National champs! South Carolina’s club hockey team makes history
There’s another national championship coming to Columbia.
South Carolina’s club hockey team won the 2024 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) College Hockey Division I national championship on Sunday afternoon, taking down Buffalo 4-1.
The AAU championship was held at Ice Line Quad Rinks in West Chester, Pennsylvania. USC is the inaugural winner of the first-year Division 1 AAU college championship.
The championship has a similar structure to the NCAA-sanctioned Division I tournament but is combined with non-NCAA club teams from around the country. The AAU and Collegiate Hockey Federation (CHF) joined together in 2023.
Jake Puskar, Johnny Riggins and Marco Pineda all scored goals for USC, including a power play goal to take a lead with seven minutes in the second period they never relinquished. USC relied on Tyler Temoyan as its starting goaltender.
Colin Reid scored the empty net goal to seal the championship with two seconds left.
Riggins won the Most Valuable Player award for his performance in the tournament, scoring five goals and five assists.
The Gamecocks made it to the championship game after upsetting No. 1 seed Tampa, 6-4, in the semifinals Saturday night.
South Carolina can compete in one more event this season, the South Eastern Collegiate Hockey Conference (SECHC) tournament in Pelham, Alabama on March 22-24.
South Carolina finished the regular season 17-6-1 and defeated Clemson in both games played this season. The Gamecocks play their home games at Flight Adventure Park in Irmo and have been an organization at USC since 2001.
This story was originally published March 10, 2024 at 4:21 PM.
