From MTSU Sidelines
By Ephraim Rodenbach
MTSU club hockey (4-2) swept the University of Alabama (1-3) in the College Hockey South game of the week at the Ford Ice Center in Antioch, Tennessee, this weekend.
With their second consecutive sweep, the Blue Raiders stayed in the win column, rattling off two wins on home ice against Alabama to extend their early-season win streak to four games.
“We knew going in this week, it was going to be a lot of eyes on us because we were playing Alabama and we wanted to make a statement,” MTSU forward Tommy Chunchukov said. “It feels really good that the hard work paid off.”
The Blue Raiders outscored the Frozen Tide 12-7, led by the top line of Matthew Siciliano, Chunchukov and Linden Palmer who tallied 20 points to lift MTSU to a series win.
Game 1
In the series opener, the first period was locked in a defensive stalemate with neither team able to light the lamp. MTSU goaltender Ayden Kopec and UA goalie Aaron Weiler came up huge multiple times in the first frame, making key saves to keep the contest locked at zero.
The second period mirrored the first until Alabama defenseman Brendan Riley buried a one-timer in the low slot, slipping the puck between the pads of Kopec, giving the Frozen Tide a 1-0 lead.
Blue Raiders scored four minutes later, as Chunchukov got his own rebound and slotted home the equalizer for MTSU. Then, 20 seconds after, Palmer rocketed a wrist shot from the faceoff dot to give Middle Tennessee a 2-1 lead.
Just under 20 seconds later, forward Kierian Ogle pushed a wrist shot past the outstretched pad of Weiler to give MTSU a three-goal advantage. The Blue Raiders struck again in the second, boosting the lead to 4-1 at the end of the second frame.
“An absolutely electric goal from Kieran Ogle there that just kind of really built up a run and led to a couple others, Siciliano said. “It was great to see him score his first as a Blue Raider and really propel us forward.”
Neither team found the back of the net in the third, as MTSU closed out game one with a 4-1 win.
Game 2
In the second game of the series, the first period saw a lot of fireworks on both ends of the ice. MTSU opened the scoring on the power play as forward Brendan Ogle tipped a blue line slapshot from Siciliano to give Middle Tennessee the go-ahead goal five minutes into the first.
A flurry of goals in the middle of the period put the score at 2-2 as the buzzer sounded to close the first. The second period brought another avalanche of goals as Kierian Ogle buried a rebound on the man-advantage to give MTSU a 3-2 lead four minutes into the second.
The scoring continued early and often as the Blue Raiders and the Frozen Tide traded a pair of goals, pushing the score to 5-4 in favor of MTSU at the end of the second.
The third period saw another explosion of offense from both sides, with a total of six goals scored in the period. Siciliano struck twice in a minute, giving MTSU a 7-4 lead two minutes into the final frame.
Chunchukov tallied his second goal of the contest with seven minutes to go in the third, boosting the MTSU lead to 8-4 with 13 minutes remaining. Alabama didn’t go down easily as the Frozen Tide scored three straight goals; however, MTSU held on to secure the 8-7 victory.
MTSU finished the game outshooting the Tide 50-44 in an offensive showcase where both sides racked up penalty minutes. The Blue Raiders had 11 total power play opportunities, compared to four for Alabama.
“Our power play has been lights out all year,” MTSU head coach JJ Murray said. “We can toss either unit out there and, trust, we are getting a goal. We preach to them, if we’re playing five-on-five hockey, there is no other team in College Hockey South that can compete with us.”
MTSU will take a week off and then return to the Antioch Ice Center to take on Lynn University (1-0) on Oct. 10-11.
(Originally published at https://mtsusidelines.com/2025/10/01/mtsu-club-hockeys-top-line-fuels-sweep-of-alabama/)
