Battling injuries and stronger opponents, the UNC hockey club lost three of four and slipped to fifth place in ACCHL standings at the end of the fall semester. They have a 10-5-2-0-2 league record (22 points). Va. Tech (29) was first, followed by N.C. State (28), Delaware (26), Penn State (23) fourth. They have nine games remaining before the playoffs start Feb. 7 and are 11-7-2 overall.
Carolina opens the winter season with three straight games against the Hokies including an outside game Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. at Truist Field in Charlotte and a home game in Hillsborough Jan. 10 before facing Roger Williams Jan. 18 in Hillsborough and three more against N.C. State including Jan. 20 at the Lenovo Center, Raleigh.
In recent games, UNC lost to Michigan State 5-3 in Hillsborough, lost 4-2 at D-1 George Mason (goals by O’Shaughnessy, Hilton), topped Maryland 6-5 on the road on three straight goals by Will Smith and lost 4-3 to Army (goals by Smith, Grady, Ansbacher) in a charity home game.