DIII Flames sweep Charleston on road, Appalachian State at home, stretch winning streak to 7

Friday, November 1

Charleston, SC

TBD

Liberty University Club Sports

College of Charleston

Flames junior forward Thomas Mougin skates between College of Charleston's goalie and a defenseman in the Flames' sweep of the Cougars last weekend.

DIII Flames sweep Charleston on road, Appalachian State at home, stretch winning streak to 7

11/12/2024 11:58:00 AM | Men's D3 Hockey

Liberty used a third-period hat trick by Josiah Martinez to rally from a 1-0 deficit for a second afternoon in a row against the Mountaineers on Sunday at the LIC.

Liberty University's AAU Division III men's hockey team swept Appalachian State (N.C.) University this past weekend at the LaHaye Ice Center, extending its winning streak to seven games after opening the season with a loss at home to Penn State.

The Flames (7-1), who swept the College of Charleston, 5-4 last Friday and 9-1 last Saturday in South Carolina, overcame an early 1-0 deficit to top the Mountaineers (3-5) in Saturday's opener, 5-3, before winning Sunday's rematch more decisively, 4-1.

Sophomore forward Caleb Burchett tied Game 1 with a spectacular finish after taking a pass at center ice from senior forward Ethan Dunn along the left boards. He skated between the circles and tucked a shot past ASU goalie Owen Geyer before crashing over top of him into the back of the net.

Dunn then lifted Liberty to a 2-1 lead at the 18:39 mark of the second period by receiving graduate forward Michael Williams' pass from behind the net that glanced off a defenseman's skate to set up a wide-open shot in front. ASU's Jason Beck tied it at 2 by poking in a puck in the right crease that had deflected off the stick and skate of two Liberty defensemen on Sam Kasper's shot from the top of the left circle.

Then, with the teams skating 4-on-4 with 2:23 to play in the period, Williams received a short pass from senior forward Luke Bessire and beat Geyer with a shot from the inside edge of the right circle for a 3-2 Liberty lead.

Then, just 32 seconds into the third period, Burchett tacked on what turned out to be the game winner off a back pass from freshman forward Zachary Lemons as they skated through the slot, extending the Flames' edge to 4-2.

ASU trimmed the deficit to 4-3 when Arnett punched in the putback in an open right crease after Beck's shot through traffic from the inside edge of the left circle with 10:30 remaining in regulation. The Flames answered with an insurance goal by Williams off a fast-break feed from freshman forward Josiah Martinez with 8:19 to go.

DIII men's hockey celebration Charleston — Senior forward Luke Bessire (10) greets teammates after a goal at Charleston.

Liberty outshot the Mountaineers, 40-31, and sophomore goalie Trey Tompkins made 28 saves to record the win between the pipes.
In Game 2, Martinez netted a hat trick and added an assist as Liberty again erased a 1-0 ASU lead, only this time with four unanswered goals in the third period.

After allowing Ethan Locklear to end a scoreless tie with a power-play goal for the second straight night, at the 6:37 mark of the second period, the Flames converted the equalizer on Martinez's first goal (and fourth of the season), assisted by Dunn and Williams with 15:45 remaining in regulation.

Williams added the game-winning goal off assists from senior defenseman Jake Nole and Martinez with 12:52 to go before Williams and Dunn both set up Martinez's last two scores at the 6:31 and 1:18 marks.

ASU outshot Liberty, 36-31, but Flames senior goalie Kyle Wesbury made 35 saves to secure the victory.

Liberty will travel to High Point (N.C.) University this Saturday and Sunday before concluding the fall semester schedule Dec. 6-7 at Middle Tennessee.

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