have gone from in the hunt for the 1 seed to potentially sliding into the 6 seed. They were 3-1 heading into their two games against Station Camp and the Rampage last Monday, only to lose them both, and find themselves sliding towards the bottom half of the seeding. The crazy thing is, these two teams could end up meeting again on Wednesday in the Hine Cup 3 vs. 6 matchup; if Brentwood and Centennial win, then we’ll have a Bruins-Outlaws rematch just over 48 hours later in Antioch.

I’m picking Brentwood in this one.

Hendersonville-Beech-Gallatin (2-3-1) vs. USN-BA-Nashville Christian-FRA-Goodpasture (3-3-0) - 6:45 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp
When the Commandos finished the first half of the regular season at 4-1-2, just missing out on moving up to Tier 1 by one point (they and Summit actually finished with 10 points, but Summit had five wins to the Commandos’ four), it looked as if they would be a force to be reckoned with in the second half. They’ve been anything but. That said, if things work out for them, they could end up with the 4 seed. First, they have to win this game, and here’s what stinks for them: this game was originally scheduled for January 15, which was MLK Day. The week before it was to take place, it - along with the Brentwood-Outlaws and Pope-Mt. Juliet games - were postponed to tonight, not because of the winter storm that week, but because teams were concerned about not having full strength rosters because MLK Day weekend tournaments go from Saturday to Monday to account for the holiday. Why does it stink? Because the playoffs begin in two days, and all Hine Cup first round games will be on Wednesday. That means they will very likely face Ben Schwarz in the USN crease, as the Eagles would want to get him ready for the biggest games just over 48 hours away. If the game had taken place on its original date, I could’ve seen Mattilda Cox getting the start in net for USN, since the playoffs would still be a ways off, and they could give her one last start before jumping on Schwarz’s back for the Hine Cup. But Schwarz will very likely get the start, not just because the Hine Cup begins in two days, but because this is USN’s first game in 61 DAYS!!!!! That’s right; USN have not played since handing the Rampage their only second half loss in a 4-1 victory on December 6. Despite the long layoff, USN could still get the Hine Cup 3 seed. That would be another reason to put Schwarz in goal, though, USN would have to win and see the other two games end in ties to get the 3 seed. Should they win period, they’ll end up the 4. Hendersonville won the first meeting 7-4 back on November 8, the final night of the first half, but Cox was in goal that night.

USN will win on this occasion, because Schwarz will get the start, and play lights out like he always does.

Independence-Ravenwood 2 (0-6-0) vs. Centennial (4-2-0) - 7 PM @ Centennial B
It’s been just over three months since that manic finish between these two on October 25, when the Cougars took a 7-3 lead with just over five minutes left, only for the Eagles to come all the way back to get a 7-7 tie, with two goals in the final minute, Landric Mayeski scoring the latter goal with 18 seconds to go. That result was one of many in the first half that potentially cost Centennial a chance to move up to Tier 1 at midseason. Also, Centennial’s backup goalie, Kade Henderson, was in net, and he had very little ice hockey experience, and it showed. But now, the Hine Cup 2 seed is at stake, and Centennial will certainly take it seriously, and go with David Busby in goal. All the Cougars have to do is win this game, and the 2 seed is theirs. And this game is so winnable. They are so much better than Indy, there is no way they can throw this away. If they do, they’ll look foolish.

Centennial will win this time.

Montgomery Bell (2-1-3, 8-1-4) vs. Father Ryan (3-3-0, 6-7-0*) - 7:40 PM @ Centennial A
And so, the GNASH Cup comes down to this. It’s still really hard to believe that the regular season championship is still up for grabs. Again, it felt inevitable that Franklin would win it come the holiday break. But a three-game losing streak that was coupled to a 2-2 tie with MBA on November 29 has given the Big Red a chance to win their fifth GNASH Cup, which would put them second all-time behind Brentwood’s six. All MBA need is a tie, and the Cup is theirs. But even more important, the Predators Cup 3 seed is at stake, too. With a win, the Big Red would pick it up along with the GNASH Cup. The Irish, though, will be motivated themselves, because they would also get the 3 seed with a win. These two teams played each other back on October 20, where MBA won 8-3. It was a Friday night, but both teams pretty much had their full rosters, with no one major missing due to travel. Now, the Irish were coming off of a 7-0 loss to Brentwood two nights before, so, maybe the shock of it hadn’t worn off of Zach Fonnesbeck quite yet. It’s been two weeks since Fonnesbeck backstopped the Irish to a stunning 3-2 win over Ensworth, which ended up being the result that cost the Ice Tigers the Preds Cup 1 seed. Now, he’s facing a team that don’t have as much depth as Ensworth, and he could deny them both the regular season championship and the Preds Cup 3 seed.

