Six games. Two champions.
This season, Florida and Florida Atlantic will face off six times, pitting the last two national title winners against each other.
Friday night was round one, played at the Boca Ice complex in South Florida — and it was FAU who came out on top.
The Florida Atlantic University Owls (1-0) blanked the Florida Gators (2-1) 6–0, handing UF’s ice hockey club its first loss of the season.
The Gators opened with the same fast, aggressive style they showed against Embry-Riddle, pressuring on every possession. However, unlike Embry-Riddle, the Owls matched their pace, forcing open ice and weakening UF’s defense off the rush.
What resulted was a frenetic back-and-forth, with transition plays generating the most dangerous scoring chances for both teams.
Florida’s biggest challenge all night was FAU junior goaltender Rocco Bruno, who allowed only seven goals on the road to the Owls’ championship title in 2025.
Despite pelting Bruno with shots early, UF couldn’t break through. Instead, after a costly penalty by junior winger Michael Katz erased a Florida power play, sophomore defenseman Brady Baehser capitalized on a breakaway to give the Owls a 1-0 lead midway through the second.
That goal shifted momentum firmly in the Owls’ favor. For the first time this season, the Gators found themselves trailing — and they wouldn’t catch up.
Another UF penalty gave Baehser the chance to strike again, weaving around Gator freshman defenseman Jack Fortescue and shooting it blocker-side for a 2-0 lead. Moments later, first-year forward David Ros tapped in a 2-on-1 pass to extend the Owls’ advantage to three.
Three goals in just five minutes forced Florida head coach Frank Pasquale to call a timeout, hoping to settle his team down and stop the bleeding.
But the onslaught didn’t let up in the final frame. Just 24 seconds in, sophomore defenseman Jake Buccigross netted a goal on a turnaround shot from the faceoff circle, bringing the score to 4-0.
The Gators tried to forge a comeback, taking advantage of late turnovers by the Owls to apply pressure, but Bruno held strong in the crease. FAU then officially put the game out of reach with back-to-back goals from junior forward Jake Murphy, extending the lead to six — a score that held until the final buzzer.
Friday’s loss echoed some of UF’s struggles from last season, when the Gators generated chances but couldn’t finish, especially on the man advantage. Penalties mounted as tempers boiled over between the two rivals, but only the Owls converted, going 2-for-6, while Florida went 0-for-6.
The Gators will look to rebound against FAU on Sunday, moving south to the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale for a 5:30 p.m. puck drop.
Contact Daniela Ortiz at dortiz@alligator.org. Follow her on X @danielaortizUF.
Daniela is a junior sports journalism student and the enterprise/hockey beat reporter for Fall 2025. When not writing an article, you can catch her drawing or playing with her roommates' cats.
