Junior defenseman Laz Kaebel cuts into the crease and prepares to skate across the slot for his second score against Arizona on Saturday. (Photos by Megan Lovelace)
Flames surge past Wildcats to finish 3-0 in Maryville Showcase
11/23/2024 7:03:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
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Defensemen accounted for three of Liberty's eight scores and five different forwards also found the back of the net against Arizona.
Liberty University's No. 7-ranked ACHA Division I men's hockey team started and ended well, with excellent energy and crisp execution, in Saturday afternoon's third and final round of the Maryville Showcase, outshooting No. 16 Arizona by a 43-26 margin and pulling away from the Wildcats, 8-3.
After allowing Arizona to tie the contest at 2 early in the second period, the Flames (12-5-2) netted the last three goals of the period and tacked on three more in the third to complete a three-game sweep through the Showcase that snapped a four-game skid.
"We talked to our guys about the weekend and the fact that we wanted to treat it like a national championship weekend, playing three games against three great opponents that will be at the national tournament," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "We faced a lot of adversity and had to battle through that. We were able to play well for three games in a row, and that's a big feat. I was proud of our guys."
Against the Wildcats (6-9), Liberty scored the game's first goal for the first time since sweeping Stony Brook on Oct. 26 at the LaHaye Ice Center. The Flames had rallied in the third period to edge the host Saints, 2-1, in Thursday's opener before overcoming top-ranked Minot State 5-2 with five unanswered goals in the second and third periods on Friday.
"I liked our first period," Handy said, noting that Liberty won 13 of 17 faceoffs against Arizona in the opening 20 minutes. "To find the resolve we had in that locker room and grow as a team in the first period is encouraging."
The Flames seized a 1-0 lead just 1 minute, 22 seconds after the opening faceoff when freshman defenseman Michael Adamek maneuvered the puck through the right circle and sent a centering pass tipped up in front by freshman forward Mac Ratzlaff right to junior forward Sam Feamster for a point-blank finish near the left post.
Later in the period, Adamek made a sliding block of an Arizona shot on a fast break before Ratzlaff started a counterattack the other way and dropped the puck back for Adamek, who cut across the slot and nearly cashed in on a backhand.
Then, 3:00 before the first intermission, with the Wildcats on a power play, Flames sophomore goalie Konrad Kausch made back-to-back clutch saves, blocking an initial shot from the high slot before sprawling forward to repel an open putback in the left crease.
"Konrad was exceptional all three games this weekend," Handy said. "For Kausch to play three games in 67 hours is awesome. He competed hard, and it helps when Konrad's playing so well for us to work through some things (offensively) in the early parts of games."
Less than 30 seconds later, as the Wildcats tried to transition through the neutral zone, DeMars pounced on a free puck for a steal and skated down the slot before beating Arizona goalie Hadyn Gould with a backhanded scoop shot for a shorthanded score and a 2-0 lead.
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However, the Wildcats looked dangerous at the start of the second period, scoring two goals on their first three shots to tie the game at 2. Arizona forced two turnovers with an aggressive forecheck in the Flames' defensive end before Owen Vilhauer took a pass out of the right corner and skated across the slot before tucking a backhand under Kausch from close range, trimming the deficit to 2-1 at the 14:31 mark. Twenty-five seconds later, the Wildcats netted the equalizer when Ari Rossi put away a backhanded feed through the left circle on a fast break.
Liberty rekindled its offensive firepower and reclaimed a 3-2 lead 7:30 before the second intermission when junior defenseman Laz Kaebel intercepted an Arizona clearing attempt at the right of the blue line and launched a wrist shot that whizzed past Gould into the top-right corner. Just over two minutes later, the Flames doubled their advantage when freshman forward Brad Barker stole the puck from a Wildcat player deep in the defensive end and sent a pass across the crease to sophomore forward Mason Smith for a finish off Gould's pads.
The Flames were just heating up as they capitalized on their first power-play goal with 1:08 remaining in the period. Kaebel received a feed from DeMars in the high slot and set up senior forward and alternate captain Jacob Kalandyk in the top of the right circle for a sharp-angled wrist shot into the upper netting, extending Liberty's lead to 5-2.
The Wildcats got one goal back on a power play at the 16:49 mark of the third period, trimming the deficit to 5-3. After defenseman Nicholas Chiocca's poke check from on his back near center ice prevented a potential 3-on-1 fast break by the Flames, Arizona converted off an odd-man rush with Riley Ruh slamming a shot past Kausch in the right crease.
Liberty's offense again turned to its defense to provide a spark as junior defenseman Kevin Bite skated the puck up the left wing and around a couple Wildcats along the boards before rifling a slap shot into the top-right corner of the cage past replacement goalie Adam Stevenson to increase the advantage to 6-3.
Shields then took on a playmaking role, skating through the right circle and behind the net to send a pass back out to fellow freshman forward Liam Cox-Smith in the slot, where he lifted a backhanded wrist shot past Stevenson inside the left post to stretch the edge to 7-3.
Finally, with 1:00 to go, Kaebel made a beauty of a move, skating through the right circle and cutting back across the slot before capping the scoring with a backhanded finish.
"Scoring was spread out amongst all the lines tonight, and I was proud of our mindset," Handy said. "We stayed out of the box, only taking two penalties, and executed when we had our chances. It's great to see us growing into the team we want to be, and we look forward to healing up over Thanksgiving and finishing off the semester well against Drexel."
The Flames will return to the LIC to host the Dragons on Dec. 6-7, with that Friday night's series opener being the second of the season's three Midnight Mayhem matchups.
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterLiberty celebrates one of its eight goals against the Wildcats on Saturday at the Maryville University Hockey Center.