He could, but he won’t. I’ll pick MBA to win the GNASH Cup and claim the Preds Cup 3 seed.

Pope Prep-MLK-GCA (3-3-0, 6-7-0*) vs. Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill (2-3-1, 4-7-2*) - 8:25 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp
It’s very fitting that this is the game that will close the 2023-24 GNASH regular season, as these two teams met 133 days ago on Opening Night, September 25, where the Knights won 2-1. Since then, we’ve passed out candy to trick-or-treaters, given our thanks, put up a festive tree, rang in the new year, and some of us (myself not among them) are preparing big romantic gestures for our partners. Also since then, Mt. Juliet almost took the midseason drop to Tier 2, only to escape by having a better goal differential than Brentwood. To their credit, the Bears are better offensively than they were in the first half, but, if they lose tonight, they will end up finishing the second half 2-4-1, the same exact record they finished the first half with. Unfortunately, they’re coming off another 6-0 clobbering from Franklin last Monday (the Admirals beat them by the same score on September 27). The Knights, with a win, could end up with the Preds Cup 3 seed, although MBA-Father Ryan would have to end in a tie for that to happen; otherwise, a win will get them the 4. Pope’s inconsistency has been their downfall this season, as it has been in other seasons. Two nights after beating Franklin 5-0 on January 22, they lose 4-1 to MBA. After the 2-1 win over MJ on September 25, they proceeded to lose their next three, and were in danger of going down to Tier 2, before winning back-to-back games against Rutherford and Brentwood saved them. The 7-6 loss to Father Ryan from November 13 also sticks out like a sore thumb. In this second half, MJ have gotten a 3-3 tie against MBA (they should’ve won that one), and beat Ensworth 6-2, so, this game is up in the air to me. With a win, the Golden Bears would claim the 5 seed for the Predators Cup.

However, I’m picking Pope to win the last game of the regular season.

Standings

Brackets in progress

Predators Cup so far

Henry Hine Cup so far

The rest of this week’s schedule

MTSN’s broadcast schedule for the rest of this week will be announced tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, February 7 (first night of the playoffs)
Henry Hine Cup first round games
#8 Independence-Ravenwood 2 vs. #1 Rutherford Rampage - 7:10 PM @ Centennial A
#7 vs. #2 - 8:30 PM @ Centennial B
#5 vs. #4 - 8:40 PM @ Centennial A
#6 vs. #3 - 9:15 PM @ Antioch-North

Predators Cup first round game
#5 vs. #4 - 7:30 PM @ Antioch-North

Thursday, February 8
Predators Cup first round game
#8 Ravenwood vs. #1 Summit-Page - 5 PM @ Antioch-South

Next week’s schedule

Next week’s schedule was omitted from yesterday’s newsletter due to discovering errors in game times for Wednesday the 14th. Those errors have now been corrected. As always, our broadcast schedule for next week’s will be announced in next Sunday’s newsletter.

Monday, February 12
Predators Cup first round games
Both games will be played @ Bellevue-Crisp.
#7 vs. #2 Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb 5:15 PM
#6 vs. #3 - 6:45 PM

Predators Cup elimination game
Ravenwood/Summit loser vs. 4/5 game loser - 8:25 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp

Henry Hine Cup winners’ bracket semifinals
2/7 game winner vs. 3/6 game winner - 7 PM @ Centennial B
Independence/Rutherford winner vs. 4/5 game winner - 7:40 PM @ Centennial A

Henry Hine Cup elimination games
Both games will be played @ Centennial B.
Independence/Rutherford loser vs. 4/5 game loser - 5:30 PM
2/7 game loser vs. 3/6 game loser - 8:30 PM

Wednesday, February 14
Predators Cup winners’ bracket semifinals
Both games will be played @ Centennial A.
7 seed/Ensworth winner vs. 3/6 game winner - 7:10 PM
Ravenwood/Summit winner vs. 4/5 game winner - 8:40 PM

Predators Cup elimination game
7 seed/Ensworth loser vs. 3/6 game loser - 9:15 PM @ Antioch-North

Henry Hine Cup losers’ bracket quarterfinals
Game 7 loser vs. Game 6 winner - 7:30 PM @ Antioch-North
Game 8 loser vs. Game 5 winner - 8:30 PM @ Centennial B

Podcasts

All MTSN game podcasts will be uploaded exclusively to YouTube this season. To subscribe to our YouTube channel, scroll down to the footer of this newsletter, and click on the play button to be taken to our channel.

Miscellaneous links

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The next newsletter comes out tomorrow, February 6.