Not blitzed, just bored from the game cause it was the 2nd period and we didn't have anyone to yell at.
As for the girlfriend part, not in the least bit. One of my best friend's girls, yes, not mine.
Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke
by Scott LaPeer
Ten different Flames contributed in scoring, and Liberty hockey wrapped up their season series against Duke University Friday night with a pummeling 13-3 win.
After having disposed of the Blue Devils 10-2 just a week earlier in Durham, N.C., Liberty had little trouble finishing off their visitors in front of a boisterous home crowd that generated plenty of energy for the Flames to play to.
A spell of pre-game confusion involving the late arrivals of some key players may have been an ominous sign of how the rest of the night would unfurl for the undermanned Blue Devils. Despite drawing first blood when Duke's Brian Lake beat sophomore goaltender Dalton Stoltz from in front of the net just over two minutes into the contest, Liberty freshman forward and scoring leader Alexandre Gelinas countered just forty-six seconds later on a goal from defenseman Matt Porter, sparking a run of six straight Flames' goals. Gelinas' goal also started off an especially big night for his entire line, as he combined with junior Jordan Wilson and freshman Adam Kemp for six goals and six assists in the win.
Liberty's Jon Ziegler, Thomas Cooney, and Tristin Chambers followed with consecutive goals before Duke's goaltender Shawn Brenhouse, a last minute fill-in because of the late arrival of their normal starter, was relieved of his efforts. Brenhouse had no answer for the Flames' attack as he was beaten early and often before being pulled. Cooney's goal, a bullet of a slap shot from just inside the blue line, blew past Brenhouse and hit the back of the net before the goaltender ever reacted to the shot.
In hopes of finding an answer, Duke substituted goalies immediately after Chambers' goal, and the new net minder was given a rude welcoming to the LaHaye Ice Center when Wilson finished off a beautiful solo effort with 3:40 to play in the first, just fifty seconds into action for the new goaltender. Wilson carried the puck wide, streaking down the side of the ice before eventually out-skating the Duke defense on his way to the net. Slipping behind the defenders, the Ontario native curled in on net, cupping the puck on his forehand while crossing the goal mouth, dragging the Duke net minder with him. However, Wilson's speed left the goaltender outstretched, grasping at air as he slid the puck past him into the back of the net to end the opening period 5-1, Liberty.
Despite a high-scoring, first twenty minutes of action, the Flames were less than satisfied with their play, feeling as though they had come out tepidly in a game they had taken for granted.
"Whenever you're playing a weaker team, especially when you've already beat them 10-2, it can be hard to be as prepared and focused mentally in the game. There were definitely some lapses in the team because of that," said the senior defenseman Cooney.
The lapses the Flames experienced were barely evident to the satisfied spectators, especially after they closed out the second period with three more goals to Duke's one, making the score 8-2 heading into the third.
Twenty-four seconds into the game's final period, Wilson struck again, stretching the score to 9-2. The goal, assisted by Gelinas, gave Wilson a hat trick on the night, but the high-octane Liberty offense was hardly running out of gas. Sophomore defenseman Aaron Mackenzie drew chants of "dou-ble di-gits!" from the crowd, scoring the Flames' tenth goal coming on assists from Kemp and Wilson. Kemp then went to work on his own, scoring off a Kevin Dykstra helper with 7:52 to play.
Duke would muster a meaningless, third goal before forwards Pete Masterton and Jay Pagett slammed the door on the 'Devils and a 13-3 victory.
The win improves Liberty's record to 15-5-1 and completes an undefeated month of January on ice. The Flames now look to take some momentum into a more rigorous upcoming schedule, beginning with a pair of February 3rd and 4th home games against Davenport University, the ACHA Central Division's number-one seed.
"Some of the lines are really coming together and playing very well together... getting a feel for each other which is great with the bigger games that are just ahead of us," said Mackenzie. "Davenport's going to be a really strong team-- very hard working and physical. We should find out a lot about where we are as a team after next weekend."
One thing that will certainly help the Flames will be a continuance of the strong support they have received from the student body and members of the community thus far.
"Our fans have been sick so far, cheering all the time and giving us so much energy to feed off. People sometimes talk about having a sixth player out there from the fans and we have that. Just having the crowd behind us with all the students there has been huge and we really appreciate it," said Mackenzie.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
PAmedic wrote:thanks FSN- you guys are doing a great job supporting LU Hockey. Except for the first game which that nimrod GIMMETHEMIC forgot to record. Not that SMOOTHIE and I hold a grudge (just our epic worldwide broadcast premier- wiped from memory forever: no big deal)Maybe they recorded it at the White House... I understand GMTM is under surveillance.
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