BLACKSBURG, V.A. - On Saturday, the Virginia Tech Men's Ice Hockey Team announced their 2024-2025 season schedule, which featured 27 games over six months. With puck drop just under two months away, let's take a deeper look at the schedule to see which marquee matchups to look out for.
10. UNC-Charlotte 49ers
After two preseason games on the road, the Hokies will officially start their 2024-25 regular season at home as they welcome the 49ers to the Lancerlot Arena. This weekend will be an early test to see how Coach Mullen and his squad handle the pressure of ACCHL competition. Charlotte is coming off an ACCHL M2 Elite Division playoff appearance, which much like Tech, saw them get bounced out of the first round by East Carolina. There is no room for assumptions, but it would be fair to say the 49ers will come out against Tech with fire from their guts to win as the heavy underdogs. With much veteran experience coming back from Virginia Tech, plus new additions that are sure to add dynamic support, winning at least one, or both, of these games will set an uplifting tone as to how the Hokies season will go.
9. Denison Big Red
For the first time in either's program history, the Denison Big Red will travel to Blacksburg to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in a mid-season showdown. This historic matchup for Tech will accumulate a semester's worth of hockey, as these two games will prelude a month-long winter break for the team. At this point last season, the Hokies struggled to find an identity, as consistency was impossible to find until the later point of the season in January. By December of this year, will the Hokies have found their rhythm? Denison is a worthy opponent for the Hokies as last season they made it to the ACCHL M2 Elite Championship game, losing to West Virginia 7-3 in heartbreaking fashion. The Big Red will be on a revenge tour with Blacksburg as one of their highlight stops on the road.
8. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The Demon Deacs shocked the hockey world when they pulled off the 5-4 upset win over Virginia Tech last season in Vinton. With a home-and-home weekend series on the docket for this upcoming season, the Hokies will look to take revenge over the Demon Deacons and push through nearly a whole month of no hockey before taking the ice once again in December. Do not sleep on Wake Forest, as the Deacs were the two seed in last year's ACCHL M2 Elite playoffs, losing handily in the first round to Georgetown. Looking to bounce back, Wake Forest has their eyes set on building off of last season's success, which will include having to face the Hokies twice.
7. James Madison Dukes
The last time these old rivals met was during the 2021-22 season when the Hokies shutout the Dukes 6-0. Virginia Tech is 6-1 all-time against James Madison, though that does not discredit all of the hard-hitting, physical battles these two teams have gone through over the past seven years with one another. James Madison will not be a team to mess with, especially with new Head Coach Patrick Keough, who recently coached the DMV National Team and was awarded the 2024 All-Met Coach of the Year. Moreover, the reigning ACC Goalie of the Year Ben Bottiglieri returns in net for the Dukes, which mounts to their strong defensive play. This season, the Hokies and Dukes renew their rivalry with two matchups, a preseason contest at James Madison, followed by a large gap in between until the season finale in late January for Virginia Tech's senior night. With the familiar connections between players and the coaching staff from each side, this rivalry could quickly become personal and physical by the end of the season.
6. West Virginia Mountaineers
The reason why West Virginia is so high on this list is simply due to the heated rivalry these two teams have against one another. Historically, the Hokies have had the Mountaineers' number (16-5-1 since 2008), though recently the tides have shifted in favor of WVU, including last season when Tech was swept in the two games played. Fortunately for the Hokies, they do not travel to Morgantown this season as the team will play two home games in October against the reigning ACCHL M2 Elite champion Mountaineers. That said, this rivalry means more than just the wins and losses. Each game brings high, physical energy between both sides which entices the fan bases to tune in, bringing in huge gatherings to the home team's arena. Simply, the sport does not matter when it comes to the Hokies and Mountaineers as with the history of this great rivalry, you know what to expect when the two teams clash.
5. Maryland Terps
For the Hokies, having the Terps back on the schedule just feels right. Last season, long-time Virginia Tech MACH rival Maryland joined the ACCHL in hopes of playing reigniting a flame that seemed to be lost. Although the Terps have not defeated the Hokies since 2016, the two sides are now at a place where opportunities to face one another will be more frequent and better off for the programs. Maryland will visit Blacksburg for the first time since the 2019-20 season, playing two games on the last weekend of October before both teams head to Springfield for the ACCHL Showcase. Virginia Tech has admittedly struggled in October for the last two seasons, though having ACCHL competition before the Showcase might just be what this team needs to prepare once January hits.
