DI Flames Rock the Rink, roll over Seawolves in 9-2 series-opening rout

Flames senior forward and alternate captain Brett Gammer scored one goal and added four assists in Friday night's 9-2 series-opening win at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photos by Brooke McDuffee)

DI Flames Rock the Rink, roll over Seawolves in 9-2 series-opening rout

11/3/2023 11:10:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

Liberty got two goals and two assists from DJ Schwenke and a goal and four assists from linemate and fellow senior alternate captain Brett Gammer.

Liberty University ACHA Division I men's hockey Head Coach Kirk Handy switched up a couple lines before Friday night's series opener against Stony Brook and the moves paid immediate dividends in a 9-2 shellacking of the Seawolves, the Flames' former ESCHL rivals, played before a sellout crowd in town for Homecoming, Friday night at the LaHaye Ice Center.

"It's nice to spread it out a little bit tonight and get other guys going," said Flames senior forward and alternate captain Nate Albers, playing in his first game after missing the previous three weekends due to injury. "I love playing with (fellow senior forwards DJ) Schwenke and (Brett) Gammer, those guys work hard and they get the puck in the net as was evidenced tonight as Schwenke got two goals and Gammer got one."

DJ-Schwenke-Stony-Brook — Senior forward DJ Schwenke drives the puck past a Stony Brook defender.

Gammer distributed four assists and Schwenke added two more to complement their scoring. The seven-goal triumph will give the Flames a boost in their power rating after they dropped 11 spots to No. 15 in the nation as the ACHA DI rankings shifted from a coaches' poll to computer rankings.

"We've had some ups and downs and it's great to get back in the legit win column," Albers said, noting that the Flames needed to make a statement after splitting last weekend's series at another former ESCHL rival in Delaware. "Last weekend wasn't our best effort, but we are coming back this weekend and for the rest of the season we're ready to go."

Sophomore forward Sam Feamster gave the Flames an early 1-0 lead by scoring unassisted with 11:18 left in the opening period, cashing in on a steal in the Stony Brook slot by lifting a top-shelf wrist shot over the shoulder of Seawolves goalie Matvei Kazakov.

Moments after Liberty killed off its second penalty, Stony Brook netted the equalizer with just 1:12 left in the first period when Grant Ermellini scored off assists from Justin Nakagawa and Nolan Towne.

Liberty reclaimed a 2-1 lead just 12 seconds into the second period when Albers joined a scrum in front of the net after an initial shot by DJ Schwenke and slammed the putback of fellow senior forward Brett Gammer's blocked shot past Kazakov from point blank range.

"It was fun to be back in the lineup and helping to get the guys going," Albers said. "It felt good (to score). That was just a product of everyone working hard. You work hard and you get rewarded."

Then, at the 12:05 mark, senior forward Truett Olson stretched the Flames' edge to 3-1 by finishing assists from sophomore defenseman Nick Pomerleau and senior defenseman Nate Cox into an open net from deep in the right crease.

Less than 90 seconds later, Pomerleau netted his first goal in a Flames uniform after receiving feeds from Schwenke and Gammer and skating the puck around the top of the left circle.

From there, he extended the advantage to 4-1 by firing a shot from the high slot into the top-left corner of the cage with 10:41 left in the period.

"It was a great goal, a great shot," Albers said. "He's been working hard all season, making really good plays so that was par for the course. He deserved that one, for sure."

The Seawolves capitalized on a 4-on-3 power play just 13 seconds before the second intermission when Devin Pepe fired a shot through traffic from the right circle that beat Flames sophomore goalie Nicholas Bernstein inside the right post, trimming the deficit to 4-2.

But the Flames broke the game wide open by netting three goals in a span of just over a minute early in the third period. First, with Gammer fended off a defenseman as he skated the puck through the right circle before slipping a cross-crease assist to Schwenke for a point-blank putaway with 16:34 to play. Just 11 seconds later, Gammer stole the puck back and finished a one-on-one break by rifling a short wrist shot past Kazakov at the 16:23 mark.

Senior forward and head captain Matt Bartel converted off another Stony Brook turnover less than a minute later, putting away passes from senior forward Kam Ottenbreit and freshman defenseman Cole Pawlak, a Division II call-up, with 15:27 to play.

Just under 10 minutes later, Gammer struck again with 5:34 remaining in regulation when he skated onto a loose puck that bounced along the left boards before skating toward the cage and sliding a pass into the slot for Schwenke who sneaked a shot through the five hole past replacement goalie Scott Barnikow for a commanding 8-2 lead.

Jason-Foltz-Liberty-Stony-Brook — Senior forward Jason Foltz capped the scoring with the Flames' only power-play goal.

Finally with 1:03 to go and the Flames on a power play, senior forward Jason Foltz received a cross-ice pass from Jacob Kalandyk off a secondary assist from freshman forward Ryan Finch and skated his way between Seawolves defenseman, slicing through the right circle and into the crease before lifting a short wrist shot into the upper netting over Barnikow for the final score.

Liberty outshot Stony Brook by a 47-26 margin and Bernstein made 24 saves for the Flames.

"He's been playing great," Albers said. "He's a real game-time player and he knows how to get it done when we need him. We love having him back there, especially while Hunter's hurt and he's recovering. We know that we can rely on him now."

The Flames hope to win their third game in a row for the second time this season when they meet the Seawolves in a rematch on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Albers said for the Flames to complete their second series sweep of the season, they need "another 60 minutes of playing hard, everybody crashing the net and everybody doing their jobs. That's really all it's going to take."

First off, Liberty will hold an alumni game featuring dozens of former men's players from all three divisions over the past 30-plus years with the puck dropping 7:45 a.m. in the LIC.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media