Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
DII Flames blasted by Rockets, go 1-1-1 in home Showcase
11/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's D2 Hockey
One day after settling for a tie against Davenport, Liberty University's ACHA Division II men's hockey team was dealt its first setback of the season, falling to Toledo, 7-5, in Sunday's final game of the three-day Division II Showcase at the LaHaye Ice Center.
The Rockets (13-2) came into the weekend ranked fourth in the Southeast Region and upset Davenport, the second-ranked team in the Central Region, 6-2 on Friday, before upending Penn State and the Flames (13-1-1), ranked third and second in the Southeast Region, respectively.
"Are they that good or did we play that poorly?" Flames Head Coach Chris Lowes said. "Clearly, they're a good team after they did that to us and Davenport. They're talented. Their defense and goaltending is really good. They didn't allow us to do much. There was a lot of sticks and holding that slowed the game down … and we didn't really adapt very well to a bit of adversity. We just struggled today."
Toledo got two goals in a span of a minute and a half midway through the first period to surge to a 2-0 advantage. Forward Dylan Lewis corralled a loose puck along the right boards and cut through the crease before depositing a backhand shot past Liberty goalie Jarrett Epp for his fifth goal of the weekend with 10:29 to go. Then, with the Rockets on a power play, Ian Rapp, who had a hat trick, received an outlet pass from fellow forward Zach Felser at mid ice and cut through the crease before finding net with a backhand through the five hole.
Liberty senior forward Devon Docksteader, who netted a hat trick for the Flames, received a pass from graduate forward Danny Logan in the right circle and regained control before lifting a wrist shot into the upper netting, cutting Toledo's lead to 2-1 less than a minute into the second period.
With Liberty on a power play midway through the second period, Toledo scored on a two-on-none fast break with Rapp sending a pass across to Dominic Antonelli for the finish in the left crease to extend the Rockets' advantage to 3-1.
After Epp came out of the cage to make a save, Docksteader set up senior forward Ben Freymond for a phenomenal move through the high slot and backhanded finish after faking out Toledo's goalie, trimming the deficit to 3-2 with 7:28 left in the second.
The Rockets continued to put pressure on the Flames and converted deep in Liberty's defensive zone when Zack Born delivered a short pass to Rapp in front and he sent a backhanded assist to Felser in the left crease for a quick score and 4-2 edge with 5:39 to go.
Less than a minute later, Docksteader netted his second goal after stealing the puck from Toledo's Cody Popovich and pivoting for a turnaround shot in the left circle, making it a 4-3 contest.
But Toledo torpedoed the Flames' defense with two goals in the final 25 seconds, the first on a wrist shot by Born (his 19th goal of the season) off an assist from Felser in the right circle and the second from around the same spot by Fesler off an assist by Born in the closing seconds.
"I don't know if we were a little tired, but we struggled putting passes together, even on our power play, which has been a strength for us all year," Lowes said. "Any time we'd get a little momentum, we'd score a goal or get a power play, they answered every one of our surges, so that's a credit to them."
Rapp completed his hat trick with a steal and an empty-net score from beyond blue line, stretching the Rockets' lead to 7-3 with 1:56 remaining in regulation, before the Flames made the final score more respectable, and helped their computer ranking, by getting two goals back in the final 37.4 seconds of five-on-three action. Freymond sent a cross-ice assist to Bierma for a top-shelf finish from the left crease before cutting through traffic and dropping a cross-crease feed to Docksteader, who polished off his hat trick into the upper netting.
Lowes said by going 3-0 in the Showcase, Toledo may jump ahead of Penn State and Liberty into second place behind defending ACHA DII national champion Florida Gulf Coast in the Southeast rankings. Still, he wouldn't trade the 1-1-1 weekend for a 3-0 sweep against weaker opponents.
"That's why we wanted this weekend," he said. "I wish we could play games like that every weekend. It's not fun losing, but our guys need to feel that, the highs and lows. That way, the next time we face a little bit of adversity, we'll respond a little better."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
