With one game left to go for the Gators’ regular season, the Florida Ice Hockey Club has once again put it to bed in overtime.
Florida let go of a three-point lead in the third period, letting the University of Central Florida Knights Hockey Club take control 5-4. But the Knights could not defend their kingdom.
In a rebound off of Florida junior winger Kegan Lampinen’s shot, freshman defenseman Jack Fortesque scored the game-winning goal in overtime.
The Gators defeated UCF 5-4 on Friday night at the Orlando IceDen and moved one step closer to the possibility of a postseason.
Florida came out of the gates comfortably, remaining in Knights territory. The offense generated many opportunities, but for a while, could not find the back of the net.
Knights sophomore forward Justin Stirling broke away and scored, putting the first point on the board. Simultaneously, the first penalty was drawn by Gator senior defenseman Zach Zelmanski for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Then, Gator junior winger Michael Katz generated some steam. The assist from sophomore forward Liam Lecauchois allowed him to get one by Knights junior goaltender Andrew Kass.
Another Florida goal followed with 53.3 seconds left in the first period. Lampinen passed it to freshman forward Sullivan Swiersz, who fired it past Kass.
For a third consecutive Gators score, senior winger Jackson Choi opened the second period hot with a breakaway goal. At 14:55, Choi stayed hot as he took a shot and Lecauchois tapped it in on the rebound.
A 4-1 lead looked pretty safe for UF. That is, until UCF returned from the locker room for the third period.
Full of double-digit penalties and a fist fight, the war on I-75 was far from over.
Knights sophomore forward Jacob Fuller pelted the next one to make it 4-2.
Three more unanswered goals later, UCF was running the show with a 5-4 lead and 1:50 left to play.
Down to the wire, Florida had no option but to fire back.
Katz put another one on the board for UF. With 1:03 left on the clock, it was an equalized game for the third and final time.
Regulation was not enough to settle the score. In an overtime nail-biter, Fortescue silenced the electric arena, knocking a rebound past Kass to secure the victory.
The Gators will see the Knights again on Feb. 7 at 9 p.m. at the Orlando IceDen.
Contact Nicole Scura at nscura@alligator.org. Follow her on X @NicoleScuraa.
Nicole is a sophomore journalism student in her first semester with the Alligator and she is the beat reporter for the University of Florida Ice Hockey Club. In her free time, Nicole enjoys figure skating, watching football (Go Bucs!), traveling and linedancing.
