Cool Cats prepare for postseason run

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UK ice hockey will begin Regional Tournament play on Saturday in Philadelphia against Liberty University in hopes it can reach its goal of qualifying for the National Tournament.

The Cool Cats begin the American Collegiate Hockey Association tournament as the ninth seed in the tournament and play their opening round game against fourth seeded Liberty. The game is a rematch of an opening round game last season taken by UK.

“It’s going to be a tough matchup,” senior forward Josh Knicker said. “They’re looking for revenge.”

UK did not play Liberty in the regular season.

“We’re not too familiar with them,” freshman forward Gray McLaughlin said. “We’ve got to go in there and play as hard as we can.”

The Cool Cats cannot afford to overlook any opponents right now.

“We’ve got to have an attitude that they’re the best team in the league,” McLaughlin said.

With the top two teams in the region already guaranteed a spot, UK will try to join Florida Gulf Coast and Miami representing the Southeast Region at the National Tournament.

UK is looking to bounce back from a less than stellar performance in a 5-4 loss to Akron on Senior Night.

Knicker said Saturday’s loss to Akron was both a “wake up call” and a “blessing in disguise.”

The Cool Cats now know they must raise their level of play since Saturday.

“We need a good week of practice,” Knicker said. “The way we played Saturday won’t cut it.”

Looking ahead, the road to Nationals won’t get any easier for UK after the Liberty game.

“UMBC is ranked the highest,” Knicker said. “We might see them in the second round.”

The Cool Cats did upset UMBC 6-1 earlier in the season at the Lexington Ice Center. However, UMBC is the team that knocked UK out of the Regional Tournament last year.

It has been an up and down year for the team. UK’s record currently stands at 20-11-1.

UK began the season by winning their first seven games. The Cool Cats then dropped six of their next seven. The team finished by winning 12 of their last 18 games (including the one tie) to secure their spot in the Regional field.

The team also had the daunting task of overcoming the tragic death of senior forward and assistant captain Taylor Vit.

“It was a very tumultuous year with what happened to Taylor,” General Manager Ian Ward said. “This team had some very high hurdles to climb. It’s something nobody should have to go through.”

The Cool Cats goals are in reach but they cannot afford any missteps.

“This team has had to deal with a whole lot of adversity,” Ward said. “Now it’s one loss and your done.”