By Aileyahu Shanes
Follow on Twitter @a_shanes10
The Gators head right back to the Tampa area tonight and tomorrow to face another SCHC opponent. Florida suffered two deadly blows last weekend, but hopefully they can bounce back against the USF Bulls.
The University of South Florida currently ranks 8th in the CHF Southeast region and 14th nationally. The Bulls are currently under .500, with a record of 8-12-1. In their most recent game, USF fell to the University of Delaware 5-4 in overtime on January 30th.
The top point leaders for the Bulls are Danila Mikheev, Alexander Rhoads and Kevin Holman. Mikheev is a forward out of Khabarovsk, Russia. The junior has 22 points in 19 games and leads his team with 14 assists. Rhoads is a graduate student from Morgantown, Pennsylvania. The center has 20 points in just as many games and leads USF with 15 goals. Holman is a hometown Tampa native. He is currently a junior and is averaging just under a point per game with 19 points in 20 games.
The current state of the Gators took a bit of a hit after their matchups against the University of Tampa. They now rank 11th in the CHF Southeast region, after ranking 8th last week, and are 18th nationally, after being in the 11th spot a week prior. They currently have an 8-4-1 overall record and are still in a prime position for an SECHC playoff spot.
John Hunt, Parker Mara and Harrison Haber are still Florida’s leading point scorers. Hunt has 33 points in 15 games and leads the team in both goals (17) and assists (16). Mara also has over a point per game, putting up 18 points in 13 games. The same also holds true with Haber, who has 15 points in 12 games.
The first game will be played tonight at 7:00pm at Advent Health Center Ice in Wesley Chapel. This will be the Gators first game at home since late September against Tennessee. Game 2 will be played the next day, with an early 3:15pm puck drop. The game will also be played at Advent Health Center Ice, but it will technically be considered a USF home game.