#5 Florida Surives Scare Against #12 Texas Tech

Feasterville, PA -  This was supposed to be the game a game that Florida should win, and in fact they did. However, not before being given a major scare by Texas Tech University in what could have been the biggest upset of the tournament to date.

Florida controlled things early, building a 4-1 lead after two periods of play. Jesse Meyer (Bradenton, FL) scored a pair of goals in the first period, while Morgan Hayes (Gainesville, FL) chipped in with one to give the Gators a three goal advantage before Texas Tech got on the board. Kirk Anderson got things going for the Red Raiders with his goal in the closing minutes of the first period.

Things tightened up in the second period, with Florida playing solid defense and prevented Texas Tech from getting on the board. In close contests, special teams usually provide a spark and on cue they did in this one. Steven Meyer (Bradenton, FL) intercepted a pass shorthanded and raced the length of the rink before putting the puck in the net and Florida up 4-1.

Florida and Texas Tech exchanged goals in the early stages of the third period before the game became a stalemate until the final two minutes of the third. Trailing 5-2, Texas Tech scored two goals in a 19 second span, both by Nick Potter to cut the lead to 5-4 with 53 seconds on the clock. The Red Raiders had the perfect chance to send the game into overtime in the final minutes, sadly the puck just missed the wide open net seconds before time expired.

With the win, Florida advances to the Sweet 16 where they will face off against the #4 seed Ohio State.