Podcast for last night’s game

Summit-Page vs. Franklin PODCAST LINK

Recapping last night’s games

The six Tier 1 teams who are competing for the GNASH Cup have two records next to their score: 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.

Montgomery Bell 4 (1-1-3, 7-1-4), Pope Prep-MLK-GCA 1 (3-3-0, 6-7-0*)
Andrew Frech scored the game’s first goal just under nine minutes into the first, and the Big Red led 1-0 after one. Nearly nine minutes into the second, Lee Guy jumped on a loose puck on the right wing side of the Pope zone, and fired it into the back of the net (I saw this goal), and MBA took a 2-0 lead into the third. Just over two minutes into the third, Erik Kihlberg got Pope on the board, but just over three minutes after that, Guy scored his second to cut off hopes of a Knights comeback. With 18 seconds left, Trace Graham scored the game’s final goal on an empty-netter (he had the EN in the first meeting between these two back on October 2, as well). Pope’s pattern of inconsistency rears its ugly head again, and what’s even stranger is, they only had 20 shots on goal this time to MBA’s 39. In the first game, MBA only outshot Pope 24-22, so, the Big Red offense was cranking things out more-and-more this time. Pope’s hopes of being the Preds Cup 1 seed are gone, but a Top 2 seed is still a possibility; that requires Summit to beat Ensworth next Monday, and MBA to beat Father Ryan on February 5. With Franklin’s loss last night, I don’t see how the Big Red don’t win the GNASH Cup now. They have two very winnable games in front of them in Ravenwood and Father Ryan, and I can’t see JP Dumont giving Hunter Wieck another night off before playoffs (especially against Ravenwood), giving Franklin any chance of getting the Cup themselves (that is, if they can beat Mt. Juliet on Monday). Speaking of Ravenwood, the result of this game means that they will be the 8 seed for the Predators Cup. No, it doesn’t sound right to me, either.

Next game for both teams
Pope Prep-MLK-GCA: February 5 vs. Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill - 8:25 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp (regular season finale for both teams)
Montgomery Bell: Next Monday vs. Ravenwood - 5:15 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp (They will be having their Senior Night ceremony.)

Summit-Page 3 (5-1-0), Franklin 1 (2-3-1, 8-3-2)
With just under four minutes left in the first, Hudson Richards’s attempt to storm to the front of the Summit net resulted in the puck being stolen from him, and James Gilmartin leading a short-handed 2-on-1 rush, passing the puck over to Aiden Meyer, who managed to slip it underneath Admirals goalie Chad Janson into the bottom right corner of the Franklin net. Just over a minute later, Owen McGroarty scored Franklin’s first goal since December 6 when he broke loose down the right wing side of the Spartans’ zone, and fired the puck into the back of the net from in tight. It was 1-1 after one. 65 seconds into the second, a pane of glass fell onto the ice in the corner near the emergency exit to the left of the home bench (Franklin’s bench for the night). Fortunately, the glass didn’t break, so, it was put back in place quickly (the delay took just over seven minutes), and the game was able to resume. Off the delay, Franklin had a couple of decent chances to take the lead, the most notable being when Seth Wagner made a fantastic rebound save on McGroarty. The Admirals were unable to convert their chances, and the score remained 1-1 after two. It looked like the game would end tied, but with 33 seconds left, Gavin Akers took an interference penalty when he knocked down Hunter Haley after Haley had been pushed off the puck by another Franklin defender. Summit called timeout, and won the subsequent faceoff to the left of the Franklin net. Cam White needed just four seconds to shoot the puck from above the top of the left circle, have deflect off of Janson’s left leg pad, and land in the bottom left corner to give Summit a late 2-1 lead. With 4.5 seconds left, Zach Ellis scored an empty-netter from the center red line that actually redirected off of Richards up around his left shoulder, steering it into the net.

Thanks to this win, plus MBA’s win over Pope, and Ravenwood’s win over Mt. Juliet, Summit have clinched the 1 seed for the Predators Cup. Now, I didn’t know that this was a possibility, simply because, while I predicted Pope and MBA to win, I sure as heck didn’t see MJ losing. Summit have really been incredible in this second half, and Wagner deserves a lot of credit for the victory. His big save on McGroarty in the second after the glass delay set a big tone. He’s come a long way from being yanked just past the halfway point of the Spartans’ game against USN back on October 30, after surrendering three goals (a game Summit won 12-5, by the way).

As for Franklin, they played a lot better than they did on Monday against Pope, but they definitely have some issues to work out. Their offense was frightening at one point in this season, and now, it’s come off the rails. Since beating Ravenwood 7-2 on November 27, they have scored just five goals: two against MBA, two against Ensworth, and one last night. Their winless streak now sits at four, and they’ve lost three in a row. The GNASH Cup is very likely gone now. As I’ve said, I can’t see MBA losing to either Ravenwood or Father Ryan, and Franklin only have one game left. Here’s the worst part about this three-game skid: Their chances of a very high Preds Cup seed are also gone. They can now only be the 3 at maximum. This collapse is quite spectacular, but if they can somehow recover and win the Predators Cup, it will be forgotten. However, this regular season format, where one team can win the GNASH Cup, but another can be the Preds Cup 1 seed, has failed, but that’s a column for another day.

