Crocodiles Make History: Gainesville Sweeps Hooligans to Win Sunshine Title

The Gainesville Crocodiles are headed to the PIHA Minor Finals—and they’re doing it as trailblazers.

Gainesville won the Sunshine Division Final in two straight games over the Unify Hooligans, taking Game 1 (4–3) in a back-and-forth opener before closing the door in Game 2 (4–2). With the sweep, the Crocodiles become the first-ever Sunshine Division team to qualify for the PIHA Finals.

Game 1: Crocodiles 4, Hooligans 3 — Late Push Falls Short

Game 1 was decided by timely finishing and a pair of Gainesville defensemen making big impacts.

The Crocodiles jumped on the board with Lewie Schacht (#82) at 9:50 of the first, then Bryan Miller (#90) made it 2–0 at 5:58. Unify answered with Joey LaRocco (#3) at 11:39, keeping it tight at 2–1 after one.

In the second period, Gainesville stretched the lead with a power-play goal from Tristan Roost (#7) at 1:51, then got the eventual game-winner from Austin Rice (#25) at 0:57. Unify made it a one-goal game late behind tallies from Ian Stefanescu (#67) (0:48) and Ricky Carden (#96) (5:00), but Gainesville held on to take the opener despite being outshot 24–20.

Three Stars (Game 1): Austin Rice, Bryan Miller, Joey LaRocco.

Game 2: Crocodiles 4, Hooligans 2 — Second-Period Surge Clinches the Title

Unify struck first in Game 2 when Chris Melendez (#88) scored at 1:20 of the first (assist Ryan Schmitt #16), but Gainesville answered late in the period on Joel Stevenson’s (#18) goal at 10:24 to tie it 1–1 after one.

The second period belonged to Gainesville. The Crocodiles scored three times—Miller (#90) at 9:45, Holden Hertog (#13) at 9:22 (assist Schacht #82), and Ryan Lefort (#3) at 5:19—to create separation and finish the series. Unify’s lone second-period response came from Dave Arnold (#73) at 4:18 (assist Carden #96).

Gainesville goaltender Joey Rogowski (#21) was sharp in the clincher, stopping 18 of 20, and the Crocodiles finished the job even while being outshot 20–16.

Three Stars (Game 2): Holden Hertog, Lewie Schacht, Dave Arnold.

What It Means

In a division that has been building year after year, the Crocodiles just delivered the breakthrough moment: Sunshine has a Finals representative for the first time, and Gainesville earned it with a complete two-game performance—big goals from key players, steady goaltending, and the ability to respond immediately when Unify threatened momentum.