Georgia, Georgia Tech set to play in club tournament

A taste of a major college rivalry will come to Augusta this weekend when a pair of club hockey teams square off at the Augusta Ice Sports Center.

Four college club hockey teams will meet over the next three days at the Greg Stathis Holiday Tournament, but the main event will take place Saturday night.

Tournament host Georgia Tech will take on Georgia on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The hype won't come near that of the football rivalry between the teams, but Georgia Tech coach Brian McSparron said the matchup on the ice will live up to the heated rivalry between the schools.

"It's intense -- just like anything related to Georgia and Georgia Tech," he said. "The goal every year is to come out with three victories against Georgia. This will be the first of three times we play with them."

The Yellow Jackets swept Georgia on the ice last season. McSparron said the 2009-10 series should be more of a challenge, and the tournament will be full of competitive games.

"That's going to be the highlight game, of course," he said. "We just want to make sure to put on a good showing. Augusta still has some pretty good hockey families and fans out there, and hopefully we can give them a good time."

Clemson and South Florida will also compete in the three-day event, which will honor former Georgia Tech hockey coach Greg Stathis. The veteran Yellow Jackets coach of 17 years passed away in 2008, and the tournament was played last year in Duluth to benefit the Children's Healthcare Network.

Admission to the games today and Sunday will be free with the donation of a new, unwrapped toy. More than 200 toys were delivered as Christmas gifts to children in hospitals through the Children's Healthcare Network thanks to the donations received at last year's tournament.

Admission to Saturday's Georgia-Georgia Tech game will be $5 for adults and $1 for children.

Reach Billy Byler at (706) 823-3216 or billy.byler@augustachronicle.com.