Flames recharge, fend off resilient Blue Hens in red hot and blue rematch

Saturday, September 27

Lynchburg, VA

7:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

University of Delaware

Flames sophomore forward Kal Essenmacher skates through the neutral zone during Saturday's early-morning series opener against Delaware at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photos by Grace Greer)

Flames recharge, fend off resilient Blue Hens in red hot and blue rematch

9/27/2025 11:16:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

Liberty played with plenty of offensive punch, responding to every Delaware score to improve to 6-0 with a 5-3 triumph and series sweep.

Ryan Finch Delaware player — Flames senior forward Ryan Finch has a few words with Delaware forward and leading scorer Leighton Biesiadecki in the series opener.

Just 17 hours after their first Midnight Mayhem matchup of the fall semester, Liberty University's No. 4-ranked ACHA Division I men's hockey team showed few signs of fatigue in Saturday night's rematch with Delaware on Saturday night at the LaHaye Ice Center, a 5-3 victory that completed the series sweep.

"Last night was crazy," said senior forward Ryan Finch, who provided an unassisted breakaway insurance goal down the stretch to help the Flames (6-0) stay undefeated. "That was probably the loudest I've ever heard this place in my three years here."

In Game 2, Liberty outshot Delaware (3-2) by a 40-24 margin and played with plenty of energy and jump in its skates though it wasn't able to replicate the decisive 7-1 victory in front of the raucous Midnight Mayhem crowd.

A more determined Blue Hens bunch fought the Flames tooth and nail in the rematch, battling back from 2-0, 3-1, and 4-2 deficits to trim them to 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 before Liberty emerged with the thrilling two-goal triumph, getting goals from five different players as it had from seven scorers in the midnight matchup.

"It's always hard to play at midnight and then turn around and play again at 7 p.m.," Finch said. "Hockey's 95 percent mental, so if you're not mentally dialed in, it's hard to go out there and perform. Delaware played hard, and we had some hiccups in our game, but better teams come out on top when they work hard as a team. The guys tried their hardest and they pulled it off tonight, so it was cool to see. Our team came out this weekend and just kept positive attitudes on the bench and tried to pick each other up when things went south, so it was good to see."

Freshman forward Michael Fischer, who netted his first goal as a Flame and Liberty's seventh and final goal of the Midnight Mayhem series opener, picked up where he left off in Saturday night's rematch, unleashing an unassisted missile from the top of the left circle that rocketed into the upper netting for a 1-0 lead at the 11:50 mark of the first period.

Over the next few minutes, Liberty generated a couple high-percentage scoring chances but junior forward Mason Smith and sophomore forward Kal Essenmacher both had their shots from deep in the right circle stopped by Blue Hens goalie Timothy Briley before receiving crushing checks from Delaware defensemen.

Essenmacher fired another quality shot from around the same spot right into the chest of Briley late in the period before tipping senior defenseman Connor Diem's shot from the left boards up into his glove for another near miss.

Then, with just 17.9 seconds to go in the first, junior defenseman Luke Anderson, trailing through the right circle, finished a spectacular breakout on tic-tac-toe passing from Smith to senior forward Sam Feamster to junior forward Mac Ratzlaff by lifting a loose puck over Riley's glove with a wrist shot that ripped into the upper netting for a 2-0 Liberty lead.

"It was kind of a mentally and physically exhausting weekend and you realize that going in, but it's good for our guys to get that early on in the season," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "(The Blue Hens) were resilient all night and it was a good battle, and the crowd again tonight was boisterous and great. We didn't see our execution where it was last night (but) overall, we continued to get better as a team through our game this weekend."

Flames senior goalie Nick Bernstein made three clutch saves on a counterattack early in the second period before the Blue Hens cut the deficit in half by converting on a 3-on-2 fast break with 15:14 to play. Delaware defenseman Finn Boyd recovered the puck after a poke check by a Liberty player as he skated down the slot and finished into the upper netting from the right crease.

As it had after Delaware's lone goal in the opener, Liberty responded quickly with Luke Munroe punching in a backhanded crossing pass from fellow junior forward Aidan Carney in the left crease to extend the edge to 3-1 at the 13:23 mark.

"Carney, Munroe, and Finch have been very strong for us this year, and they seem to have great chemistry together," Handy said.

"Munroe is so smart and Carney's obviously highly skilled," Finch added. "They both came from NCAA teams, so just playing with them helps a lot. It's really fun. We have a lot of good energy on the bench right now. Everybody is competitive and wants to win. We have four lines rolling, so we've got the depth and the ability to go all the way this year. We just have to stick to it."

The Flames maintained pressure in the Blue Hens' zone for the next several minutes before Delaware again capitalized on an even-strength counterattack with 4:10 left in the second when Mason Moore received an assist from Austin Vecchio deep in the left circle and threaded a sharp-angled shot between Bernstein's right skate and the left post to make it a 3-2 contest.

With the game's outcome again in doubt, Flames sophomore defenseman Michael Adamek sent a beautiful dish as he skated across the high slot to Essenmacher deep in the left circle where he one-timed a top-shelf shot over Briley's blocker to double Liberty's lead to 4-2 with 13:56 remaining in regulation.

"What a great pass by Adamek, puts it right on his stick and Kal, who's a guy who always scores timely goals, scores another timely one there," Handy said.

Essenmacher, senior forward Ryan Finch, and Carney created quality scoring opportnities over the next several minutes, with Carney intercepting a pass near Liberty's blue line and starting a shorthanded breakaway before being tripped up and having his diving shot veer wide left.

Delaware made things interesting down the stretch by capitalizing on a power play with 6:12 remaining when Moore netted his second goal unassisted from deep in the slot, beating Bernstein with a wrist shot inside the top-right corner of the cage.

But Finch all but put the win on ice by showcasing his speed and stick skills on another breakaway opportunity after pouncing on the puck around his own blue line. He accelerated down the center of the ice, leaving Delaware skaters in his tracks before deftly tucking the puck inside the right post for the final score with 2:39 to play.

"That's a huge play," Handy said. "He goes out in a lane, blocks a shot, and uses his speed. He's a goal scorer for us."

"I don't block a lot of shots, but when you're not having the best game, you've got to do the little things and try make yourself stand out," Finch said.

The Flames were playing without sophomore forwards Hayden DeMars and Tucker Shields, who are expected to return from their respective lower- and upper-body injuries in time for next weekend's first-ever series against No. 10 Utah.

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