Flames battle adversity, overcome Seawolves for series sweep on Long Island

Graduate forward Jackson Vercellono controls the puck against Stony Brook in the Flames' sweep of the Seawolves at the LaHaye Ice Center last semester. (Photo by Brooke McDuffee)

Flames battle adversity, overcome Seawolves for series sweep on Long Island

1/28/2024 10:15:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

Playing without a handful of defensemen, Liberty extended its winning streak to 11 games by erasing 1-0 and 2-1 deficits in a 4-2 triumph.

Shorthanded due to injuries and a suspension, Liberty University's No. 7-ranked ACHA Division I men's hockey team rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits early in the first and second periods of its rematch with former ESCHL rival Stony Brook to clinch a 4-2 victory and series sweep, Sunday at The Rinx on Long Island, N.Y.

The Flames (16-6-1) extended their winning streak to 11 games by overcoming adversity and maintaining their mastery over the Seawolves. Liberty, which ended the Seawolves' four-year stranglehold on the ESCHL tournament title in 2017 — winning three of its own during its four-plus seasons in that conference — now holds a 40-18-3 advantage in the all-time series against Stony Brook (5-12-3).

"It showed that we have great resilience in the locker room," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "We were down substantially (but) guys stepped in and played, and I was proud of the way our guys battled, for sure."

Liberty was without sophomore defensemen Laz Kaebel and Colten Kovich, sidelined by an injury and suspension, respectively, and junior defenseman Kevin Bite and senior forward Kris Bladen, who were out with injuries, and lost sophomore defenseman Grant Morton to a hard hit to the head along the back boards in the final minute.

With 17:53 to play in the first period, the Seawolves capitalized on the game's first power play when Matteo Deita tapped in a loose puck around the goal line at the feet of Flames graduate goalie Hunter Virostek, who had blocked but could not glove defenseman Nolan Towne's slap shot from the right point.

"Discipline-wise, we only gave them three power plays, which was good," Handy said. "We gave up that first goal on the power play, but we were two for three on the PK. We didn't score on the power play, as we only had one tonight."

Liberty head captain Matt Bartel answered with the equalizer at the 10:28 mark after receiving a pass from fellow senior forward Jason Foltz, who flipped a backhand from along the right boards. Bartel skated the puck into the high slot and fired a high wrist shot into the top-right corner of the cage, beating Scott Barnikow to tie the game at 1.

Stony Brook reclaimed the lead in the opening minute of the second period after a steal by defenseman Joey Trazzera. He set up Victor Nikiforov, who skated between Flames sophomore defenseman Nicholas Pomerleau and senior forward DJ Schwenke before unleashing a sharp-angled, fast-break finish from deep in the left circle, beating Virostek inside the right post for a 2-1 lead at the 19:11 mark.

Liberty, however, would re-tie the contest at 2 in the final minute of the period after Deita narrowly missed wide on a one-on-one break with Virostek. Pomerleau cleared the puck out of the defensive zone and sent a pass to junior forward Jacob Kalandyk who returned it to Pomerleau as he cut in front of the cage for a point-blank finish 45.2 seconds before the second intermission.

Then in the third, the Flames seized their first lead, for what proved to be the game winner with 18:06 remaining in regulation. After senior forward Truett Olson lost a faceoff behind the Seawolves' cage, linemates Kalandyk and graduate forward Jackson Vercellono stole the puck back and fed it to Olson in the right crease, where his backhand in traffic slipped under the pads of Barnikow for a 3-2 advantage.

The teams ended play in 4-on-4 action, before the Seawolves pulled Barnikow for a man advantage in the closing minute and senior forward Brett Gammer made a brilliant defensive stop and backwards pass to Pomerleau who skated across the blue lines and into the high slot before firing a shot into the empty net for the final margin of victory as time expired.

Liberty outshot Stony Brook 40-28 and won more than 60 percent of the faceoffs (37 out of 61).

"This is a tough place to win, and I was proud of the way our guys played today," Handy said. "Our guys, for the most part, played pretty well. They battled for two games up here and that's all we can ask for."

The Flames return to the LaHaye Ice Center to challenge No. 2-ranked Adrian (Mich.) College on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m., with the opener being the annual Star Wars Night. Liberty split its series against the Bulldogs on their home ice in October, winning the opening game, 2-1.

"We have a huge weekend against Adrian," Handy said. "We're looking forward to being back in front of our home fans."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer