The NC State club hockey team is heading to the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League (ACCHL) postseason tournament this weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia as the No. 3 seed to compete for the Admiral’s Cup.
The Wolfpack (14-6, 7-2 ACCHL) is set to take on James Madison University at Main Street Arena in Charlottesville for the quarterfinals.
If the Pack advances past the quarterfinals, it has the potential to face the No. 2 seed University of Virginia, who defeated NC State in last year’s Admiral’s Cup Finals.
NC State’s two league losses were an away loss against Charlotte and the only home loss of the season to Virginia. The season was highlighted by two wins in PNC Arena over UNC-Chapel Hill and an away win against the No. 5 tournament seed Wake Forest.
State is on a five-game winning streak heading into the tournament and is looking for another run to the championship game after having two consecutive appearances, both ending in losses for the Pack. The last time State won the Admiral’s Cup was back in 2011.
NC State is led by seven seniors, including forward Luis Gimenez who has 16 goals and 21 assists. Senior forward Sam Banasiewicz leads the team with 25 goals and 18 assists.
Freshman defenseman Cam Mazikowski will be a big factor for the Pack defensively and offensively heading into the tournament as he has scored 10 goals and has nine assists. Mazikowski recently received the league’s Rookie of the Year honors.
Junior forward Tyler Alfonzetti also received ACCHL Scholar Athlete of the Year and has contributed six goals and two assists.
In net, junior goalie Joey Hall has played the most games for the Pack and has a .893 save percentage and has allowed only 3.60 goals per game.
Puck drop against James Madison is set for Friday at 4:30 p.m. and can be viewed on PackTV’s YouTube channel, campus cable channel 32.2 or in Talley Student Union.