Friday, September 27
Pittsburgh, PA
7:20 PM
Liberty University Club Sports
6
at
0
University of Pittsburgh
Freshman forward Kal Essenmacher gets a breakaway opportunity at the LaHaye Ice Center last week. He netted his second, third, and fourth goals of the season Friday night at Pittsburgh. (Photo by KJ Jugar)
DI Flames pounce on Panthers in ACHA DI-opening shutout rout on road
9/27/2024 10:43:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
Freshman forward Kal Essenmacher completed his hat trick in the second period and sophomore goalie Konrad Kausch made 31 saves in the No. 5 Liberty's 6-0 triumph at No. 10 Pittsburgh.
Freshman forward Kal Essenmacher netted a hat trick to ignite the attack for Liberty University's No. 5-ranked ACHA Division I men's hockey team in Friday night's series opener at the No. 10 University of Pittsburgh, a 6-0 triumph in the Alpha Ice Complex.
"Kal (Essenmacher, freshman Hayden) DeMars, and (sophomore Mason) Smith were our best line out there tonight," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "Their line was very strong, and they played really well. Kal was opportunistic on the chances he had and found the back of the net. He is someone who has worked for everything he's gotten."
Sophomore goalie Konrad Kausch made a couple clutch saves early in the contest, including one on a two-on-one breakaway opportunity by the Panthers and another high glove save of Pittsburgh forward Quinten Shaffer's shot from deep in the slot.
Offensively, Liberty (2-1) generated several quality scoring chances of its own, with Pitt (3-2) goalie Grant Lindsay coming up with some stellar saves before the Flames finally netted the eventual game winner.
Freshman forward Mac Ratzlaff, who scored twice in a season-opening 7-1 rout of North Carolina before being ejected in last week's 4-3 loss to Florida Gulf Coast University, deflected senior defenseman Nate Cox's shot from the top of the right circle into the top-right corner of the cage for a 1-0 advantage midway through the first period.
Five minutes later, Essenmacher, stationed in the slot, received an entry pass from DeMars and trapped and shot the puck into the top-right corner of the cage to double Liberty's lead to 2-0.
At the close of the first period, Kausch made a couple more stops on a successful Flames penalty kill and another glove save on a 2-on-2 fast-break chance by the Panthers.
Six minutes into the second period, after forcing a turnover deep in Pittsburgh's end, Essenmacher netted his second goal off an assist across the slot from Smith, finishing in the same corner of the net as his first score.
As he cut into the left crease, Smith got his first goal of the season on a spectacular tip of sophomore defenseman Nick Pomerleau's shot from the top of the left circle, for Pomerleau's team-leading fifth assist.
Then, after winning another faceoff in the offensive zone, Essenmacher completed his hat trick by one-timing DeMars' crossing feed past Lindsay from the inside edge of the left circle. Freshman defenseman Joe Feamster delivered the secondary assist from the point, on the score that lifted Liberty to a commanding 5-0 lead.
Early in the third, junior defenseman Laz Kaebel capped the scoring by blasting a slapshot from the high slot through a screen in front by freshman forward Michael DeBrito.
Kausch shut the door on the Panthers' attack, making his 29th and 30th saves on point-blank shots in the left crease before stopping his 31st shot with his facemask in the closing seconds. Liberty outshot Pitt by a 40-31 margin for the contest.
"We killed off four penalties, so we played pretty solid defensively, and Konrad had a great game in goal," Handy said. "He was really strong for us, and our D corps played well. They made simple plays and were effective. We played better on the forecheck and played a whole lot better tonight overall."
The two teams will face off again in the Alpha Ice Complex on Saturday at 2:20 p.m. Live action can be streamed on the Panthers' YouTube channel.
"We've got to get right back at it again tomorrow," Handy said. "One down, one more to go. We want to finish it (the sweep)."
Junior Nick Bernstein is the projected starter between the pipes for the Flames in the rematch.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
"Kal (Essenmacher, freshman Hayden) DeMars, and (sophomore Mason) Smith were our best line out there tonight," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "Their line was very strong, and they played really well. Kal was opportunistic on the chances he had and found the back of the net. He is someone who has worked for everything he's gotten."
Sophomore goalie Konrad Kausch made a couple clutch saves early in the contest, including one on a two-on-one breakaway opportunity by the Panthers and another high glove save of Pittsburgh forward Quinten Shaffer's shot from deep in the slot.
Offensively, Liberty (2-1) generated several quality scoring chances of its own, with Pitt (3-2) goalie Grant Lindsay coming up with some stellar saves before the Flames finally netted the eventual game winner.
Freshman forward Mac Ratzlaff, who scored twice in a season-opening 7-1 rout of North Carolina before being ejected in last week's 4-3 loss to Florida Gulf Coast University, deflected senior defenseman Nate Cox's shot from the top of the right circle into the top-right corner of the cage for a 1-0 advantage midway through the first period.
Five minutes later, Essenmacher, stationed in the slot, received an entry pass from DeMars and trapped and shot the puck into the top-right corner of the cage to double Liberty's lead to 2-0.
At the close of the first period, Kausch made a couple more stops on a successful Flames penalty kill and another glove save on a 2-on-2 fast-break chance by the Panthers.
Six minutes into the second period, after forcing a turnover deep in Pittsburgh's end, Essenmacher netted his second goal off an assist across the slot from Smith, finishing in the same corner of the net as his first score.
As he cut into the left crease, Smith got his first goal of the season on a spectacular tip of sophomore defenseman Nick Pomerleau's shot from the top of the left circle, for Pomerleau's team-leading fifth assist.
Then, after winning another faceoff in the offensive zone, Essenmacher completed his hat trick by one-timing DeMars' crossing feed past Lindsay from the inside edge of the left circle. Freshman defenseman Joe Feamster delivered the secondary assist from the point, on the score that lifted Liberty to a commanding 5-0 lead.
Early in the third, junior defenseman Laz Kaebel capped the scoring by blasting a slapshot from the high slot through a screen in front by freshman forward Michael DeBrito.
Kausch shut the door on the Panthers' attack, making his 29th and 30th saves on point-blank shots in the left crease before stopping his 31st shot with his facemask in the closing seconds. Liberty outshot Pitt by a 40-31 margin for the contest.
"We killed off four penalties, so we played pretty solid defensively, and Konrad had a great game in goal," Handy said. "He was really strong for us, and our D corps played well. They made simple plays and were effective. We played better on the forecheck and played a whole lot better tonight overall."
The two teams will face off again in the Alpha Ice Complex on Saturday at 2:20 p.m. Live action can be streamed on the Panthers' YouTube channel.
"We've got to get right back at it again tomorrow," Handy said. "One down, one more to go. We want to finish it (the sweep)."
Junior Nick Bernstein is the projected starter between the pipes for the Flames in the rematch.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
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