Ole Miss Hockey Dropped Both Games at Tennessee

By Russ Eddins

Journalism Student

Game one was a very competitive back-and-forth contest. Game two was one of the worst games the Rebs have played all season. The final score of game two was 7-1 Tennessee.

Richard Mugler had an outstanding game in the Rebs 6-5 loss on Friday night. Mugler faced 51 shots and stopped 45 of them. That save percentage comes out to be .882; that is not great, but the rebel defense left Mugler out to dry several times. Mugler kept Ole Miss in the game til the very end.

Most of the goals scored by Tennessee were the product of Ole Miss not getting the puck out of the zone. The offense looked very good, but the defense just was not there.

While the team narrowly lost game one, the president of the program and top-line center, Richard Price, said, “The team played incredibly… Our guys dominated the ice up until the last few minutes.”

Defense coach Gray Erwin said, “Friday was really good. Still struggled positionally, but the effort was there: finishing hits,” going hard to the net, “and winning battles.”

The speed and aggression the Ice Rebs showed in game one were terrific. Unfortunately, it just was not enough to get the win.

When asked what happened in the second game, Price said, “Nobody could put their finger on it. Things were not connecting, and no one knew why.”

A few calls went against them, leading to a five-on-three in the first. Moral was low after that. Price said, “Ending the first 2-0 was not where we wanted to be. Things continued to
snowball.”

There is no formula to determine the likelihood of Ole Miss Hockey going to the playoffs, but it is not good as of right now.

They have a few divisional matchups left, but a lot has to go right for the Ice Rebs to get into the playoffs. It is not out of the question at this point. If Ole Miss can have a great weekend at MTSU, their chances will be better.

Right now, seven points are between the Rebs and competing for a playoff spot.