Tonight’s broadcast schedule

JPII-MLK-GCS vs. Ensworth-Lipscomb-CPA - 4:35 PM pregame, 4:45 PM faceoff BROADCAST LINK
Franklin vs. Station Camp-Liberty Creek-Nashville Christian - 8:05 PM pregame, 8:15 PM faceoff BROADCAST LINK

Senior Night ceremonies

Ensworth-Lipscomb-CPA, Montgomery Bell, Station Camp-Liberty Creek-Nashville Christian, and the Tennessee Outlaws are holding the final Senior Night ceremonies of the season tonight.

Scenarios for tonight

Predators Cup
Scenarios for clinching final two berths

Scenarios for finalizing Top 5 seeds

Henry Hine Cup
Scenarios for finalizing Top 5 seeds

Scenarios to finalize 6 and 7 seeds

If Brentwood-BA-USN DEFEAT the Rutherford Rampage, Brentwood would tie Mt. Juliet with 8 points, but Mt. Juliet have already clinched the 5 seed because Brentwood cannot overtake them because the Bears have one more games than the Bruins (MJ finished the regular season with four wins, Brentwood currently have two), thus, the Bruins would take the 6 seed, while the Clarksville Kings would take the 7.

If the Brentwood-Rampage game ENDS IN A TIE, Brentwood would take the 6 seed by finishing with 7 points, one less than Mt. Juliet, but one more than the Kings, who, again, would take the 7.

If the Rampage DEFEAT the Bruins, however, both Brentwood and Clarksville would finish with six points, but Clarksville would take the 6 seed due to having more wins than Brentwood (3 to 2), giving the Bruins the 7.

The Rampage will be the 8 seed for the Hine Cup regardless of tonight’s result.

Previewing tonight’s games

The games that MTSN will broadcast are in BOLD.

JPII-MLK-GCS (4-8-2) vs. Ensworth-Lipscomb-CPA (8-5-1) - 4:45 PM @ Centennial B
After their 6-6 tie with Hendersonville on November 17 (where they blew an early second period lead of 6-1), the Ice Tigers found themselves in 10th place in the league standings, four points out of 8th. They have had a remarkable eight-game stretch since then, winning six of them (including a win over the GNASH Cup winners Ravenwood), and losing two. They have a chance to finish off that long regular season stretch with a win and ensure themselves a shot at defending their Preds Cup title (well, Ensworth and Lipscomb defending their share of it, anyway). Clayton Roach and Saxon Clements take on their former JPII-MLK teammates for potentially the only time in their high school careers (CPA formerly partnered with those two programs). As for JPII, they’re on a three-game losing streak, and with it pretty much assured that they’ll be either the 3 or 4 seed, and will face either Mt. Juliet, the Kings, or Brentwood in the first round of the Hine Cup, knowing that they beat all three of those teams in the regular season, I have to wonder if Justin Clark will give Ethan Hickerson one more game in goal before riding with Collier Owen for the Hine Cup. With the way that things have gone for JPII recently, I really don’t think it matters here.

Game prediction: Ensworth

Brentwood-BA-USN (2-10-2) vs. Rutherford Rampage (1-12-1) - 6:30 PM @ Centennial B
This game is the least important of the bunch tonight; the Rampage took the 8 seed for the Hine Cup three weeks ago today following their loss to Hendersonville, while the Bruins’ three-game unbeaten and two-game winning streaks were snapped in their loss to Ravenwood that same night. The Rampage are on a ten-game losing streak coming into tonight, so, their motivation to end the regular season on a high will be in overdrive. I actually think that the Rampage have more offensive depth than Brentwood, but they don’t have an Andrew Sallee in their crease, and he’s been very good for them lately, and I think he’ll be the difference here again.

Game prediction: Brentwood

Independence-Centennial (5-7-2) vs. Montgomery Bell (9-3-2) - 6:30 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp
If the Eagles had built on their 2-1-0 start to the regular season, this game could’ve been a fight for a Top 4 Preds Cup seed. Instead, a Top 4, maybe even Top 3 or 2 seed is on the line for the Big Red, and Indy have already secured the Hine Cup 2 because the tiebreakers lean in their direction. Like JPII, I wonder if Clive Neal will get one more go in goal before David Busby takes over for the Hine Cup. I also don’t think it matters here, because MBA have been merciless against teams that have already qualified for the Hine Cup this season, scoring 59 total goals against the six Hine Cup-bound teams that they’ve already faced this season. Aiden Gardner is back in the lineup tonight after being suspended for the Outlaws game on January 12 for getting into a fight with Hank Hayes in the loss to Franklin on January 9. Speaking of suspensions and the Outlaws, in the dying seconds of that 4-3 win three weeks ago tonight, Owen Brought got rough with Logan Wood. Very rough. He cross-checked Wood in the head, then they fought, then Brought wouldn’t let go of Wood’s facemask, so Brought got majors for head contact, fighting, and holding in one go. He will miss the rest of this season, and the start of next season, because he has been suspended for 11 GAMES for his actions: 5 games for being called for four majors in a single season (remember the end-of-game fighting that went on between Ravenwood and Indy on December 1? Brought got a game for that), 2 games for being called for two majors in a single game, and then one game each for being called for four penalties in a single game, a major and a game for holding the facemask, a major and a game for head contact, and a major and a game for fighting. I can’t remember the last time a player was given such a long suspension. That moment of madness saw Indy breach the 12 penalties in a game maximum, meaning that head coach Mark Layne is suspended for the second time this season, but unlike the Indy/Ravenwood game, Brought’s actions caused the Eagles to breach the three major/match penalties in a game maximum, tacking on another game for Layne (I’m still surprised that there were only two majors called against Indy at the end of that Ravenwood game).

