Saturday, October 5
Lynchburg, VA
7:00 PM
Liberty University Club Sports
3
vs
2
University of Delaware
Sam feamster had enough energy left over from Saturday morning's Midnight Mayhem matchup with Delaware to deliver the game-winning goal in overtime in Saturday night's rematch. (Photo by Ryan Anderson)
Feamster, Flames power past Blue Hens in OT after letting 2-0 lead slip away in third
10/5/2024 11:09:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
Liberty allowed Delaware to net the equalizer with 8 seconds remaining in regulation before junior forward and head captain Sam Feamster delivered in the clutch with a backhanded game winner.
On-ice energy was a critical resource for Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team in Saturday night's rematch with former ESCHL rival Delaware at the LaHaye Ice Center.
Less than 17 hours after blowing out the Blue Hens in the season's first Midnight Mayhem matchup, the Flames lost a bit of jump in their legs and spring in their skates, but mustered enough pushback to stage the sweep with a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory.
"It's great for the fans," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "We'd obviously like to win that in regulation, but that's sometimes how it goes. Sometimes, we were fighting it a bit and we let them back in the game after being up 2-0. Sometimes you have to battle through it, and we battled tonight."
Junior goalie Nicholas Bernstein made 28 saves on the night as Liberty (5-1) only outshot Delaware (4-2) by a 36-30 margin after doubling the Blue Hens in shots in Game 1. He said it took a while for the Flames to refuel and start firing on all cylinders offensively.
"Especially playing after Midnight Mayhem, guys probably aren't going to bed until 3 or 4 in the morning because of all the adrenaline and you've got to get up early and it's just kind of like a shock to your body," Bernstein said. "I know we were slow getting out there at first, but we just really anchored it down and did what we do best."
After killing off two penalties before failing to capitalize on one of their own at the end of a scoreless first period, the Flames finally broke through on the power play with 12:50 to go in the second to claim a 1-0 lead. Freshman defenseman Joe Feamster, stationed in the high slot, received a pass from Mac Ratzlaff and fed fellow freshman forward Michael DeBrito in the right circle where he beat Blue Hens goalie Timothy Briley for his fourth goal in two nights.
"DeBrito's just been the hot hand lately," Bernstein said.
However, that score seemed to light a fire under the Blue Hens, who maintained steady pressure on Liberty's net, with Bernstein making a series of saves to preserve the one-goal lead. He repelled a breakaway opportunity down the center of the ice by Justin Guelph and stopped dangerous shots by leading scorer Ryan Rodrigues and other Delaware offensive threats.
The Flames' defense killed off two more penalties as Bernstein snuffed several quality scoring chances around the net and withstood a stick to the leg as a Blue Hens player crashed into the cage on another near miss.
"It's my part to make the big saves, especially when we're scoring like that to put us up, so it's definitely huge when we're able to keep the momentum going," Bernstein said.
As in Game 1, Liberty took control of the contest by converting on a five-minute major penalty, this time assessed to Delaware defenseman Brady Burke for an illegal check to the head of freshman forward Liam Cox-Smith near the top of the Blue Hens' right circle.
The Flames didn't waste any time in doubling their advantage, cashing in on their second power-play goal of the night just five seconds into it. Senior forward and alternate captain Jacob Kalandyk received a pass from junior defenseman Nick Pomerleau just inside the top of the same circle and rifled a wrist shot into the upper netting at the 14:32 mark.
However, Liberty couldn't pad its two-goal cushion over the final 4:55 of its man advantage and Delaware trimmed the deficit to 2-1 with 2:49 remaining in regulation when Cody Dias tipped defenseman Riley shot from the point past Bernstein from point-blank range, ending his shutout bid.
After a slashing penalty on senior defenseman Nate Cox put the Blue Hens back on the power play for the final two minutes of regulation, and they pulled Briley for a 6-on-4 edge for the final 1:20, Bernstein and the Flames dodged a couple bullets before Delaware delivered the equalizer with 8.2 seconds to play. The Blue Hens dug deep to bear down and Tanner Mahoney put away assists from fellow forward Guelph and Dohner through traffic in front of the cage.
While Delaware was granted extra time, Liberty came to life in the 5-minute overtime period. Its defense thwarted two golden opportunities for the Blue Hens in 3-on-3 action as Bernstein made back-to-back clutch saves, including on a putback wraparound attempt.
"I thought I owed it to the guys for letting that second one in late in the (third) period," Bernstein said.
Given the reprieve, the Flames' offense generated a fast break that junior forward and head captain Sam Feamster executed on unassisted, driving through the left crease and lifting a backhanded wrist shot over Briley's blocker for the game-winner at the 3:17 mark.
"Sam, obviously, the captain — Who else? — goes down and finishes it," Bernstein said. "He's an amazing captain (and) the No. 1 example everyone looks to for everything, on and off the ice, with the team."
"Sam's been a huge catalyst for us this year and I love to see him chipping in with some big-time goals," Handy added.
After sweeping Pittsburgh on its first road trip last weekend, Liberty will travel to Michigan over its Fall Break to challenge the defending ACHA DI national champion Bulldogs on their home ice, Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. in Arrington Ice Arena.
"It's nice to get the win and we just keep moving forward from here to Adrian next weekend," Handy said. "It was great resiliency to see us come back. At the end of the day, we're a team that's got to be focused on learning and focused on trying to get better."
"It's always good for us to go to Adrian this time of the year," he added. "We know where we're at and we're going to come ready to play this Thursday and Friday."
Bernstein said the Flames have been tested by fire and are ready to take their games to the next level in what could be an early-season preview of nationals. Last March near St. Louis, the Bulldogs bounced Liberty from the quarterfinals, 4-2, en route to their second Murdoch Cup in four years.
