As I type this, the snow has begun falling in Nashville. As of 9 PM last night, all of tonight’s games were still on. The only way any of them won’t be played is if either Centennial or Antioch close. As of 9 PM last night, Antioch was planning to open at 11 AM today, meaning tonight’s Indy/Centennial game would still be played if that remains the case. If there are any changes to tonight’s schedule, I will send out an emergency newsletter.

Tonight’s planned broadcast schedule

Ravenwood vs. Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb - 7:05 PM pregame, 7:10 PM faceoff BROADCAST LINK
Franklin vs. Montgomery Bell - 8:35 PM pregame, 8:40 PM faceoff BROADCAST LINK

Previewing tonight’s games

The games that MTSN is planning to broadcast are in BOLD.

Predators Cup Winners’ Bracket Final
#2 Ravenwood vs. #1 Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb - 7:10 PM @ Centennial A
How they got here:
Ravenwood:
-Defeated Hendersonville-Beech-Lawson 6-0 on February 5 in the first round
-Defeated Montgomery Bell 3-1 on February 10 in a Winners’ Bracket Semifinal
Ensworth:
-Defeated Tennessee Outlaws 6-3 on February 3 in the first round
-Defeated Summit-Page 4-1 on February 10 in a Winners’ Bracket Semifinal
Regular season meeting: Ensworth won 3-2 on January 13

Well, this was inevitable. These are the absolute two best teams in GNASH this season, and here they are, meeting deep into the Preds Cup once again, with the first berth in next week’s final on the line. The last time they met, Ensworth won a tight one to claim the GNASH Cup regular season championship, the second straight season that they’ve beaten the Raptors to win a trophy (the other occasion, of course, being last year’s Preds Cup Final). Of course, as mentioned in the February 11 letter, the Raptors will be without their star forward, Cooper Hill, for the rest of this postseason, after he suffered a broken thumb playing for the Jr. Preds back on February 7. Now, Ravenwood are absolutely capable of winning this game without him, but he is unquestionably the team’s driving force. Who steps up? I’ll say Mason Reed. The freshman is on a four-game goal-scoring streak, and he plays on Hill’s line (the top line), showing the speed required to do so. Liam Powell and Brady Friedman scored the Raptors’ other two goals last week against the Big Red. In addition to those two, you have Keaton Moffitt as a scoring threat. So, yes, The Big Gun™ might be down, but there are plenty of other big guns to step up and take aim. As for the Ice Tigers, their usual suspects are also scoring for them: Henry Cravens leads them with three goals, while Trex Hooper, Spencer Kern, and Lucas Tarquine have all scored twice. But, of course, it will come down to goaltending. Now, Reese Mackenzie was in goal for the first showdown, and, outside of a bad second period, where Ensworth scored all of their goals, she did a solid job. Does James Gately go with her again? I would not be surprised, but, I think Colin Gower gets his shot at Ensworth this time. Of course, the other crease will have Bingston Soundara in it. He shook off the iffy game against the Outlaws by turning away (again, by my own count) 41 of 42 Summit shots. Will Ravenwood finally be the team that beats him? There’s a chance, but, he’s playing near flawless hockey right now.

Pick: Ensworth

Consequences of this game’s result: The winner will claim the first spot in next Wednesday’s Predators Cup Final, while the loser will play the Franklin/MBA winner next Monday in the Predators Cup Losers’ Bracket Final

Predators Cup Losers’ Bracket Semifinal
#6 Franklin vs. #3 Montgomery Bell - 8:40 PM @ Centennial A
How they got here:
Franklin:
-Lost 5-1 to MBA on February 3 in the first round
-Defeated Hendersonville-Beech-Lawson 3-2 on February 6 in the Losers’ Bracket first round
-Defeated Summit-Page 5-4 in overtime last Wednesday in a Losers’ Bracket Quarterfinal
Montgomery Bell:
-Defeated Franklin 5-1 on February 3 in the first round
-Lost 3-1 to Ravenwood on February 10 in a Winners’ Bracket Semifinal
-Defeated Tennessee Outlaws 6-1 last Wednesday in a Losers’ Bracket Quarterfinal
Previous meetings this season: MBA won 4-0 on January 13, and 5-1 on February 3

So, the box score from the first meeting in this tournament between these two teams says that the Admirals outshot the Big Red 10-6. It was higher, but not by much. Franklin outshot MBA 14-9, meaning the Big Red scored five goals on nine shots. That is “Yikes!” territory. Now, commendations to the Admirals for knocking off 4 seed Summit last week, especially when the Spartans whipped them 6-1 in the first meeting last month. But, Summit’s goaltending can be iffy from game-to-game, and if there’s anything that Hunter Wieck isn’t is iffy. He isn’t perfect, but iffy he is not, and I can’t see Franklin throwing the 3 seed over the top rope. Not this time.

