Senior forward Jared Matley scored three goals and distributed three assists in three games over the weekend. (Photos by Ryan Anderson)
DII Flames top defending national champion Hoosiers at Concordia-Wisconsin showcase
10/7/2024 5:31:00 PM | Men's D2 Hockey
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Liberty went 2-1 on the weekend, overcoming the host Falcons, 6-4, with a four-goal third period in Friday's opener before falling to St. Thomas (Minn.) 5-3 on Saturday.
Liberty University's ACHA Division II men's hockey team capped a weekend showcase at Concordia University of Wisconsin on Sunday by dominating reigning national champion Indiana, 8-3, to finish 2-1 in the tournament played at the Ozaukee Ice Center in Mequon, Wis.
The Flames (6-1) scored four goals in the final 10:24 of Friday's 6-4 opening triumph over the host Falcons, turning a two-goal deficit into a two-goal lead in a span of nine minutes.
After Concordia-Wisconsin seized a 4-2 lead on its second shorthanded score of the game 19 seconds into the second period, Liberty senior forward Corey Owens sparked the comeback with an unassisted shorthanded goal of his own.
Less than three minutes later, senior forward and head captain Josh Harrell netted the equalizer off an assist from freshman forward Aiden Hannegan. Flames Mark Padgett added the game-winning goal with 3:07 remaining in regulation, finishing feeds from fellow junior forward Thomas Kayner and graduate defenseman Dylan Kent, before sophomore forward Jacob Padgett tacked on an insurance goal off an assist from senior forward Luke Tucker with 1:23 to play.
Liberty outshot its hosts, 45-29, and senior graduate Lane Skon made 25 saves.
Flames senior forward Roman Lamoureux, Harrell, and Mark Padgett scored for Liberty in Saturday's 5-3 loss to St. Thomas (Minn., 2-1-1), which had defeated Indiana 8-1 in Friday's opener before losing to Concordia-Wisconsin 4-3 in overtime.
Liberty held a 46-37 advantage in shots, but the Tommies outscored the Flames 3-1 in the third period to claim a 4-2 lead that they would not relinquish. Skon made 32 saves in the setback.
Against the Hoosiers, senior defenseman Logan Johnson lifted Liberty to an early 1-0 lead with his first goal of the season, assisted by Kayner and Kent, before the Flames added three goals in the second period and four in the third.
Owens put away a pass from Hannegan to start the second-period scoring before junior defenseman Connor Diem finished feeds from Lamoureux and Jacob Padgett on a power play and Kayner scored off assists from Matley and Mark Padgett to build a 4-1 advantage.
Then in the third, Kent and freshman forward Anthony Emme sandwiched power-play scores around senior forward Jared Matley's fifth and sixth goals of the season.
Sophomore goalie Christian Sehlke earned the victory in net, making 26 saves as the Flames outshot Indiana 45-29.
Liberty had this weekend's scheduled series against the University of Denver at the LaHaye Ice Center postponed to Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
Freshman forward Anthony Emme and senior forward Corey Owens both scored goals over the weekend.
