WEST CHESTER, Pa. โ The 11th-ranked Clemson club ice hockey team pulled off its second upset of No. 5 Bishop's University on Saturday, defeating the Gators 8-1 and remaining undefeated in the AAU DII National Tournament. .
The Tigers entered the contest with momentum after overcoming an upset against the No. 6 Liberty Flames. Although Clemson only scored one goal in the first period, he continued to dominate the game, scoring seven more points before the Gators took the lead.
“As the No. 11 seed, we felt kind of disrespected,” Cade Heinold told AAU after the game. “We thought we should have been a top seed. Beating the fifth-place team 8-1 was huge. This was a big statement win for us and everyone worked together. I'm really proud of our group today.”
The first and only goal came off the stick of team captain Tomas Samuelsen and was assisted by Santiago Diaz as Clemson continued on the power play. Bishops received a high-sticking penalty with 6:48 left in the first, and Samuelsen scored 28 seconds later.
Leading the way with four points in the second period, the Tigers erased any chance the Gaithers had to get within striking distance. Graydon Schweizer took the lead with an unassisted goal less than two minutes into the frame, then Herb Kopf scored Heinold's 14th goal of the season to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
Diaz added two goals of his own to close out the second period. One goal came on a power play between Heinold and Herb Kopp at 13:44, and the other goal came from Herb Kopp and Will Ralsten at 15:41. Herb Kopf scored four points during the contest without scoring a goal of his own.
Sally Kopf lit up the lamp midway through the third period, just before being tackled by a Gator. His goal, assisted by Troy Gouveia and Ronan Bryant, extended Clemson's lead to 6-0. Just 24 seconds after Sally Kopf scored, Heinold scored her second goal of the game.
“My job is to score goals,” Heinold said. “That (win) was really good for the team. And that win was a win for America as well. I mean, it felt good to beat Team Canada. It was a fun win all around.”
Herb Kopf provided the assist for his fourth goal, and Samuelsen scored his second goal of the night on the play. Ralsten ended Clemson's eight-goal lead with a goal of his own at 15:32, assisted by Will Van Sicklin.
The Bishops narrowly avoided a shutout and got their first goal with 17 seconds left. The Tigers' Parker Dietz was spectacular at the net, stopping 46 of the Gators' 47 shots.
“What's important is what the scoreboard looks like at the end of the game,” Dietz said of his performance. “My job is to stop the puck. Their job is to score goals. And at the end of the day, we did that.”
Clemson concludes the round of pool play on Sunday with a rematch against the No. 16 Vanderbilt Commodores.