Liberty University Club Sports
Stony Brook University
Flames show resilience on road, sinking rival Seawolves, 6-4 in rematch
1/23/2022 7:57:04 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
A day after being shut out by Stony Brook, Liberty University’s No. 3-ranked ACHA Division I men’s hockey team jumped out to a 4-0 lead on the No. 8 Seawolves in the second period before holding on for a 6-4 victory on Sunday at The Rinx, salvaging a spring semester-opening series split.
“Our guys came to play today,” Head Coach Kirk Handy said after the Flames outshot the Seawolves, 41-38, and out-executed their hosts on special teams. “We had to overcome a lot of adversity, but our guys battled hard and made the most of our chances.”
Already short three players, Liberty (16-5) lost two more who were ejected for boarding and spearing in the first and second periods. Both times, the Flames killed off those five-minute majors and turned them into scoring opportunities.
After senior forward Zak Albers checked Seawolves defenseman Davin Vande Zilver head-first into the back boards, Liberty capitalized on a shorthanded goal at the 3:31 mark of the first period. Senior forward Matt Bartel poked a clearing pass up to junior forward Brett Gammer, who got beyond the Seawolves’ defense and lifted a backhanded wrist shot into the top right corner past goalie Matvei Kazakov.
“It was really good for us to score that first goal,” Handy said. “That was huge. We took a five-minute major and we’re killing it off and our guys executed well. It was good to take the lead right there.”
Then, less than 30 seconds after the successful penalty kill, freshman defenseman Nathan Cox — one of two New York natives on the Flames roster along with SUNY Plattsburgh transfer defenseman Cam Kuhl — received a pass from graduate defenseman Chaydan Lauber in the high slot. Cox skated in unchecked, deked around Stony Brook forward Jesse Edwards, and released a wrist shot that deflected off defenseman Brendan Fess past Kazakov, doubling Liberty’s lead to 2-0 at the 1:23 mark.
Five minutes into the second period, Stony Brook put Liberty on the power play and the Flames scored 15 seconds later with Kuhl and Bartel setting up sophomore forward Jacob Kalandyk for a quick shot in the slot into the upper netting, extending the edge to 3-0 at 14:43.
The Flames, who finished 3-for-4 on the PK, killed off a second five-minute major midway through the period before sophomore forward Kam Ottenbreit cashed in on a 3-on-1 break by pocketing the puck into the top left corner with 8:06 to go for a commanding 4-0 advantage.
But the Seawolves struck back after killing off a Liberty power play to trim the deficit to 4-1 at the 4:01 mark when forward Shawn Rainville beat Flames junior goalie Hunter Virostek (34 saves) with a sharp-angled putback from the left side after Virostek kick saved a shot by Scot Lawson on a two-on-one break.
Liberty, which converted two of its three power-play chances, started the third period on a 5-on-3 advantage. Kuhl stretched the Flames’ lead to 5-1 just 37 seconds after the faceoff with his first goal as a Flame on a shot from the high slot that slipped through the pads of Kazakov.
But with the teams skating 4-on-4, Stony Brook cut it back to 5-2 with 17:14 remaining in regulation when leading scorer Charles Peck put away a loose puck in the left crease. Then, after the Flames were called for icing and the Seawolves won a faceoff with 14:36 to go, they sliced the lead to 5-3 on defenseman Robert DiStefano’s shot from the high slot.
A replay of that goal made it a 5-4 contest at the 11:55 mark before Liberty retaliated 25 seconds later on an odd-man rush, with Kalandyk netting his second goal off an assist from sophomore forward Jason Foltz for the final score with 11:30 to play.
“What I really liked was our push back,” Handy said. “There were a lot of gut check times for us throughout the game and I was proud of the way our guys battled tonight. It was a good hockey game and there are things we can work on from this and get better, that will prepare us to play (UNLV) next weekend.”
The Flames will host the No. 4-ranked Runnin’ Rebels this Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 11:59 p.m., in the season’s third and final “Midnight Mayhem” matchup at the LaHaye Ice Center. In the teams’ first-ever meeting, UNLV defeated Liberty in the championship game of the Chicago Classic on Nov. 21.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