Game prediction: MBA

Page-Summit (9-3-2) vs. Tennessee Outlaws (4-8-2) - 8:15 PM @ Centennial B
Justin Iannuccilli faces his former teammates for the one and only time in his high school career, as both teams will head in different directions for the postseason following tonight. It’s Senior Night for the Outlaws, and you know that Josh Kuehn and Clive Keeler will be looking to put a lot of goals on the board. I wouldn’t be surprised if this were a game where the Spartriots were looking forward to the playoffs and got caught napping, but they’ve done a great job of not letting that happen these last couple of months, and I don’t think they’ll let it happen here. If Page, MBA, and Franklin all win tonight, Page and Franklin will be playing each other tomorrow night in the Preds Cup opener in Antioch. As mentioned Logan Wood is suspended for this game for what happened with Owen Brought at the end of the Indy game, but Wood will also be out for the Outlaws’ Hine Cup opener for being called for four penalties in that Indy game (he was called for two separate minors earlier in that game). Ryan Ellis will also be suspended for tonight for getting a charging major against the Kings in Page’s most recent game on January 14.

Game prediction: Page

Franklin (9-3-2) vs. Station Camp-Liberty Creek-Nashville Christian (8-6-0) - 8:15 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp
So, a lot has happened with Franklin recently. A lot. As I mentioned in the January 24 newsletter, Todd Grosse is no longer their head coach. Following the Ravenwood game on January 5, Grosse was given a multi-game suspension for the second time this season: one game for breaching the 12 penalties in a game maximum, and three games for a second breach of the three-major/match penalties in a game maximum. He showed up to the Admirals’ following game against and got caught talking to them right after it was over (players and coaches cannot communicate with their teams 45 minutes prior to and 30 minutes after games while suspended); he was reported to the league, and had another game tacked onto his suspension. Then, things took another turn: Grosse was then given an indefinite suspension for violating the league’s code of conduct. A source tells me that this particular suspension was USA Hockey-related because of multiple breaches of the three-major/match penalties in a game maximum. After this, the Franklin program’s parent board met and decided to relieve Grosse of his duties (no, I’m not sure who’s taking over his duties; I asked but haven’t gotten an answer). I hate to see Todd lose his job like this, because he’s brought Franklin from the doldrums of GNASH to just below the penthouse in these last few seasons, but you can’t have someone who is indefinitely suspended continue to coach your team. The last time a coach was indefinitely suspended was in February of 2019, when former Outlaws assistant coach Jimmy Kitchens, after he and his son Brent, then the Outlaws’ starting goalie, got into a shouting match in front of God and everyone during an ugly Predators Cup first round loss to Mt. Juliet at Bridgestone Arena (I broadcast that game; this took place early in the third after Mt. Juliet extended their lead to 7-0; I was sitting at the top of the lower bowl behind the penalty boxes, meaning the benches were across the way, and you could hear them yelling at each other; some of the broadcast audio ended up being used as evidence in the hearing, particularly a moment when Brent shouted at Jimmy before leaving the ice in frustration). Both Kitchens’ actions were deemed a violation of the league’s code of conduct (which very specifically states that players and coaches shouldn’t shout at each other); Brent got a couple of games, but Jimmy’s suspension lasted two or three years before he was finally reinstated, but by that point, the Kitchens had left GNASH far behind.

Now, let’s talk about the game. Franklin are guaranteed a Top 5 Preds Cup seed; in fact, it’s very likely they’ll be the 5, as the only game I can see them taking advantage of to move up would be the Outlaws potentially upsetting Page. Franklin have allowed the fewest goals in the league this season, just 23. They have three shutouts, and have allowed only one goal in five other games. The problem is, their offense has failed to show up against big teams this season; 39 of their 54 goals so far have been scored against the seven Hine Cup-bound teams. Their biggest win this season was probably the Ensworth game back on December 15. Michael Mannion’s six-game suspension at the beginning of the season probably cost them a few important goals. Meanwhile, Station Camp are on the verge of completing maybe the biggest collapse in GNASH history, losing six of their last seven after a perfect 7-0-0 start, and they’re on a five-game losing streak. If, at any point during this last month-and-a-half, had they picked up another win, they’d have a Preds Cup spot. In their most recent game, the loss to Ravenwood on January 21, Miller Campbell made his return to GNASH after missing over a year with an ACL tear, coming in for the final 10:38 of the game, making eight saves on nine shots. Will he play the full game tonight? If he does, he could potentially salvage the Bison’s season if he plays well, but he also needs the Camp offense to return to its previous excellence. The Bison have scored a total of 14 goals in their last seven games, and only one goal in three of their last four, the one multi-goal game in that stretch being against MBA.

I would love to see Station Camp win this game and save their season, but I can’t see it happening.

Hank Hayes returns to the lineup tonight after being suspended for the JPII game on January 12 for the aforementioned fight with Aiden Gardner.

Game prediction: Franklin

Standings

Postseason tournaments contention tracker

The rest of this week’s schedule

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

Tomorrow - Playoffs begin
Predators Cup first round
5 seed vs. 4 seed - 8:30 PM @ Antioch-North

Wednesday
All games will be played @ Centennial.
Predators Cup first round
8 seed vs. #1 Ravenwood - 7:10 PM on Rink A
6 seed vs. 3 seed - 8:30 PM on Rink B
7 seed vs. 2 seed - 8:40 PM on Rink A

Thursday
Henry Hine Cup first round
#8 Rutherford Rampage vs. 1 seed - 8:45 PM @ Antioch-North

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