Schwenke’s hat trick, energized bench ignite Flames to 10th win in a row at Stony Brook

Liberty senior forward and alternate captain DJ Schwenke scored the game'd first two goals and added a third on Saturday night against the Seawolves. (Photos by Ryan Anderson)

Schwenke’s hat trick, energized bench ignite Flames to 10th win in a row at Stony Brook

1/28/2024 12:28:00 AM | Men's D1 Hockey

Liberty scored four unanswered goals over an 18-minute stretch that spanned the second and third periods to pull away from the Seawolves on Friday night at The Rinx on Long Island, N.Y..

Alternate captain DJ Schwenke netted a hat trick and fellow senior forward and head captain Matt Bartel added two goals to lift Liberty University's No. 7-ranked ACHA Division I men's hockey team to a 6-2 triumph over former ESCHL rival Stony Brook on Saturday night at The Rinx on Long Island, N.Y.

The Flames (15-6-1) maintained the momentum from an action-packed start to the new year and stretched their winning streak to 10 games. They outshot the Seawolves (5-11-3) by a 48-27 margin and broke open a 2-2 contest early in the second period with four unanswered goals over the next 18 minutes.

"That was super impressive," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "Our guys played well. It was a real physical game. To us, it's about how we're playing. We want to continue to improve. One of our goals is to keep a really energized and positive bench, and tonight, we made that happen."

Just 1:35 after the opening faceoff, moments after a near miss in front by fellow senior forward and alternate captain Brett Gammer, DJ Schwenke lifted a putback of sophomore defenseman Grant Morton's shot from the high slot into the top shelf from close range in the left crease for a 1-0 lead.

Then, with the Flames on a power play at the 15:31 mark, sophomore forward Sam Feamster sent the puck across the mouth of the cage to Schwenke, crashing through the right crease, for an open-net finish and a 2-0 advantage.

"Schwenke had a great game, one of the best of his career," Handy said. "He was dangerous all night. He was killing penalties, he blocked shots, he scored on the power play. He did it all. He was very solid on the PK."

Stony Brook struck back to cut the deficit to 2-1 when Matt Minerva stole an outlet pass deep in Liberty's defensive zone and set up linemate Frank Anastasio for a shot down the slot that beat Flames keeper Hunter Virostek.

Liberty killed off a 5-on-3 opportunity by the Seawolves before squandering a 5-on-3 chance of its own late in the first period.

At the 18:47 mark of the second, Stony Brook netted the equalizer when Kristian Malec skated the puck out of his defensive zone up along the right boards before cutting in on net and sending a cross-crease feed to Minerva for a point-blank finish from the left side, tying the game at 2.

But with the Flames back on the power play, their attack pounced on the Seawolves, scoring back-to-back goals by Bartel, on a wrist shot from the high slot into the top-left corner of the cage with 16:24 left, and a fast-break finish by Schwenke from deep in the right circle at the 15:44 mark.

"Schwenke's line played well," Handy said. "On the last goal he scored, (senior forward Nate) Albers had a great outlet pass to set up Schwenke and Bartel on a two-on-one and Schwenke made no mistake and he buried it."

Late in the second period, Liberty again could not convert off a 5-on-3 and 4-on-3 before finally padding its lead to 5-2 moments later, with the teams skating 4-on-4. Freshman forward Ryan Finch dished a backhanded pass from off the backboards to senior forward Truett Olson who relayed a backhanded feed to Bartel as he cut into the right crease for a point-blank finish with 3:06 remaining in the second.

The Flames extended their lead to 6-2 seconds after a power play expired with 18:39 remaining in regulation when senior forward Jason Foltz launched a shot from the high slot and Schwenke gathered the rebound near the right post and sent a pass across the slot to junior forward Jacob Kalandyk for a sharp-angled finish from the left side.

Stony Brook ended the game on an extended power play, with back-to-back penalties assessed to Liberty, overlapping for about 30 seconds of 5-on-3 action. But the Flames' penalty kill tightened up and kept the Seawolves off the scoreboard.

"Our PK was great tonight," Handy said, noting Liberty will need more of the same on Sunday to complete the sweep. "We have to get back at it tomorrow and play a disciplined game. We've got to come and refine our game even more than we did today."

The puck will drop for the rematch back in The Rinx at 3:30 p.m., with the game streamed live on Stony Brook's YouTube channel.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer