By Ethan Smith, Sports Editor
January 13th, 2018
sports.inkwell1@gmail.com
The 20th Annual Savannah Tire Hockey Classic was yet another huge success for the city of Savannah and the colleges that participated. Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Florida all competed for the Thrasher Cup once again. Georgia won the trophy last year, and with a late surge in Day 2 of the tournament, they would hoist the trophy once again.
Day 1 started with Georgia Tech taking on Florida State. Georgia Tech appeared from onset to be dominating the classic: outscoring Florida State 5 goals to 1. It didn’t get much better for Florida State’s team either, which only scored 3 more goals the rest of the game. Georgia Tech, on the other hand, added another 7 goals to win 12 to 5, which gave the team a great shot at the Thrasher Cup, while Florida and Georgia hadn’t touched the ice.
For Florida and Georgia, the game was a thriller throughout. Florida opened the floodgates late in the second period of play to make the score 5 goals to 1, but Georgia began the third period hot and started to comeback. Georgia scored three consecutive goals to make the score 5 goals to 4, but Florida shutdown the comeback attempt with a late third period goal to make it 6 goals to 4, with the final being 7 goals to 5.
Day 2 began with Florida State, who was virtually out of Thrasher Cup contention taking on Florida, who needed to have a blowout win to hoist the trophy. Florida State looked like a completely different team against Florida, and it showed early on. The game was tied at one point 3 goals to 3, but Florida State busted out 5 consecutive goals to win the game 8 goals to 3 and eliminate Florida from winning the Thrasher Cup.
It all came down to Georgia Tech v Georgia. Georgia needed a blowout win to even up the goals conceded by both teams, and with the score being 5 goals to 2 with 2:36 remaining. Georgia capitalized on the opportunity at back-to- back Thrasher Cup titles as Senior Alex Carey, playing his final game in Savannah, scored with 90 seconds left to give Georgia a 6-goals-to-2 victory and the Thrasher Cup by a one goal difference.
The Most Valuable Players of this tournament were UGA Graduate Goalie Andrew Webb, who blanked Georgia Tech in the final two periods of UGA’s second game to win the Thrasher Cup, and Georgia Tech Freshman Forward Karl Risley, who led the tournament with 4 overall goals scored.
The Savannah Tire Hockey Classic is a great experience for those reading who have a love for hockey, and this event is fun for anyone. If you’re a fan of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, or Florida State, put this event on your calendar next year and. Congrats to Georgia for winning back-to- back Thrasher Cups.
