Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Flames forwards Aaron Higgins and Jared Matley hound the Black Knight's net in the second period, when Liberty scored five times. (Photos by Ted Allen)
DII Flames erase early deficit again, slay Black Knights to improve to 2-0 before heading into Lions’ den
3/12/2024 6:05:00 PM | Men's D2 Hockey
Liberty, ranked No. 2 in the nation, rallied for five unanswered goals in the second period and held on for a 6-3 win to set up a showdown with No. 2-ranked Lindenwood on its home ice.
Trailing 1-0 after the first period, Liberty University's ACHA Division II men's hockey team rallied for five unanswered goals in the second to seize control of Tuesday's second game in its pool against Army, eventually holding on for a 6-3 victory at the NHL Arena at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.
"We're really just dialed in right now, keeping the main thing the main thing," said Flames freshman forward Aaron Higgins, who scored two goals against the Black Knights. "The focus is on getting one win at a time. We didn't overlook Army at any time. We just stuck together and stuck to the systems and it paid off for us. Everybody plays their role and knows their part. The scorers are scoring and the guys that go in there and grind for us, they're grinding for us. They're hitting bodies and getting pucks deep, which is huge for us."
The Flames netted both the equalizer and the go-ahead goals on second-period power plays, the first by graduate defenseman Dylan Kent off assists from sophomore defenseman Logan Starkey and junior forward Jared Matley with 14:23 to play in the period. Then, Matley capitalized unassisted to give Liberty the lead that it would never relinquish with 11:47 to go.
"It was a big momentum change," Matley said. "We were down one and we stuck together. We had faith and we put the puck in the net and we used that momentum to keep going and win the game."
He said the Black Knights' physicality backfired when the Flames showed self-control and didn't retaliate.
"They're a big, strong team and we came into the game knowing that, so our game plan was to use our speed," Matley said. "We've been saying that all year. If they have a dirty hit, don't punch back, don't push back, stay even-keeled and put the puck in the back of the net on the power play. We ate some hits today, but we made the plays we needed to make and kept using our speed and got our chances and we buried a few of them."
Liberty junior goalie Lane Skon made a couple key saves of breakaway and odd-man rush opportunities by the Black Knights and the Flames continued to capitalize on their chances.
Exactly two minutes after Matley's score, with the teams back at 5-on-5, Kent netted his second goal off a shot from the high slot off assists from sophomore forward Josh Martin and junior forward Eric Abbate, extending the advantage to 3-1.
"Kent is a great defenseman, very experienced," Higgins said. "He's been playing at this level for a very long time and obviously, you can tell by the way he's playing that he's huge for our offense. He's a guy that can get up the ice and really help the forwards out a lot. He's got great vision and every time he shoots, he gets it on net, and he just makes great plays for us."
Higgins padded the Flames' lead to 4-1 at the 8:23 mark before junior forward Luke Tucker stretched it to 5-1 with 5:30 mark remaining in the period. Then, less than a minute after a goal by Army's Mark Lehman ended the Flames' scoring run, Higgins answered with Liberty's sixth score with 11:10 remaining in the game, finishing on a fast break from point-blank range to widen the gap to 6-2. Both of Higgins' goals were assisted by linemates Matley and sophomore Mark Padgett.
"Higgins has been hot right now," Matley said. "He's putting the puck in the net, so I like finding him and building off his energy. He brings a lot of that to the game."
With the teams skating 4-on-4, Army scored again on a shot by defenseman Bobby Staring to cut the deficit to 6-3 with 9:17 to play, but the Flames' spent much of the rest of the action on the power play and iced the victory.
Army outshot Liberty by a 37-32 count and Skon made 34 saves to secure the win.
The Flames (21-9-1), who erased a 3-1 deficit to edge the University of Providence (Montana) on Monday, enter Wednesday's 6:45 p.m. EST showdown with Lindenwood University on the Lions' home ice with a Final Four berth at stake.
"It's a big game, but that's what we play all year for, big moments and big games," Matley said. "They're a good team. We've battled with them in the past. They'll have home-ice advantage, (but) we split with them here, so we know if we bring it and play our game, we can beat them again for sure. When our season's on the line, I know these guys have my back and they have my back and we're going to go and battle together."
"We knew we were going to have to deal with them eventually and I'm so excited to get on the ice with them," Higgins added. "We're not scared of them at all. We owe them and we're going to focus on the moment and go out there and beat them."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
Players Mentioned
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