BLACKSBURG, V.A. - The American Collegiate Hockey Association announced the second batch of rankings on Thursday evening, with the Virginia Tech Hokies (15-1-1) climbing two spots to number four in the Southeast Region.
Tech jumped No. 5 Miami and No. 8 Lousiville over the weekend set of games. Florida Gulf Coast overtook the first spot from the struggling Liberty Flames, who find themselves in the second spot with the Ohio Bobcats trailing right behind in third. The Flames and Bobcats face one another twice the weekend of Dec. 6-7 which is pivotal for the Hokies in their hopes of gaining position in the rankings before the semester is over.
Over the weekend, the Hokies worked a two-game sweep over #18 Wake Forest, outscoring the Demon Deacons 17-5. On Friday evening the Hokies celebrated Veterans Appreciation Night at The Lot with a 7-3 victory. It took Tech a period and a half to get things started offensively after having an off weekend, leading only 3-2 after two periods. The third period saw the Hokies find their game and their previous form, scoring four goals and shutting down the Demon Deacons attack.
After a short rest and a trip south to Winston Salem, the Hokies took to the ice early Saturday afternoon in the rematch of the home and home set. The Hokies started strong and jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period, only to see WF tie the game up in the first minute of the second period. From that point forward, the Hokies controlled most aspects of the play with eight answered goals to conclude the final two periods with a 10-2 win.
History was also made in Saturday's game as senior forward Dom Fantozzi recorded his first career hat trick in 84 career games played. Head Coach Joey Mullen also added another accolade as he picked up his 200th career win at Virginia Tech. Mullen surpassed the all-time ACCHL Head Coaching wins record last month in a win against West Virginia.
The Hokies will take the next two weeks off to enjoy Thanksgiving break before heading back onto the ice on December 6-7, against Denison at The Lot. As of right now, the ACHA will have one more ranking to post (11/24/24) before Tech plays its next game.
ACHA Southeast Region Top-20:
Florida Gulf Coast University (9-4) ^1
Liberty (9-8) v1
Ohio (10-1) ^1
Virginia Tech (15-2) ^2
Miami University (11-2) v2
Penn State (11-2) ^1
North Carolina State (12-4) ^2
Louisville (10-5) v3
Kentucky (10-6) v1
North Carolina (11-6) --
Georgia* (2-0) NR
Indiana (9-9) v1
South Carolina* (1-2) v1
High Point (12-2) --
Michigan (6-5) v2
Cincinnati (9-9) v1
Rider (9-8) --
Wake Forest (8-4) v2
UNCW (11-10) v1
Rowan (5-7) v1
*Denotes first-year ACHA team ineligible for postseason play
Added:
#11 Georgia (prev. NR)
Dropped Out:
#21 Ohio St. (prev. 20)
The top 14 teams move on to the ACHA M2 Southeast Regional tournament (Location TBD). Teams can qualify through league playoffs or end-of-season ACHA rankings.
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