Pick: MBA

Consequences of this game’s result: Winner will play the Ravenwood/Ensworth loser next Monday in the Predators Cup Losers’ Bracket Final, while the loser is eliminated

Henry Hine Cup Losers’ Bracket Quarterfinals
#6 Independence-BA-USN-Nashville Christian vs. #4 Centennial-FRA - 8:15 PM @ Antioch-South
How they got here:
Indy:
-Lost 5-2 to Father Ryan on February 5 in the first round
-Defeated Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill 7-2 on February 10 in the Losers’ Bracket first round
Centennial:
-Defeated Brentwood 6-4 on February 5 in the first round
-Lost 4-3 to Station Camp-Liberty Creek on February 10 in a Winners’ Bracket Semifinal
Regular season meeting: Indy won 5-1 on December 4

What a heartbreaking loss for Centennial against Station Camp last week: McClain Gregory scores the game-winning goal with 2:45 left in regulation, and the Bison are now a step away from the Hine Cup Final, while the Cougars will have to take the long way ‘round. Meanwhile, the Eagles overcame a tough first round loss to Ryan by overwhelming Mt. Juliet. Their offense is better than Centennial’s, but this time, they’re going to face Drew Stratton in goal instead of David Busby. And that is where the scales tip in Centennial’s favor (although, nine goals in two games is pretty good, and Brendan Mitchell has scored four of them). Indy actually outshot the Cougars 33-21 on December 4, but did Centennial let off when the game was lost? Big difference between a regular season game and an elimination playoff game. I think the Cougars will have more hustle this time, and come out on top.

Pick: Centennial

Consequences of this game’s result: Winner will play the Brentwood/Rampage winner next Monday in the Henry Hine Cup Losers’ Bracket Semifinal, while the loser is eliminated

#5 Brentwood vs. #2 Rutherford Rampage - 8:30 PM @ Centennial B
How they got here:
Brentwood:
-Lost 6-4 to Centennial-FRA on February 5 in the first round
-Defeated Montgomery County Rangers 8-3 in the Losers’ Bracket first round
Rampage:
-Defeated Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill 10-2 on February 3 in the first round
-Lost 6-2 to Father Ryan last Wednesday in a Winners’ Bracket Semifinal
Regular season meeting: Rampage won 9-2 on November 7

While the focus is on the Ravenwood/Ensworth game, a rematch of last year’s Preds Cup Final, this rematch of last year’s Hine Cup Final is high-stakes, too, because the loser has to leave the party. Both teams have scored 12 goals so far this postseason, each having one emphatic win, but one tough loss. And, if there is such a thing, Brentwood lost better to Centennial than the Rampage did to Father Ryan. The Bruins went down 4-2 in the second against Centennial, coming back to tie it before Brendan Mitchell scored the winning goal. The Rampage, meanwhile, went down 2-0 to the Irish in the first on strange goals. They were better in the first period on shots, but the scoreboard told a different story. In the second, the Rampage only mustered five shots, while the Irish scored two goals that were more conventional than the two they scored in the first. Rutherford got a power play early in the third and converted it to get within 4-1, but then the Irish scored twice more to stop a comeback. It was not a good game for the Rampage. And now, they’re facing Andrew Sallee tonight after going up against Collier Owen back in November. I feel like the Rampage may have blown their shot at a repeat. We’ll see.

Pick: Brentwood

Consequences of this game’s result: Winner will play the Indy/Centennial winner next Monday in the Henry Hine Cup Losers’ Bracket Semifinal, while the loser is eliminated

Brackets

Click on the bracket images to be taken to their BracketHQ webpages; they automatically update when a final score is entered.

Predators Cup

Henry Hine Cup

Tomorrow’s game

MTSN is planning to broadcast tomorrow’s game if it takes place.

Henry Hine Cup Winners’ Bracket Final
#3 Father Ryan vs. #1 Station Camp-Liberty Creek - 8:30 PM @ Antioch-North

Classic playoff broadcasts

Once again during this postseason, we will be uploading great GNASH playoff games of the past that were heard on MTSN. Uploads will take place every Tuesday and Friday during the postseason. Click HERE to go back in time!

Podcasts

As we did last year, game podcasts are being exclusively uploaded to our YouTube channel for this season. To subscribe so you don’t miss out, 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 20.