DII Flames junior forward and head captain Josh Harrell (22) skates between teammates during Friday night's opener against Miami University at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photos by Aziz Ibrahim)
DII Flames sweep Redhawks after rising to No. 2 in Southeast Region rankings
2/5/2024 3:42:00 PM | Men's D2 Hockey
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Liberty improves to 17-9 before heading to New England to battle three teams this weekend, including defending national champion UMass-Amherst.
Liberty University's ACHA Division II men's hockey team erased a 2-1 deficit early in the third period of Friday night's opener against Miami (Ohio) University by scoring three unanswered goals in a 4-2 victory that set the stage for the Flames to compete the series sweep of the Redhawks on Saturday at the LaHaye Ice Center.
The Flames (17-9) got pivotal goals from graduate defenseman Dylan Kent in both contests, including the game winner on Friday night off assists from sophomore forward Thomas Kayner and junior forward Roman Lamoureux.
Kayner had lifted Liberty to a 1-0 lead with 40 seconds to go in the first period with his 13th goal of the season off assists from Lamoureux and junior center Joshua Sherwood. Jacob Padgett controls the puck as he skates up ice against Miami (Ohio) University.
Lamoureux had tied that contest at 2-2 with an unassisted power play goal at the 14:05 mark after Miami had seized the lead with a power-play goal of its own just 34 seconds after the second-period faceoff.
After Kent's goal, the Flames capped the scoring with an empty-netter by junior forward and head captain Josh Harrell, who was making his return from injury that sidelined him for most of the fall semester, with 56 seconds to play.
Liberty outshot the Redhawks 40-23, and junior goalie Lane Skon made 21 saves to seal the win.
In Saturday's rematch, the Flames carried over the offensive firepower, netting three more goals in the first period and two more in the second period of a 5-2 triumph.
Kent started the scoring with another power-play goal, assisted by sophomore defenseman Logan Starkey and Lamoureux. Miami tied it up at the 10:36 mark of the first period on a goal by John Fratto, assisted by Redhawks leading scorer Gabe Dombrowski. Liberty sophomore forward Antonio Vidal answered less than two minutes later with a shorthanded score off assists from Skon and junior forward Eric Abbate.
Senior right wing David Hauke stretched the lead to 3-1 with his second game-winning goal of the season, assisted by senior defenseman Rece Poulin and senior forward Cooper Neal, 51 seconds before the first intermission. Hauke then added an insurance goal off assists from Starkey and Kent with 7:44 to play in the second period before Neal capped the scoring for the Flames with their second shorthanded goal of the game, finishing feeds from sophomore center Josh Martin and Kent at the 3:22 mark.
Midway through the third period, Dombrowski netted his 28th goal of the season on a power play to account for the final score.
Liberty only held a 39-37 shot advantage in the rematch, but Skon again stood strong, making 35 saves.
The Flames, which moved up to No. 2 in the Southeast Region rankings last week, will travel to New England this weekend for three games against Northwest Region opponents. On Friday at 7:45 p.m., Liberty will challenge Keene State (13-7), the No. 4 team in the Northeast which they swept last weekend at the LIC, before traveling to reigning ACHA DII national champion UMass-Amherst, ranked No. 5 in the Northeast, on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and concluding the weekend road trip at Northeastern, the top-ranked team in the region, on Sunday at 12:15 p.m.
The Flames swept both the Minutemen (15-10-1) and the Huskies (14-6-1) in late October and early November, respectively, at the LIC.
Senior defenseman Rece Poulin skates in front of the Miami (Ohio) University bench during Friday night's series opener at the LaHaye Ice Center.
