Frozen Finley Announced: Icepack to take on UNC-Chapel on 2/20 as Part of The NHL Stadium Series.1/24/2023  The Icepack will take on UNC-Chapel Hill on Monday, February 20th at Carter-Finely Stadium. Please check back here for regular updates.
Details Date: 2/20/23 Time: 7:00 Tickets: Non-ticketed per the NHL. Entrance is free. However, this event will cost the self-funded programs over $10,000. Our title sponsor, CM Red is offsetting a portion of the fee but we will be accepting donations to cover the rest of the cost. Suggested donations are the price of Icepack home games, $10. Donations can be made at the door, through this site or via Venmo @IcepackNCState. Entrance to use: TBD Parking: TBD
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 With the beginning of the spring semester, the NC State Icepack received some much needed reinforcements in the form of newcomer Chase Williams. Here’s a little bit more about the newest member of the team.
Chase is currently a first-year business major with an entrepreneurship concentration. He’s shuffled all across his forward lines throughout his playing career, but will likely dedicate most of his time to right wing. The incoming forward was born and raised in the Raleigh area, spending most of his youth hockey career with the Carolina Junior Hurricanes. His most recent stint prior to joining the Icepack was with the USPHL’s South Shore Kings U18 team, where he notched 19 points in 18 total games played, the only player on the roster to finish above point-per-game. When it comes to goals for his rookie season with the Icepack, Chase’s answer is simple: help the team win. “My goal is to give our boys the best possible chance for a deep playoff push,” Williams noted. “Getting back into my rhythm will be crucial, knocking the rust off after not playing games for nine months is something I need to do as soon as possible.” The rust certainly didn’t take long to shake for Chase, as he recorded an assist in each of the team’s two games against the Delaware Blue Hens this past weekend. While he certainly wishes he was playing with the team from the get-go, Chase does believe there were bright spots in being forced to watch the Icepack play for the first few months. “I feel that practicing with the team and watching the games for a few months has helped me sit back and pick up on the squad’s strengths and weaknesses,” Williams said. “Obviously it was difficult not being able to suit up for many of our big matchups so far, but I hope I can use it as an advantage when I get my chance.” Familiarity is everything when entering a new system, and Chase certainly has plenty of that coming into the Icepack family. In fact, one of the biggest things he’s looking forward to is finally being able to take the ice again with guys who he’s played with before. “Guys like Zack Robinson, Zach Herman, and Philip Bailey are old long-time teammates and friends of mine, so being able to jump on the ice in game action with them will be electric.” “Something I am very confident in is my innate scoring ability, and I feel it is my best tool as a player,” Chase details when asked his biggest strength as a player. It’s no secret the Icepack certainly hoped for a more result-successful first semester, but Chase’s natural abilities may be exactly what the team needs to push themselves over the edge and get back to winning ways. While the sample size is certainly small, the Icepack is scoring at a 5.0 goals-per-game rate since Williams was inserted into the lineup, significantly higher than the 2.76 goals-per-game clip the team was scoring at in all games prior. Since Chase became an official full-time member of the Icepack, the team’s offense has certainly seen a clear and obvious boost. While the team will most definitely still see their fair share of hardships and struggles over the second semester, it’s clear Chase has had nothing but a positive impact thus far, and the team’s odds of overcoming adversity only increase with his presence.  “New year, new me,” right? While the saying has become extremely cliche in recent years, the Icepack is embracing it to its fullest extent. Since the beginning of 2023, the team has gone 4-1, outscoring their opponents 19-16 over that stretch. In hockey, you’re only as good as your last performance, and the Icepack may have had their best of the season this weekend.
