By Caroline Miner · After a tough opening weekend against Charleston, Georgia Southern responded with a 2-0 weekend against The Citadel. PORT WENTWORTH, Ga. — There was…
After a tough opening weekend against Charleston, Georgia Southern responded with a 2-0 weekend against The Citadel.
PORT WENTWORTH, Ga. — There was a lot of excitement surrounding Georgia Southern Men’s Hockey on Sept. 11.
For the first time, the Eagles opened their season in their new home at the Ghost Pirates Ice Cove.
The stands were packed, with fans filling the rink and bringing plenty of energy to the building. After years of building the program without a permanent home, Georgia Southern finally had a place to call its own.
The Eagles just needed to find a way to celebrate the night with a win.
Charleston had other plans.
Under head coach Josh Packard, Assistant coach Grant Dye, with General Manager Pete Rossi leading the program, Georgia Southern opened the night with Ryan Harbour, Julian Perino and Owen Poplaski at forward, Oliver Reid and Owen Hardy on defense, with Kyler Rhoades in goal.
The Eagles scored twice, with Perino and Poplaski each finding the back of the net, but ultimately fell to Charleston in the home opener.
The following day, Georgia Southern traveled to Charleston looking to bounce back and split the weekend. Instead, the Eagles left the opening weekend 0-2.
While the results were not what the team wanted, the weekend gave Georgia Southern plenty to take back to practice. There were things to clean up, adjustments to make and areas the team knew they could improve before their next series against The Citadel.
One week later, that work started to show.
A Different Eagles Team
Georgia Southern traveled back to the Caroline Ice Palace on Sept. 18 and 19 for a two-game series against The Citadel.
The weekend was especially important for the Eagles because they had never beaten The Citadel.
For Friday night's game, Georgia Southern started Harbour, Perino and Matt MacDonald at forward, with Jarrett Jacobs and O. Reid on defense with Rhoades in goal.
The Eagles came out strong and defeated The Citadel 7-4, earning their first win over the Bulldogs in program history.
O. Reid led the way with two goals and was named the game's MVP. Poplaski added a goal, while Harbour scored with an assist from Owen Hardy. Mason Kumpel also found the back of the net, and Rino scored twice, including an empty-net goal.
After a disappointing opening weekend against Charleston, it felt like something had finally clicked for the Eagles.
The offense was there, the team was playing with confidence and Georgia Southern was finding ways to finish.
But there was still one more game to play.
Finishing the Weekend
After Friday’s win, the Eagles came into Saturday’s game with plenty of confidence and momentum.
The Eagles did just that.
Perino scored twice, Poplaski added another goal and Kumpel had a game to remember, scoring a hat trick.
Kumpel was named the game's MVP as Georgia Southern completed the weekend sweep.
O. Reid and Kumpel, both rookies, made an immediate impact in just their second weekend with the Eagles. Both stepped up when the team needed it, each taking home MVP honors and helping Georgia Southern secure its first ever wins over The Citadel.
It was a huge turnaround from the opening weekend and a great result for a team that had spent the previous week working to get better. The Eagles went 2-0 against the Bulldogs this weekend, making it a weekend to remember for Georgia Southern.
The season is still young, but Georgia Southern has already shown how quickly things can change. After starting 0-2 against Charleston, the Eagles responded by making history against The Citadel.
Now, they will look to take that momentum into the rest of the season.