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 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 AAU college championship.

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.

The Gamecocks made it to the championship game after upsetting No. 1 seed Tampa, 6-4, in the semifinals Saturday night. They were 5-0 overall at the event.

South Carolina had standout wins over Clemson, Alabama, Florida and Tampa during the regular season. The Gamecocks play their home games at Flight Adventure Park in Irmo.