Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Blue Hens punch in trio of power-play goals, sweep Flames
1/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's D1 Hockey
Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team dug itself a 4-0 hole after the first period and risked slipping back out of the top 20 in the ACHA DI rankings with a 7-2 loss at Delaware, Saturday night at Fred Rust Arena.
The 18th-ranked Flames (11-15-1) lost for the sixth time in seven outings since entering the Christmas break on a six-game winning streak, jeopardizing their chances at a ninth ACHA DI National Championship appearance in the 10 years they've competed at the DI level.
After losing three of four games against Liberty in both of the past two seasons, the 16th-ranked Blue Hens won three of four from the Flames with the home sweep, strengthening their case for a return to the nationals for the 2012 champions, who were left out of the field last season.
Penalty killing was again a problem for Liberty, which went to the penalty box more than Head Coach Kirk Handy would have liked in the first period, after Delaware scored its first goal with a bit of help from the official when the puck bounced off him to one of its forwards for a two-on-one opportunity.
"They were able to score three more power plays in the first period," Handy said, as the Blue Hens had Friday night, including two in the second when they took a 3-1 lead. "Five on five, we played well."
Liberty actually outshot Delaware 33-32 as graduate goalie Cary Byron made 25 saves for the Flames.
Junior forward Grant Garvin, Liberty's leading goal-scorer on the season with 15, got the Flames on the scoreboard when he put the rebound of a shot by Kyle Crane from the point past Delaware goalie Dylan Troiano.
"Garvin played a strong game for us," Handy said. "He battled all night."
Crane got his second assist of the period when he set up fellow freshman defenseman Zane Schartz after Garvin won a faceoff to freshman forward Zac Hayes.
Schartz, the Flames' fourth-leading scorer on the season with six goals and 18 assists, blasted his shot from the blue line to trim the Blue Hens' advantage to 5-2.
"I was proud of our guys in the second period," Handy said. "They came out determined, which is what we want them to be. They won the period, 2-1, and battled hard into the third period, when Delaware added a couple of late goals. It wasn't the result we were looking for, but the guys were willing to work hard. No one was packing it in."
Liberty returns to the LaHaye Ice Center for a series against Oakland next Friday and Saturday, with Friday being Military Appreciation Night. The puck drops at 7 p.m. both nights.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
