Liberty University Club Sports
Niagara University
Hawaiian Ice: Flames show festive flair, outlast Purple Eagles after hours in first ‘Midnight’ contest
10/2/2022 11:37:00 AM | Men's D1 Hockey
Donning tropical apparel for the first of three "Midnight Mayhem" games this season, Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team didn't leave much time for rest and relaxation in their Hawaiian-themed showdown with Niagara University on Saturday night into Sunday morning at the LaHaye Ice Center. The Flames survived a back-and-forth battle with the Purple Eagles and completed the two-game sweep with a thrilling 5-4 win.
"It was a really good game, one of the best 'Midnight' games I've played in," said junior forward DJ Schwenke, who scored the tying and go-ahead goals in the second period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. "We play in front of the best crowd in this league, for sure. It was pouring rain outside three hours before (game time) and they're still lined up and ready to go."
Liberty (4-0), which left the ESCHL the season before the Purple Eagles (1-2) joined the conference, won for the fifth time in a row against Niagara, which went 28-5-1 last season and won its fifth Northeast Collegiate Hockey League tournament in its last of 11 seasons in the NECHL.
"I thought our guys battled hard," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "Niagara's a solid team. We come out of the weekend a better team for playing them. It was two gutsy wins by our team and I really liked what we did. That's exactly how we want to have it go. We want to play these types of games and continue to build those muscles for our team."
Junior forward Jacob Kalandyk started the scoring after taking a cross-ice feed from sophomore forward Jackson Vercellono and accelerating up the right wing before rocketing a wrist shot from in the right circle past Purple Eagles defenseman Francesco Reda and goalie Bennett Oxborough into the top left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead with 11:27 to play in the first period.
"He just rips the puck," Schwenke said of Kalandyk. "He is so fun to watch. He's got one of the best wrist shots I've ever seen."
Niagara notched the tying goal on a power play 2:28 into the second period when defenseman Scott Pearson set up a shot by David Christopher from the top of the right circle and fellow forward Austin Robinson gathered the rebound and lifted a putback past Flames goalie Hunter Virostek into the top left corner of the cage.
Devin Sanders then lifted the Purple Eagles to a 2-1 lead with 8:47 remaiing in the period, skating the puck around Kalandyk deep in the left circle and sneaking a sharp-angled shot from near the left endline past Virostek inside the left post.
Seconds after the Flames killed a 4-on-3 penalty, they netted the equalizer when freshman defenseman Grant Morton received a pass from senior forward Brett Gammer out of the left corner and unleashed a shot from the point that was tipped by junior forward DJ Schwenke through Oxborough with 5:23 remaining.
Schwenke struck again with the go-ahead goal with 2:52 left in the period, capitalizing on a three-on-one break by finishing a second-effort backdoor feed across the crease from Gammer near the left post.
"Schwenke had a big game," Handy said. "He shows up to play in these games, Schwenke and Gammer. Those guys, they're tough, and they show up every night, which is awesome."
"Brett was making great passes and killing it," Schwenke added. "I just had to put the puck in the net. My job was easy. They did all of the hard work."
Niagara stayed afloat, converting the tying goal with 1:24 to go when Rylan Clemons sprung free for a breakaway opportunity. After a poke check by Virostek jarred the puck from his stick, Clemons recovered it near the endline and snuck it off Virostek's pad as he slid back trying to guard the left post.
Midway through the third period, the Flames seized a 5-3 advantage with back-to-back goals in a two-minute span, with a catch-and-release assist from senior forward Nate Albers in the neutral zone sparking the first. Junior forward Kris Bladen took the pass and set up junior forward Joe Clark's top-shelf wrist shot in the right crease with a circle-to-circle saucer pass at the 11:23 mark.
"(Albers) created a great play and Kris and Joe went down two-on-one," Schwenke said. "Kris made a great pass and Joe put it in the net and the crowd goes wild."
Then, with 11:09 remaining in regulation, senior forward Matt Bartel recovered a loose puck after an untimely Niagara turnover in the defensjve zone and slid a sharp-angled shot through the five hole of Oxborough, standing near the left post, for what turned out to be the deciding score.
"It was nice because all four of our lines scored tonight — Schwenke has two, Kalandyk has one, Joe Clark for the fourth line, and Matt Bartel for the first," Handy said. "It was really good distribution. We could be better on our execution, and that's going to come. We have things to work on and we will continue to build and continue to get better."
The Purple Eagles pulled Oxborough with more than three minutes to go to create a man advantage and Sanders trimmed the deficit to 5-4 with a backhanded shot through the slot that skipped off the skate of Niagara's Tristan Taillefer and beat Virostek inside the right post with 1:20 remaining. But they reinserted Oxborough for the ensuing minute and were unable to force overtime with a third tying score of the contest.
Liberty outshot Niagara, 41-38, and Virostek made 34 saves to preserve the victory.
"It's great for us, exactly what we wanted," Handy said. "We knew coming into this weekend there were going to be six hard periods, and we were right. Niagara is a very good team and is feisty, and that's how we want to learn to play."
"Niagara hits hard," Schwenke added as he took a break from a post-game hot tub treatment. "They're fast, so it was a really scrappy game."
He said defensive newcomers Colten Kovich, Laz Kaebel, and Morton helped stabilize the back line under persistent pressure from the Purple Eagles.
"I thought our freshmen were amazing tonight," Schwenke said. "They knew what to expect (from their first 'Midnight' game) and they prepared right. It got a little too frantic sometimes, and that's just what happens with the crowd. They cheer for anything. We've got to realize we're not playing for the crowd. We're playing for each other. If we stick to our game, we'll be fine."
The Flames, ranked fifth in the ACHA DI preseason poll, will take their first road trips of the season the next two weekends, flying to No. 4 Minot State and No. 3 Adrian College, respectively.
"We're looking forward to getting on the road with our guys and continuing to build on what we've done here," Handy said. "We have a fantastic rivalry (with Minot). It will be a great series."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
