MANSFIELD, Texas – Opening up the Texas Collegiate Hockey Conference championship tournament as the number one seed, East Texas Baptist University scored three goals in the third period to hold off Southern Methodist University, 4-2. ETBU will now be facing defending champions Texas A&M University at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday for the championship. 
 
TCHC SEMIFINALS - ETBU 4, SMU 2
 
It was a close two periods to start the game against SMU as it was tied, 1-1 after two periods. ETBU then scored three goals in the third period to advance on.
 
The Tigers' goals were scored by Avery Cook [assisted by Tristan Aun and Ronnie Bregante], Dmitrii Sergeev [assisted by Bregante and Jeremy Niven], Tim Zittel [assisted by Trevor Begley] and the empty net goal was scored by Ray Kelly [assisted by Tyler Fitzgerald]. Fitzgerald was in between the pipes for the Tigers—shutting down 32 out of the 34 total shots he faced.
 
Both the Tigers and Mustangs skated patiently throughout the game. In what is usually a high penalty match up, each team only served five penalties a piece over the entire game. ETBU went on the power-play (PP) first after SMU received a cross-checking penalty, resulting in Cook's line snagging the one-man-advantage they needed to be able to find the back of the net 11:46 into the first. Cook's goal would be the only goal the first period would see—putting the Tigers in the lead 1-0 after 20:00 of regulation.
 
The tension really kicked in at the beginning of the second period. Bregante received a hooking call late in the first, forcing ETBU to start the second period on the penalty kill (PK). After his penalty, all four of the Tigers' remaining penalties would be assessed in the second. With only 2:20 left before the second intermission, Cook also received a hooking penalty—giving SMU a one-man-advantage over the Tigers. Drawing this penalty was just what the Mustangs needed to score the game's first equalizer. SMU's lonely goal was the period's only goal—forcing a game tied at one to start the final regulation period.
 
The Tigers skated into the 3rd with something to prove. Just 2:05 into the period, the Tigers went on the PP from a tripping call dealt to SMU. Exactly 1:00 later, Bregante and Niven played tic-tac-toe with Sergeev to help him bury one in the back of the net, giving the Tigers back a 2-1 lead.
 
Less than 2:00 after Sergeev's goal, SMU responded by jamming the puck past Fitzgerald—forcing another tied game (2-2).
 
Roughly 5:00 passed by and the Tigers were desperate for a goal. Zittel found a breakaway opportunity with 11:34 left in the final period. As he skated into the SMU zone, he and Begley went back and forth with the puck before Zittel sniped the puck past the goalie—putting ETBU back in the lead 3-2 over SMU.
 
The last 11:00 of the tilt went scoreless for both clubs. In desperation for another equalizer, SMU pulled their goalie with 2:00 left in the game for a 6th skater. However, despite their best efforts, the 6th man wouldn't be enough. Only trying to keep the puck in play and the clock running, Fitzgerald passed the puck to Kelly with 0:35 left to go. Kelly found the slot and dumps the puck across the ice straight into the Mustang's empty net—giving ETBU a 4-2 lead over SMU.
 
Kelly's goal would be the game's final goal, resulting in a 4-2 win in favor of the Tigers. The Tigers' win secured their spot in the Championship Game against the Aggies for the second year in row.