Recapping last night’s game

Predators Cup Final Game 1
Ravenwood 5, Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb 4 PODCAST LINK
Liam Powell opened the scoring just before the halfway point of the first period, when the puck came to him in the slot, and he backhanded it in through some traffic, with Ice Tigers goalie Bingston Soundara being a bit screened. Just over five minutes later, Cooper Hill made it 2-0 Raptors, when he moved into the slot, and took a shot that deflected off of an Ensworth stick and in. 50 seconds later, Ben Sonkin got Ensworth on the board, when he fired the puck right into the top right-hand corner of the Ravenwood net from the right wing boards, and it was 2-1 Raptors after one. Just over four minutes into the second, JT Borland took the puck from his own zone, and raced down the benches side of the ice, closing in on goal, and ripping it into the roof of the net to tie the game. Unfortunately for Ensworth, Jackson Malleus-Mayer tripped Powell off the subsequent faceoff, giving the Raptors the first power play of the night, which they would convert just 34 seconds later, when Hill one-timed the puck into the roof of the net from the blue line, giving Ravenwood the lead back. Ensworth would tie the game again with just over three minutes left in the second, when a Borland shot missed the net to the right of Ravenwood netminder Colin Gower, and came back out to the left-hand side off the boards, where Trex Hooper was waiting to smash the rebound in, and it was 3-3 as both teams headed off the ice for the ice cut after two. Just over three minutes into the third, Ravenwood retook the lead on a very poor giveaway by Cam Fowler; deep on the right wing side of his own zone, he casually passed the puck to the left wing side, but no one in a white sweater was there, and Hill grabbed the puck, took a shot that leaked through Soundara into the crease, where Powell knocked the rebound in. Just past the halfway point of the third, Ensworth tied the game again, when Hudson Honeybone smashed a centering pass into the back of the net from in front. But Hill would score the winner with just over three minutes left off of a faceoff in the Ensworth zone, when the Ice Tigers were caught puck watching, and a pass came his way on the right wing side as he was going to the front of the net all alone. Ravenwood would hang on from there, with Gower making an amazing save on Borland with just under 30 seconds left, when he slid to his left, and knocked down what looked like a sure goal with his glove.

Next game for both teams
Predators Cup Final If Necessary Game - tonight @ 8:55 PM @ Centennial A

Previewing tonight’s game

Predators Cup Final Game 2
#8 Ravenwood vs. #2 Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb - 8:55 PM @ Centennial A (MTSN coverage begins at 8:45 PM BROADCAST LINK)
Paths to this game
Ravenwood
-Defeated Summit-Page 6-4 on February 8 in the first round
-Lost 5-1 to Montgomery Bell on February 14 in a Winners’ Bracket Semifinal
-Defeated Pope Prep-MLK-GCA 7-4 on February 21 in a Losers’ Bracket Quarterfinal
-Defeated Franklin 6-3 last Monday in the Losers’ Bracket Semifinal
-Defeated Montgomery Bell 4-3 last Wednesday in the Losers’ Bracket Final
-Defeated Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb 5-4 last night in Game 1 of the Final

Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb
-Defeated Mt. Juliet-Wilson Central-Green Hill 8-3 on February 12 in the first round
-Defeated Father Ryan 1-0 in overtime on February 14 in a Winners’ Bracket Semifinal
-Defeated Montgomery Bell 5-1 on February 21 in the Winners’ Bracket Final
-Lost 5-4 to Ravenwood last night in Game 1 of the Final

Season series: Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb won the first meeting 7-4 on November 15 (regular season), and Ravenwood won last night’s meeting 5-4 (postseason)
So, it’s down to this: One game for the Predators Cup. As I sit here, I ponder the fact that Ensworth are going to have to be PERFECT tonight. No being casual with the puck, especially with Powell and Hill around; keep taking advantage of Gower’s size, and aiming for the roof of the net; clear the zone when the opportunity arises. James Gately told me that he had four skaters stay back to deal with Ensworth’s speed; Ensworth might have to do the same thing. Here’s where Ravenwood have the advantage: they have championship game experience, and this is a championship game. Ensworth got some last night, and they have a lot to learn. The Ice Tigers need to hope that Ravenwood don’t have much left in the tank after playing their sixth game of the postseason last night, and third in the last seven days, but that Ravenwood team looks full of energy, which isn’t great for Ensworth.

For the first time this postseason, I’m picking Ravenwood to win.

Consequences of this game’s result
Winner of the game wins the Predators Cup

History on the line for both teams tonight

Predators Cup bracket

Tomorrow’s game

2024 GNASH All-Star Game
7 PM @ Bellevue-Crisp (MTSN coverage begins at 6:55 PM)

Final All-Star Game rosters

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

Follow @MTSNGNASHScores on Twitter (we refuse to call it X) to get the scores for every GNASH game.

Sign up HERE to get GNASH games scores sent to your phone or email.

Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday during the playoffs, we will be uploading a classic GNASH playoff broadcast to our Internet Archive page. Click HERE to get a nostalgia fix!

The next newsletter comes out tomorrow, March 6.