Next game for both teams
Summit-Page: Next Monday vs. Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb - 7:40 PM @ Centennial A (regular season finale for both teams)
Franklin: Next Monday vs. Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill - 6:45 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp (They will be having their Senior Night ceremony, and this is their regular season finale.)

Ravenwood 7 (1-5-0, 4-9-0*), Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill 5 (2-2-1, 4-6-2*)
Brady Friedman scored the game’s opening goal just over five minutes into the first period. Nearly seven minutes later, Jordan Antar got the Bears on the board, and it was 1-1 after one. Antar needed just 96 seconds to put MJ up 2-1 in the second. Nearly four minutes later, Bennett Nichols tied the game up, before Antar completed his hat trick with 49 seconds left in the middle frame, meaning that MJ had a 3-2 lead after two. Nearly two minutes into the third…someone scored to put Mt. Juliet up 4-2 (the box score doesn’t say who). Just under four minutes later, Cooper Hill got the Raptors back within one, before Antar scored his fourth of the game 59 seconds later to restore MJ’s two-goal advantage. 68 seconds after that, Hill scored his second of the game to cut the margin to one again, then completed his own hat trick by scoring the tying goal 17 seconds later. Friedman scored his second goal - and the game-winner - with just under three minutes left in the game, with Jake Farrell chipping in an empty-netter with 80 seconds remaining. The most surprising part about this is the fact that Mt. Juliet only registered 14 shots. Their offense has improved staggeringly in this second half, and to only get off 14 shots is stunning, especially against this Ravenwood team. As for the Raptors, it must be relieving to know that they’ve won at least one game before the end of the season. Considering it took them until near the midway point of the third to storm back, this is definitely not the beginning of an incredible run to a three-peat, but it is something to build on for next season. By the way, this was Mt. Juliet’s Senior Night. Of the five teams that have done Senior Night so far, only one team has won their Senior Night game (Summit against Father Ryan two weeks ago). Everyone else (Centennial, Ensworth, and now, Pope and MJ) have lost theirs. Fortunes will surely change next week, when eight teams will be having Senior Nights, seven of them on Monday.

Next game for both teams
Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill: Next Monday vs. Franklin - 6:45 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp
Ravenwood: Next Monday vs. Montgomery Bell - 5:15 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp (They will be having their Senior Night ceremony, and this is their regular season finale.)

Centennial 3 (4-2-0), Hendersonville-Beech-Gallatin 2 (1-3-1)
Aiden Gardner scored the game’s first goal with 34 seconds left in the first, and the Cougars had a 1-0 lead after one. Just over four minutes into the second, Nick Claas made it 2-0, then just over five minutes later, he scored again to make it 3-0, and that was Centennial’s advantage after two. Just over three minutes into the third, Gideon Drobnick put the Commandos on the board, and Carter Morrison got them to within one with 55 seconds left (I presume Hendersonville had the net empty), but they fell short in the end. Centennial jump right back into the race for the Hine Cup 1 seed. The loss for Hendersonville means that Indy don’t get the Hine Cup 8 seed…yet.

Next game for both teams
Centennial: February 5 vs. Independence-Ravenwood 2 - 7 PM @ Centennial B (regular season finale for both teams)
Hendersonville-Beech-Gallatin: Next Monday vs. Independence-Ravenwood 2 - 8:25 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp (Both teams will be having their Senior Night ceremonies.)

Standings

Brackets in progress

Monday’s final scores

The game that was broadcast by MTSN is in BOLD.

Father Ryan 3, Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb 2
Pope Prep-MLK-GCA 5, Franklin 0 PODCAST LINK

Next week’s schedule

MTSN’s broadcast schedule for next week will be announced in Sunday’s newsletter.

Teams that are having their Senior Night ceremony on that particular night are underlined. Teams that are playing their final game of the regular season that night are in italics.

Monday, January 29
Ravenwood vs. Montgomery Bell - 5:15 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp
Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill vs. Franklin - 6:45 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp
Station Camp-Liberty Creek vs. Tennessee Outlaws - 7 PM @ Centennial B
Summit-Page vs. Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb - 7:40 PM @ Centennial A
Independence-Ravenwood 2 vs. Hendersonville-Beech-Gallatin - 8:25 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp
Rutherford Rampage vs. Brentwood - 8:30 PM @ Centennial B

Wednesday, January 31
Tennessee Outlaws vs. Rutherford Rampage - 7:30 PM @ Antioch-North

Podcasts

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The next newsletter comes out Sunday, January 28.