NC State Travels to Louisville in last regular season series

RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State will travel to Louisville, Kentucky, for its final regular-season weekend series, facing the Cardinals on Friday and Saturday before returning to Raleigh.  

Louisville enters the weekend 14-12-1 overall after splitting a home-and-home series with Kentucky last weekend. The Cardinals also played Alabama four times, winning all four matchups. The Icepack faced Alabama four times as well, winning three. Louisville and NC State share another common opponent in West Virginia, with the Cardinals dropping two games and the Icepack winning two. 

Although this trip was originally scheduled to conclude the regular season, a rescheduled Senior Night means NC State will have one more home game remaining. The adjustment also provided the team with an extra weekend off. 

Defenseman Tait Sawden said the team used the time to focus on individual skill development while also spending their off time together. 

“We spent a lot of time together as a team,” Sawden said. “Practicing was more focused on individual skills, and I think we worked on our individual game more, which was nice.”
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Sawden said he is looking forward to the trip and believes the team has grown significantly since the beginning of the season.

“We’re a lot more disciplined,” Sawden said. “I think we work more cohesively – five guys out there thinking all together, as opposed to where we were at the beginning of the year.”

This series marks NC State’s first games since Jan. 24, when it defeated Oregon in a game added at the last minute. The Icepack enters the weekend 17-10-1 will look to add two more wins this weekend to secure the ACCHL South Division title. 

The teams will meet at the Iceland Sports Complex in Louisville. Friday’s puck drop is set for 10 p.m., and Saturday’s is scheduled for 9 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on Louisville’s YouTube channel, uoflicehockey2558.