4. UNCW Seahawks
The Hokies and Seahawks collided twice last season in Wilmington which saw each team take one game. While Virginia Tech's season did not finish as planned for the worse, UNCW's season ended unplanned as well, though for the better. Coming into the ACCHL playoffs last year, the Seahawks were the seventh seed, needing a miracle run to make it to the championship game. By the combination of skill, hard work, and dominance, the Seahawks took down the Atlantic Coast division champs North Carolina 5-2, moving on to the next round against a Rider team who came into the tournament as the favorites being the one seed. UNCW was unbothered by the Broncos' strength and cruised to a 5-3 victory placing them in the championship game against Rowan where the Cinderella run would eventually come to a halt. If the Seahawks have a run similar to last season in the playoffs this year, then opponents be aware. All-American forwards Kye Levy and Zach Schrock return, looking to pace the offensive juggernaut for UNCW. For the Hokies, their matchup against the Seahawks fits in the middle of three consecutive weekends against ACCHL Atlantic Coast division opponents (UNC, UNCW, NC State). With UNCW being the weakest of the three opponents based on last season's results, the Hokies need to capitalize on every chance in this series, as it may likely end up deciding who they play on the first weekend in February.
3. Rider Broncos
The Rider Broncos shocked the ACCHL last year as in their first season they took the league by storm finishing as the number-one seed. Virginia Tech faced the wrath of Rider in early November during the ACCHL showcase as the Broncos sustained an 11-7 victory over the Hokies. The Broncos would only last a day in the ACCHL playoffs, losing to the eventual runner-up UNCW, though would make it to the second round of the ACHA M2 Regionals which then saw their season conclude. Reigning Southeast Region Coach of the Year Conner Fox will have a dangerous lineup, including 2024 ACCHL All-American 1st Team Defensemen Eddie Coyne and 2nd Team ACCHL All-American Forward Cole Schneider return for the Broncos. For the Hokies, these two games will answer many questions as to where they stand early on in the ACCHL as they square off against the former regular-season champs in New Jersey as part of a four-game road trip.
2. NC State Icepack
A nightmare that never seems to end for the Hokies. Before last season's 3-2 overtime win over the Icepack at home, Virginia Tech had lost nine consecutive matchups, including playoffs, against North Carolina State. The win meant everything to the Hokies as it took the program to new heights. Confidence that seemed lackluster was found. Energy that was running on empty, was now sky-high. The Hokies with their newfound identity, one they desperately needed, rode high into Winston-Salem as the five seed, only for the clock to strike midnight thanks to the relentless play of the Icepack. Once again the Hokies' dreams were crushed by the same nemesis who has for so long prevented victory.
These two teams will once again meet in the second to last weekend of the regular season, a home-and-home series with the Hokies having home ice Saturday at the 'lot. The heated rivalry between these two teams has grown each year and with the announcement of NC State moving to M1 next season, who knows how many more chances the Hokies will have to settle the score in their favor. Virginia Tech knows what it takes to beat the Icepack, the question will be, can they do it again or possibly twice?
1. North Carolina Tar Heels
Along with NC State, North Carolina is another team Virginia Tech has struggled with recently. Last season, the Tar Heels swept the Hokies, shutting Tech out at home 7-0 in a complete destruction of the team. 2024-25 brings excitement for both programs as UNC and Virginia Tech will head outdoors in Charlotte on January 4. This matchup will mark the first of three consecutive meetings between the two teams as six days later, the Tar Heels will welcome the Hokies for a home-and-home weekend series. For Virginia Tech, these games will bring a great deal of exposure to the program, as more eyes will put the players under immense pressure to perform. Inexperience for the Hokies will be a factor for the outdoor game in Charlotte compared to the Tar Heels who two seasons ago went outdoors against rival NC State. Moreover, the effects of how that game ends will carry over into the next week when the two teams go at it again. Will the Hokies be able to keep their composure in the big moment? One thing to also keep in mind is that the first seven games of the new year are all against ACCHL Atlantic Coast division opponents. Setting the tone in Charlotte against North Carolina will be the uttermost important thing for the Hokies all season long going into the following three weeks of play. To keep it short, all three games against the Tar Heels will need to be at a minimum playoff level.
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