"We've been slowly building, weekend after weekend, game after game," Bernstein said. "It's just an amazing test from God, how He puts us in those situations and slowly prepares us for the other games coming up this season and helps us build our confidence and boost each other up so we know what we're made of, and we can show everybody else that."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
Less than 17 hours after blowing out the Blue Hens in the season's first Midnight Mayhem matchup, the Flames lost a bit of jump in their legs and spring in their skates, but mustered enough pushback to stage the sweep with a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory.
"It's great for the fans," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "We'd obviously like to win that in regulation, but that's sometimes how it goes. Sometimes, we were fighting it a bit and we let them back in the game after being up 2-0. Sometimes you have to battle through it, and we battled tonight."
Junior goalie Nicholas Bernstein made 28 saves on the night as Liberty (5-1) only outshot Delaware (4-2) by a 36-30 margin after doubling the Blue Hens in shots in Game 1. He said it took a while for the Flames to refuel and start firing on all cylinders offensively.
"Especially playing after Midnight Mayhem, guys probably aren't going to bed until 3 or 4 in the morning because of all the adrenaline and you've got to get up early and it's just kind of like a shock to your body," Bernstein said. "I know we were slow getting out there at first, but we just really anchored it down and did what we do best."
After killing off two penalties before failing to capitalize on one of their own at the end of a scoreless first period, the Flames finally broke through on the power play with 12:50 to go in the second to claim a 1-0 lead. Freshman defenseman Joe Feamster, stationed in the high slot, received a pass from Mac Ratzlaff and fed fellow freshman forward Michael DeBrito in the right circle where he beat Blue Hens goalie Timothy Briley for his fourth goal in two nights.
"DeBrito's just been the hot hand lately," Bernstein said.
However, that score seemed to light a fire under the Blue Hens, who maintained steady pressure on Liberty's net, with Bernstein making a series of saves to preserve the one-goal lead. He repelled a breakaway opportunity down the center of the ice by Justin Guelph and stopped dangerous shots by leading scorer Ryan Rodrigues and other Delaware offensive threats.
The Flames' defense killed off two more penalties as Bernstein snuffed several quality scoring chances around the net and withstood a stick to the leg as a Blue Hens player crashed into the cage on another near miss.
"It's my part to make the big saves, especially when we're scoring like that to put us up, so it's definitely huge when we're able to keep the momentum going," Bernstein said.
As in Game 1, Liberty took control of the contest by converting on a five-minute major penalty, this time assessed to Delaware defenseman Brady Burke for an illegal check to the head of freshman forward Liam Cox-Smith near the top of the Blue Hens' right circle.
The Flames didn't waste any time in doubling their advantage, cashing in on their second power-play goal of the night just five seconds into it. Senior forward and alternate captain Jacob Kalandyk received a pass from junior defenseman Nick Pomerleau just inside the top of the same circle and rifled a wrist shot into the upper netting at the 14:32 mark.
However, Liberty couldn't pad its two-goal cushion over the final 4:55 of its man advantage and Delaware trimmed the deficit to 2-1 with 2:49 remaining in regulation when Cody Dias tipped defenseman Riley shot from the point past Bernstein from point-blank range, ending his shutout bid.
After a slashing penalty on senior defenseman Nate Cox put the Blue Hens back on the power play for the final two minutes of regulation, and they pulled Briley for a 6-on-4 edge for the final 1:20, Bernstein and the Flames dodged a couple bullets before Delaware delivered the equalizer with 8.2 seconds to play. The Blue Hens dug deep to bear down and Tanner Mahoney put away assists from fellow forward Guelph and Dohner through traffic in front of the cage.
While Delaware was granted extra time, Liberty came to life in the 5-minute overtime period. Its defense thwarted two golden opportunities for the Blue Hens in 3-on-3 action as Bernstein made back-to-back clutch saves, including on a putback wraparound attempt.
"I thought I owed it to the guys for letting that second one in late in the (third) period," Bernstein said.
Given the reprieve, the Flames' offense generated a fast break that junior forward and head captain Sam Feamster executed on unassisted, driving through the left crease and lifting a backhanded wrist shot over Briley's blocker for the game-winner at the 3:17 mark.
"Sam, obviously, the captain — Who else? — goes down and finishes it," Bernstein said. "He's an amazing captain (and) the No. 1 example everyone looks to for everything, on and off the ice, with the team."
"Sam's been a huge catalyst for us this year and I love to see him chipping in with some big-time goals," Handy added.
After sweeping Pittsburgh on its first road trip last weekend, Liberty will travel to Michigan over its Fall Break to challenge the defending ACHA DI national champion Bulldogs on their home ice, Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. in Arrington Ice Arena.
"It's nice to get the win and we just keep moving forward from here to Adrian next weekend," Handy said. "It was great resiliency to see us come back. At the end of the day, we're a team that's got to be focused on learning and focused on trying to get better."
"It's always good for us to go to Adrian this time of the year," he added. "We know where we're at and we're going to come ready to play this Thursday and Friday."
Bernstein said the Flames have been tested by fire and are ready to take their games to the next level in what could be an early-season preview of nationals. Last March near St. Louis, the Bulldogs bounced Liberty from the quarterfinals, 4-2, en route to their second Murdoch Cup in four years.
"We've been slowly building, weekend after weekend, game after game," Bernstein said. "It's just an amazing test from God, how He puts us in those situations and slowly prepares us for the other games coming up this season and helps us build our confidence and boost each other up so we know what we're made of, and we can show everybody else that."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
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