By Katherine Ries · The UCF Knights took on the USF Bulls this weekend in the War on I-4, and after a crushing blow Friday night, the Knights rallied into Saturday, obli…
The UCF Knights took on the USF Bulls this weekend in the War on I-4, and after a crushing blow Friday night, the Knights rallied into Saturday, obliterating the Bulls for the first time since February 2024.
“They were a completely different team from yesterday,” said Captain Joseph Dray, grinning. “It was unbelievable.”
“I’m just super proud of the way the group turned things around from Friday to Saturday,” agreed Head Coach Chris Brewster. “We hit our first bout of adversity and we were able to answer the call.”
Transitioning from the first into the second period, the Knights were in the same winning position as the night before and the energy was high, but after Friday’s disappointing turn of events, strategy was paramount.
“Our first period was good, and we know that,” said Assistant Captain Kevin Flanagan about Friday’s game. “We kind of just fell apart into the second, and in the third, we were trying to claw out of that hole. But we know what we need to do and we feel really good about tomorrow; it’s just a mental battle.”
“We made sure we reiterated that we were in the same place as yesterday,” agreed Dray, “and we made sure that they all knew the game plan. I think they were pretty fired up going into it.”
“It’s a long game,” Assistant Captain Robert Renner reminded the players on the bench. “We just have to take it one minute at a time.”
And minute by minute, the Knights kept rocking the scoreboard. In the second period, Rookie Defenseman Tair Gafiatullin scored his first goal of the season with an assist by fellow Rookie Joseph Kovach. Gafiatullin received a celebratory puck in the locker room post-game.
“I felt surprisingly calm,” Gafiatullin said. “I knew what to expect from them. It felt great to bury the puck in the net; I’ve been getting close to scoring for the past couple of games now, but I was just getting unlucky. With this monkey off my shoulder now, I hope to see myself produce a lot more.”
Moving into the third period, a desperate USF, losing 6-4, decided to pull their goalie to get an extra player on the ice, and the Knights took full advantage.
“All pucks go North!” yelled Head Coach Chris Brewster, and Defenseman Robert Renner cemented UCF’s victory with an empty net goal. The final score was 7-4.
Goalie Phillip Hall, in his second career win, made an impressive 38 saves on 42 shots, and he also received a celebratory puck after the game.
“It felt great to beat USF,” said Hall. “They’re probably our biggest rival and they’re always the most intense when we play them, so it felt great to come out with a win.”
The Bulls’ intensity ultimately resulted in a chipped tooth for the Goalie after USF repeatedly crashed the net.
“It’s a great story,” Hall laughed, "but I gotta see a dentist now, which kind of sucks."
The Knights take the ice again this weekend on Friday, October 10, at 8:15PM EDT at the Atlanta Ice House, where they play Kennesaw State University for the first time in UCF’s history. Both teams are vying to set a precedent for future matchups, and the nail-biting event is going to continue into Saturday, October 11, at 8:45PM EDT.
If you can’t make it to the games but still want to cheer on your Knights, be sure to check out the club’s game day live streams at DSPN , and stay up to date on team announcements and special events by subscribing to the Knights Hockey Instagram page .