Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Flames fend off Bobcats' comeback bid in opener at LaHaye
11/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's D2 Hockey
Liberty University's ACHA Division II men's hockey team, ranked No. 1 in the South Region, got goals from six different forwards and improved to 14-1 with a 6-4 triumph over Ohio, Friday night at the LaHaye Ice Center. It was a rematch of the Flames' second game of the season, played at Bird Arena in Athens, Ohio, which ended in the same score.
Less than five minutes into the first period, Ben Freymond, Liberty's points leader on the season, got the Flames on the scoreboard by finishing a fastbreak feed from fellow junior forward Devon Docksteader.
"We were coming in on a two-on-one and the defenseman laid down so I just walked by him and put it in top corner," Freymond said.
The Bobcats, who maintained pressure throughout the first period, tied it up moments later when freshman forward Matty Geither lifted a wrist shot from inside the left past Liberty junior forward Peter Kazmierczak and over the glove of freshman goalie Blake Scott, whose line of sight was blocked on the play.
Kazmierczak sparked the Flames' attack by skating the puck behind Ohio's cage and sending a pass to sophomore forward Tim Bierema, who sent a cross to junior forward Jordan Barstead in front where he chipped it over Bobcats' goalie Michael Lively into the back of the net for a 2-1 advantage.
Then, with 40 seconds left in the period, Flames senior forward and head captain Paul Ingles sent a short pass from the inside edge of the right circle to Docksteader in the right crease for a one-time finish to make it 3-1.
Liberty looked prepared to pull away from the Bobcats in the second, when Kazmierczak took a pass from Barsteak, drove along the right endline, and snuck the puck around Lively inside the far post for a 4-1 lead going into the third.
The Flames extended it to 6-2 on goals by Bierema — who put his shot top shelf after an initial shot off the glass by Christian Garland and rebound assist from fellow graduate forward Ryan Kerr near the right post — and Garland, who stuck a crossing pass from Bierema under Lively from in the right crease.
But, with the teams playing four-on-four, the Bobcats made it a game by getting two goals from senior left wing Hunter Brett in a 30-second span. Ohio went on a five-on-three in the final two minutes, but could not cut into the two-goal deficit.
"We didn't play our best game and they got a couple quick ones at the end," Freymond said. "I think we can do a lot better than we did today" in Saturday's rematch set for 3 p.m. at LaHaye.
Both teams were coming off shutout losses to the No. 2 and No. 3-ranked teams in the region — Florida Gulf Coast, which salvaged a split against the Flames on its home ice, and Miami of Ohio, which swept the Bobcats by 9-0 and 4-0 scores in Oxford, Ohio.
"That one loss could hurt us, due to the fact that Florida's in second place and Miami of Ohio could be coming in at No. 1 next ranking," Freymond said. "They're 13-0 right now and doing well, so we've got to really pick up our game and get all the wins we can if we want to finish top two in our division and get an autobid (to ACHA DII nationals)."