After a successful trip to St. Louis just prior to the beginning of the spring semester, the Icepack welcomed the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens for a two-game series at Invisalign Arena. The Blue Hens are far from a powerhouse team (ranked 25th in the Southeast Region, 7-16 record heading into this weekend), but the team was in search of revenge from last season, as the Icepack walked into Delaware and thrashed the Blue Hens twice last year. Game one was easily one of the more dominant games the Icepack has played all season long. The boys in red and black scored seven goals in their first tilt against the Blue Hens on Friday night, tying their season high for goals in a single game this season. Dominant goal-scoring performances by sophomore forward Zack Robinson (hat trick) and senior forward Matt Miller (two goals) allowed the Icepack to cruise past Delaware with ease. While game two wasn’t nearly as dominant offensively, the Icepack was able to do something they have struggled to do consistently all season: win close games. The team came into this weekend with a less-than-impressive record of 3-7 in games decided by two goals or less, something they certainly aimed to improve when reflecting on the difficult fall semester. A strong weekend performance by freshman forward Zach Herman (two goals, two assists in two games) continued into Saturday’s game, leading the Icepack to a 3-2 win, despite accruing 33 penalty minutes in the bout. Following their two wins against Delaware this weekend, the Icepack has improved their overall record to 10-12-1, with a 2-2 record in ACCHL play. The team’s next game comes on Friday night against the 2-3 Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem.  Out with 2022, in with 2023. The phrase “new year, new me” is used all too often this time of year, and is certainly an adage the Icepack aims to authenticate. While the holidays may have come to an end this weekend, the Ice Pack is still feeling the joy as they travel to St. Louis, Missouri to take part in the Lindenwood Winter Classic this weekend. Following a 6-11-1 overall record to start the season, the team seeks to right the ship in their final showcase of the season against strong ACHA Division II competition.
Game one this weekend comes on Thursday night against the team hosting the showcase, the Lindenwood Lions. The Icepack’s first game of the new year will be far from an easy one, as they boast an impressive 14-4-0 record this season, as well as a near perfect 11-1-0 record in home games. The Lions are also currently ranked first amongst all teams in the ACHA Division II Central Region, proving this will be a true challenge for the Icepack. The second game of the weekend comes on Friday night against the Davenport Panthers. While Davenport’s 9-10-0 record doesn’t pop off the stat sheet, they will certainly come out ready to play for an ulterior motive: revenge. The Icepack defeated the Panthers in the 2021 ACHA Nationals by a score of 5-3 in pool play to eliminate them from moving onto the playoff stage, so they will without a doubt be hungry for vengeance going into Friday night. The Icepack wrap up their weekend trip to St. Louis with a Saturday afternoon tilt against the Trine Thunder. With a 14-5-0 record, the Thunder currently sit at third in the ACHA Division II Central Region, far from an easy game to end the showcase. Trine currently has a 6-2-0 record on the road, one of the best in their region, so the Thunder won’t be challenged by playing in foreign territory. Much of the early portion of the season was dedicated to growing and developing the young and inexperienced talent that the Icepack took in this off-season, and the team did just that. However, now it’s time for results, and the coming of a brand new year gives the Icepack an excellent opportunity to start fresh and build on the foundation they’ve created.  While Thanksgiving is just around the corner, the Icepack had something bigger on their minds on a chilly Monday night in November: winning the Governor’s Cup. The Carolina Hurricanes may not have been in town at PNC Arena this Monday, but the Icepack made sure to keep the locker room warm, squaring off against the UNC Tar Heels on the big stage in the state’s capital.
As is often the tradition for the Governor’s Cup, the matchup highlighted the final game of the fall semester for both teams, and they certainly were each looking to finish their semesters with a win. The Tar Heels came into the game with some extra motivation, however, as they had been held winless in the five Governor’s Cups that’ve been held since its creation going into Monday’s tilt. It’s not too often the Icepack is looking for redemption in matchups against UNC, but a 5-3 loss on home ice earlier this season at the hands of the Tar Heels gave the team a chance to redeem themselves in front of thousands of their loyal fans. Tag that onto a 5-3 win at home against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday night, and you’ve got the recipe for a potential rebound for the boys in black and red. Rivalry games can often be expected to be tight-knit, hard-fought battles early on. Unfortunately, this was most certainly not the case for the Icepack on Monday, as the Tar Heels controlled the tempo for nearly the entire opening frame. Despite being outshot 15-5 in the first period, sophomore netminder Isaac Tawyer stood tall between the pipes, allowing only one goal just before the halfway point in the first. The second period looked much more like Icepack hockey, with the team controlling the play and getting multiple power play opportunities to boot. However, the momentum the Icepack built up was quickly stalled by two goals by the Tar Heels in the second half of the middle frame, extending the enemy lead to 3-0. The Icepack was in desperate search of life entering the third period, with not much time to complete a 3-goal comeback. Thankfully, senior forward Alex Robinson answered the bell early, scoring a slick backhand tally just two minutes into the final period, cutting the UNC lead to two. True freshman Zach Herman continued the Icepack’s newfound momentum, notching a short-side tally to bring the score to 3-2. Unfortunately, the early onslaught of goals proved not enough, as the Tar Heels held onto the narrow lead through a back-and-forth third period and emerged victorious. While life is certainly more fun when the Icepack is in action, some time to reflect on the previous semester may be just what the team needs to get out of their current funk. The loss at PNC Arena drops the Icepack’s overall record this season to 6-10-2, as well as a 3-3-0 record in ACCHL play. With just over a month until their next matchup, the Icepack certainly have plenty of time to recoup and gear up for a better second semester. The group returns to action just after New Years, where they will head to St. Louis to face off against Lindenwood, Davenport, and Trine University in the Lindenwood Showcase.  It’s never easy to lose a close game to your rivals, let alone two within a two-day span. Unfortunately, this is reality for the Icepack, as they come out of a weekend duel with the Liberty Flames winless. The Icepack took on Liberty in the recently-dubbed “Wagon Wheel” series, an annual contest between the two southeastern ACHA DII clubs aiming to be perennial National tournament contenders, suffering two one-goal losses in the process.
