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Liberty's men's hockey team played up to their billing in the much anticipated home-ice dedication weekend of the newly constructed LaHaye Ice Center on north campus.
Packed to near-capacity by students, faculty, and members of the greater Lynchburg area, Liberty, ranked 6th in the ACHA's Southeast division heading into the weekend, rode the infused energy from a fiery home-fan gathering to a 4-4 draw against Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), the division's number-one seed. Sandwiched between two Friday night and Sunday afternoon wins, the Flames mounted a solid start to their second-semester push for a UHL Conference championship and a subsequent automatic seed in March's ACHA National Tournament held in Rochester, NY .
The "three-in-three" weekend began with a Friday night trip south to Durham, N.C. and a match up with Duke University . With three years having passed since last facing the Blue Devils as former members of the ACCHL, Liberty displayed - in clear fashion - the marked progression of their hockey program with a 10-2 Duke drubbing. Sophomore goaltender Mike Binnie backstopped the visiting Flames all night, allowing only two late goals in the game's final period with the contest already long decided. Liberty jumped all over the 'Devils from the start with a dominating physical presence and heavy offensive pressure. A trio of freshmen forwards paced the Flames as Adam Kemp, John Langabeer, and Pete Masterton each scored two goals in the victory.
Returning home late for Saturday night's game against IUP, the Flames may have been a bit road weary, but found a wealth of adrenaline and energy in the emotional ceremonies surrounding the dedication of the LaHaye Ice Center prior to the opening face off. Charged up by the desire to make a booming statement with a win over the division's best, plus perform impressively before the opening-night crowd, Liberty came out hitting on all cylinders, stunning IUP by scoring just 28 seconds into the opening period. Junior forward Jordan Wilson picked up a puck in the offensive zone corner and spun out, throwing a low shot on net that caught the Indians' goaltender by surprise, slipping under his pad and bringing the arena's decibel units to a near-deafening roar.
Just over a minute later, senior forward Scott LaPeer pushed the lead to two, once again bringing the fans to their feet, while also eliciting the clanging of cowbells from a pocket of celebrating spectators. LaPeer took a pass from senior Jon Fitter and crossed over the blue line, firing a low slap shot on the IUP goaltender. Making the save, but giving up a short rebound, the two Liberty forwards crashed the net along with a couple IUP defenders before LaPeer emerged to slide the puck between the fallen goalie's legs for a 2-0 advantage.
Shortly after, IUP finally beat Liberty goalie Dalton Stoltz when a breakaway shot came off the goal post and the rebound was banged home by a trailing attacker. However, before the period's end, sophomore forward Andy Chaimberland tacked on a third Liberty goal with a gritty effort in traffic. Chaimberland came across ice off an offensive zone face off, bursting through a crowd to scoop up a loose puck amidst a crowd of tied-up players. The Floridian forward fired a wrist shot that beat the deflated Indians goalie into the right side of the net to close the opening period 3-1.
In the second, IUP managed a goal half-way through to draw closer, while Langabeer once again regained the two-goal spread for the Flames.
In the decisive third period, IUP fought back to make the score 4-3 early while Liberty erred in playing to protect their slim lead rather than continuing to aggressively attack the net. The lack of aggression finally caught up with the Flames when, with just 22.9 seconds remaining and their net empty for an extra attacker, the Indians moved the puck to an open forward just left of the net who one-timed it past a screened Stoltz.
Tied after 60 minutes, the two teams played a scoreless, five-minute overtime session ultimately ending the game in a 4-4 dead-lock.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
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