Tonight’s MTSN broadcast

Ravenwood vs. Pope Prep-MLK-GCA - 8:10 PM pregame, 8:15 PM faceoff BROADCAST LINK

Scenarios for tonight’s games

Who’s wrapping up the first half of the regular season tonight?

Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb, Franklin, Independence-Ravenwood 2, and Rutherford Rampage are wrapping up the first half of the regular season tonight.

Previewing tonight’s games

Game that is being broadcast by MTSN is in BOLD.

USN-BA-Nashville Christian-FRA-Goodpasture (2-2-1) vs. Tennessee Outlaws (1-2-2) - 7:10 PM @ Centennial A
This is a pivotal game in the race to try and get promotion to Tier 1 for USN, as anything other than a win means they’re out of that race. They’re coming off of a 12-5 loss to Summit-Page on Monday, where they decided to let backup goalie Mattilda Cox play in the crease. It was interesting to see them start her while they still have a chance to move up; one would think that they would give her a start after being knocked out of promotion contention. The move says to me that USN know that they’re not Tier 1 material, and, to be honest, they aren’t. They have a very good top line, and second line too, but, their roster is too small, and some of their younger players aren’t ready for that challenge quite yet. Maybe if they still had Hoyt Sorensen and Aidan Ozgener. Anyway, I’m interested to see who they play in net in this one. If they go with Ben Schwarz, they should win this game. If they go with Cox, it might be a fight. As for the Outlaws, their tie with Station Camp-Liberty Creek on Monday, combined with Summit’s win over USN just about an hour before, means they’re staying put in Tier 2. It’s amazing how quickly things fell off after their opening night win against Indy; tying with Hendersonville-Beech-Gallatin 4-4 (after having a 3-0 lead in the first), losing to Centennial (after jumping out to a 2-0 lead), losing to Ensworth 10-2, and then, the tie with Station Camp (after leading 3-2 after the first). I seriously thought that they would be in contention for the other promotional spot to Tier 1, but, I was proven wrong quickly. Now, they start trying to build momentum towards the second half (their first half finale is next Wednesday against Summit).

I’m picking USN.

Rutherford Rampage (1-5-0) vs. Franklin (5-0-1) - 7:30 PM @ Antioch-North
Poor Rutherford. They finally got back their top netminder, Jackson Wilson, in time for their game against Ravenwood last Wednesday, beating the Raptors 5-1 as he put on a tending clinic, only to get injured again over the weekend during travel play. Then, they lose a heartbreaker to Brentwood on Monday 7-5, and now, they have to beat Franklin to try and stay up, with the odds totally against them. Meanwhile, the Admirals are looking to close out the first half with a win that would match Montgomery Bell’s record - 6-0-1. They’re coming off a decent week last week, where they tied the Big Red 1-1 on Monday, then beat Father Ryan 3-0 last Wednesday. Unfortunately, I don’t have much more to say about this one.

I’m taking Franklin.

Ravenwood (1-4-0) vs. Pope Prep-MLK-GCA (3-3-0) - 8:15 PM @ Antioch-South
If you had told anyone that Ravenwood - the literal defending Predators and GNASH Cup champions - would be in serious threat of being relegated to Tier 2 in the penultimate week of the first half of the regular season, that person would’ve recommended you to some type of psychotherapy. But here we are. It’s reality. The Raptors are coming off a tough 5-2 loss to MBA on Monday where Hunter Wieck shut them down, and his top line of Lee Guy, Trace Graham, and Matthew Moore awarded him with goals (James Lehrman, too). Now, they have to face another tough goaltender in Anthony Pellegrino, fresh off of totally shutting down Brentwood in Pope’s most recent result, their 4-0 win over the Bruins last Monday the 23rd. Ravenwood will need to strike quickly, because if they don’t, the Knights, like MBA, have plenty of players who can punish them, such as Erik Kihlberg, Jacob Sullivan, and Jack Davis. And Ravenwood need to win this game, or at least get a tie, to get the fight to stay in Tier 1 to go all the way to next Wednesday, because, if they lose, then Mt. Juliet would just need to beat Father Ryan next Monday to send the Raptors down. I saw too much individual play on Monday against MBA, and not enough teamwork. Doing that against Pope will lead to disappointment, as well. Oh, and if Pope win, it means Brentwood stay up after all that drama.

I’m picking the Knights to win this one.

Summit-Page (4-1-0) vs. Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb (6-0-0) - 8:30 PM @ Centennial B
The two best offenses in Tier 2 finally meet. It’ll be interesting to see how Ensworth approach this game, considering that they’ve already got a golden ticket to the express elevator to Tier 1. Summit only need to win this game to grab the other golden ticket to Tier 1, or have Hendersonville lose to Indy otherwise. This should be a fun matchup line-for-line. And even if Summit don’t get the other Tier 2 spot tonight, they only have to beat the Outlaws next Wednesday to get it. I really don’t have much else to say about this one.

I’m picking Ensworth to finish the first half with a 7-0 record.

Independence-Ravenwood 2 (0-5-1) vs. Hendersonville-Beech-Gallatin (2-1-2) - 8:40 PM @ Centennial A
Indy are back on the ice for their first half finale following last week’s dramatic comeback to a 7-7 tie with Centennial. Meanwhile, the Commandos, who last played on October 18, when they beat Summit 4-3, are coming into this game on a four-game unbeaten streak. This is a potential trip-up game for Hendersonville, who must absolutely keep an eye on Landric Mayeski and Torrin Kemble, who could ruin Hendersonville’s hopes of moving up by themselves. If Summit lose to Ensworth, Hendersonville need to at least tie to force Summit to beat the Outlaws next week. The Commandos got good, steady goaltending out of their four-game run from Justin Smith and Jackson Brodrick. Whoever is in the crease will need that again tonight. It’ll be interesting to see who the Eagles put in net. Trent Pavlik was good enough against Centennial to help his team come back; he could help Indy shock Hendersonville tonight.

But I don’t think that’s going to happen; I’m picking the Commandos.

Standings

Monday’s final scores

Games that were broadcast by MTSN are in BOLD.

Summit-Page 12, USN-BA-Nashville Christian-FRA-Goodpasture 5 PODCAST LINK
Tennessee Outlaws 5, Station Camp-Liberty Creek 5
Brentwood 7, Rutherford Rampage 5 PODCAST LINK
Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb 4, Centennial 1
Montgomery Bell 5, Ravenwood 2 PODCAST LINK

Podcasts

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The next newsletter comes out tomorrow, November 2.