The series began last Friday at LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Virginia, with the NC State Icepack looking to find some steady ground and build momentum as the fall semester of play winds down. However, the game started off in opposite fashion, as Liberty took advantage of the traveling Icepack team, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after one period of play. The group continued to demonstrate their season-long resilience, as goals by sophomores Philip Bailey and Zack Robinson would bring the game to a tie early in the third period. The game went back and forth for the remainder of the final frame, but saw the Icepack receive the short end of the stick, losing 5-4. Game two shifted to Invisalign Arena in Raleigh, where the Icepack would seek to redeem themselves on home ice after a hard-fought loss a day prior. Despite changing locations for the second game, the team found themselves in familiar territory as game one, falling behind 1-0 early in the contest. Another key Zack Robinson goal brought the game to 1-1 later in the first, which would prove to be the final goal of regulation. The team fought valiantly for 60-plus minutes, but found themselves on the bitter end of defeat once again, with Liberty scoring late in OT to seal the game, 2-1. As is often the case with the densely-packed schedule the Icepack accrued this season, there’s little time to dwell on tough results. The University of Cincinnati Bearcats come to town for a two-game contest this weekend, a team the Icepack defeated in decisive fashion in Cincinnati last season, notching 7-1 and 8-3 wins. The teams face off this weekend at 8:35PM EST on Friday night and 8:15PM EST on Saturday night at Invisalign Arena. Invisalign Arena was the place to be Friday night as the Icepack took on the UNCW-Seahawks in another highly anticipated ACC Hockey matchup this season.
NC State pulled out the 4-1 win over the Seahawks, redeeming itself from Thursday's 4-0 loss to two-time defending champ UMary also here on home ice. Sophomore Isaac Tawyer had a brilliant performance in the net all night, recording saves on 24 of the 25 shots on goal he faced. Despite being the lone team to spend time in the penalty box in the opening period, the Icepack struck first with 2:22 left before intermission. Freshman Kameron Langefels opened the scoring for the night, his first as a member of the Icepack, allowing him the honor to remove his yellow laces. The second period is where things truly got interesting as NC State had three power play opportunities in the first seven minutes of action. Senior Matt Miller was able to capitalize for the Icepack, picking up the second goal of the evening and his first of the season. UNCW had a couple of man-advantage opportunities as well in the opening half of the middle period, but it was NC State sophomore Emery Oliver who raised the scoring margin to a 3-0 lead for the team in red, picking up a shorthanded goal with 10:41 left to play. Langefels notched his second of the night a little less than halfway through the final period, raising the Icepack lead to 4-0. Wilmington ended Tawyer's shutout run with 5:08 left in the third period, but it was too little too late for the Seahawks as they were simply overpowered by the Icepack all night. Despite missing a few key players due to injury, the Icepack was still able to pick up a big win over an ACC Hockey League foe, bringing the team's overall record to 3-3-1 this season and 1-1 in the ACCHL. Next up for NC State is the ACCHL-TSHL Showcase in Lancerlot-Vinton Virginia from October 21st to the 23rd where the Icepack is set to play Indiana University, University of Louisville and Ohio State.  (Raleigh, NC) - Despite a valiant effort, the Icepack’s marquee Thursday night matchup against the UMary Marauders resulted in a hard-fought 4-0 loss. The team seeked to redeem themselves after a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Marauders in the 2020 Nationals Quarterfinals, but unfortunately fell short in their pursuit of redemption.
After a dominant effort throughout the first period by the Marauders, they finally broke through with a goal from assistant captain Isaiah Thomas with 8:07 remaining. The Marauders continued their dominance with a goal by Liam Massie at the 5:13 mark, extending their lead to two. The Icepack gained some momentum early in the second period, but it soon began to unravel when the team accrued a 5-minute major penalty with eight minutes remaining in the second frame. UMary didn’t take long to take advantage of their extended power play, scoring twice within a two minute span to expand their lead to four. The Marauders opened the door for the Icepack to creep back into the game with multiple minor penalties past the 9-minute mark of the third period. Unfortunately, the team was unable to capitalize on these opportunities, leaving the final frame of the game with no goals scored, and bringing the final score to 4-0. Thursday night’s loss brings the Icepack’s overall record to 2-3-1 in ACHA play this season. Being under “.500” is not something this team is used to, especially not this far into the season. Thankfully, they won’t wait long to have an opportunity to rebound, as they take on the scrappy UNC Wilmington Seahawks at 8:15pm at Invisalign Arena on Friday night.  (RALEIGH, NC) – Oftentimes in life, it’s easiest to move on from a tough loss by quickly jumping right back into action. Thankfully, this is the opportunity the Icepack have this upcoming weekend. After a tough outing for the Icepack against the rival UNC Tarheels, they look to redeem themselves with a 2-game road trip to Kentucky.
The Icepack fell to the Tarheels by a score of 5-3 in a back-and-forth affair at Invisalign Arena last Friday, a game the Icepack isn’t used to losing all too often. Since head coach Tim Healy took the reins in April of 2020, the team’s been nothing short of excellent against UNC, posting a 4-0 record and a plus-17 goal differential before last week’s tilt. A combination of an improved UNC team and a tough Icepack performance brought this streak to an abrupt end. Luckily for the team, they have little time to dwell on the result of last week’s game, as they take a quick road trip for a two-game swing to face the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville. The team will make their 8-hour bus drive to face off against the Kentucky Wildcats in a midnight game on Friday at the Lexington Ice Center. The team then travels another hour to Louisville, where they’ll take on the Louisville Cardinals at 7:00PM EST on Saturday at the Iceland Sports Complex. While rebounding is certainly front of mind for the Icepack, it won’t be an easy task. The Kentucky Wildcats have opened the season with a 7-game winning streak, including two dominating wins over the UNC Tarheels. The Louisville Cardinals haven’t had a shabby start themselves, winning 5 of their opening 6 contests so far this season. Though this weekend’s competition may be far from a cakewalk, this Icepack team is well prepared for the challenge. A weekend tilt against quality opponents is just what the doctor ordered for this hungry squad, and the team is itching to take advantage. Despite grabbing the first two goals of the evening, the Icepack fell 5-3 to rival UNC back on September 30th.
NC State jumped ahead 2-0 first, but the Tar Heels gained momentum late to score five goals in the last 22 minutes of action. It took almost an entire period for either team to find the back of the net, but it was Garrett Auriene who gave NC State the 1-0 lead with just over a minute left in the opening period. Drew Bresingham joined in on the fun one minute later, capitalizing on a great pass from teammate Zack Robinson to give the Icepack a 2-0 advantage entering the first intermission. The second period was more of an uneventful one. Only one goal was scored in the closing two minutes, cutting the NC State lead in half and bringing the score to 2-1 right before the final period. Things unfortunately didn’t go the same for NC State in the remaining 20 minutes of play. UNC tied the game at two 36 seconds into the third, and the Tar Heels took a 3-2 lead two minutes later. One bright spot for NC State though was Thomas McEneny’s game-tying goal, his first as a member of the Icepack, a huge slap shot to tie the game at three with a little over 16 minutes left on the clock. NC State had a chance to take the lead again on its final power play opportunity of the evening following a penalty against UNC halfway through the third, but the Icepack was unable to convert in this crucial scenario. The Tar Heels had the last laugh, as they took the lead again with five minutes left to play and went up two goals on an empty netter with 23 seconds left of action. Despite having plenty of opportunities to change the outcome throughout the game, this was not Icepack’s night. The team will look to bounce back this upcoming weekend on its trip to Kentucky with matchups against the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville. |
