[Sly Fox]

Granted, Davenport is not exactly a household name for most Liberty fans. But this is perhaps our biggest challenege we'll face all season.



Davenport Official Site

Davenport is an NAIA school in Mark Zainea & Katie Feenstra's hometown of Grand Rapids, MI. Hockey is their bigtime sport and they make the most of it. They have gone twenty games without a loss and they are coming off back-to-back ties to Michigan.




Here are their key stars:

Adam Thomas
14th in the Nation in Scoring


Will Snyder
7th In Nation in Wins for Goalies

They are apparently ranked #1 in their region of the ACHA.

[PAmedic]

IUP is always tough, but you're right- this is gonna be a good match-up. Just what the guys needed after outscoring the last 6 opponents 62-13!

[LU Alumni Director]

Hey Slyfox,

While their website may make it look like they are, they are not NAIA. The rest of the DU's programs are at that level, but NAIA does not even have a hockey as one of it's sanctioned sports.

[PAmedic]

ALUM- is Davenport a club program then as well?

[LU Alumni Director]

Yes they are. What I am assuming is that because of the size of the school, the smaller number of teams, and the popularity of hockey in Michigan, they get the same kind of recongition and press that their NAIA team do. But they are club team just like the Liberty

[Sly Fox]

I guess I wasn't clear. They are an ACHA Division II team just like us. I was just trying to give a background ont he school when I mentioned their NAIA affiliation. Suffice it to say that they are very game on the ice.

[SuperJon]

Yes sir, I'm printin off the roster this week. Last week we were calling people and telling em to look up a number and tell us who it was. This'll be easier.

[Hold My Own]

I havent been this sad in a while...it seemed we had an answer for everything they threw at us and then we took the lead and I thought it was over...They are good but we are just as good...it seemed like they out skated us and were better on the Ice, but boy what a game our goalie (bennie) had...the last goal they scored could have gone either way, it was just sitting in front of the goal just out of reach for bennie and everyone was kicking and everything looking for it


I've never had so much fun in my life though, these games are action packed


As for us wondering why students wont come to BBall or Fball games I think it shows something bringing in anywhere from 1,000-2,500 having to pay $5 each...so maybe us having a winner theory and they'll come out is correct, not to mention we're gaining students by the minute

[SuperJon]

The $5 thing is getting hard for a lot of students. I know I had a buncha friends that said they would've came tonight but didn't have the $5. It's a sad reality.

[SuperJon]

Luckily I have yet to buy a ticket. My roommate bought mine to the IUP game and said if I drove he didn't care, and then he bought it last week just cause I had no money whatsoever, and then tonight a friend of mine had an extra ticket.

[BJWilliams]

So what was the final score?

[SuperJon]

6-5 or something like that. I didn't feel good so I left early.

[Hold My Own]

I called Kirk last night around midnight and he was upbeat about the gameb/c he said they now know they can beat them, in fact Davenport was so impressed they plan on doing a trade off next year again...here's a little INSIDE INFORMATION (around the horn)...Davenports best player's brother is coming here next year to golf (is also very good at hockey)...so maybe someone could drop a seed in his ear and make it a family event!

[grm]

Regionals are coming up in 2 weeks. Liberty is ranked 6th, I think, with the top 10 teams going. Has a decent chance of going to the nationals from there. Great season. Why are they charging admission, now that we have our own rink? Is it because the team does not receive a full funding as the D-1 programs?

[Sly Fox]

Exactly. The money they raise from admission pays for road trips.

[Hold My Own]

well that and the fact that bills alone set LU/The team back 10k a month...like I've said in the past they are hoping to add $25 to every students activity fee therefore they'll get to go to games free and skate free...thats a deal, ya know?



I'm headed to the game now...i'll post the outcome if nobody else has

[jimflamesfan]

Also, it costs $ to keep the ice frozen and the rink from being fogged up!

I'm happy they still charge admission...they rink is already bustin' at the seams with people anyway...

[Hold My Own]

yeh, but you when you add up 25X 8,000...that will pay some bills baby!

They got approved for 3,000 seats now so that's yet another summer project to chalk up

[PAmedic]

that rink, w/ 3K in there will be ROCKING. I don't care what SMOOTHIE says- we need a train whistle ASAP.

any word on if there is any movement on red lights/sirens/an organ?

[PAmedic]

Flames Split With No. 1 Davenport

by Scott LaPeer

With February’s arrival marking the start of the Liberty hockey regular season stretch run, the Flames stood eager to gauge their team’s improvement since the opening of the on-campus LaHaye Ice Center . As Davenport University of Grand Rapids, Michigan stopped through Lynchburg for the weekend, there would be perhaps no better litmus test than this—a weekend series with the ACHA Central Division’s top ranked team and national number-one over all four division’s first seeds .
The Flames (16-6-1) have to be pleased, to say the very least, with the outcome. Captains Jon Ziegler (4 goals, 3 assists) and Dalton Stoltz (43 saves on 45 shots) did their best on-ice impresario work, piling the Flames on their backs and delivering arguably their best performances of the season in a gripping weekend of hockey that included a 4-2 victory Saturday night.
Coming a night after a disappointing, yet promising 6-5 loss to Davenport (23-4-3), the Flames dealt the Panthers a rare blow to their record, just their fourth loss of the season and first to any team outside the state of Michigan .
Friday night saw a swift skating Davenport bunch jump out to an early 2-0 lead on an Adam Thomas goal at 18:32 of the second period. Shortly after, the all-out wildfire that would become Ziegler’s weekend play began kindling when he tied the score with two consecutive goals, the first assisted by bulldoggish defenseman Aaron Mackenzie and the latter coming from line mates Pete Masterton and Dustin Slightham. Despite the strong play of goaltender Mike Binnie, Davenport struck again in the second to go back in front, 3-2. Just over three minutes later, however, Mackenzie knotted the score on a goal coming from Ziegler and defenseman Rob Niemi.
Entering the third, Liberty quickly took control when Ziegler completed the hat trick – his third goal of the contest – followed by a well-placed Niemi shot from the point that found the net to give the Flames their first lead of the night. But a relentless Panther squad would claw their way back with six minutes to play on a goal by Pete Bortignon and effectively end all hopes of an upset when Thomas notched the game winner with 1:03 remaining.
The defeat, as tough as it was, proved to a young Flames squad that, although they may not have knocked out their heavyweight opponent, they sure could stand in and swing for a full twelve rounds.
“I don’t think anyone in the country respects us. I mean, we’re sixth in the Southeast and people probably thought this was a fluke, but we know in the dressing room that we can compete and it’s just another stepping stone,” Stoltz said. “It’s another step in the right direction.”
On Saturday night, Ziegler took it upon himself to lead a collective leap into the right direction when the senior forward broke a scoreless tie less than a minute into the second period, continuing a scorching scoring streak with his fourth goal of the weekend. Despite Davenport’s efforts, scoring two unanswered goals in taking the lead before the break, the Guelph, Ontario native had set the tone for his team with his indomitable play.
“I told the guys at the intermission ‘Let’s jump on Ziggy’s back and go’,” Stoltz said. “It’s nice to see a guy like him do that and he’s just getting warmed up. I think he’s going to continue to play hot the rest of the season.”
Coming out for the decisive, final period it appeared that if anyone heard Stoltz’ exhortation it was freshman winger John Langabeer. Remaining in his customary free-wheeling, attacking style of play, Langabeer tied the score at two, finding himself in exactly the right place at the right time. When an Adam Kemp slap shot flew wide and banged thunderously off the boards behind the net, Langabeer was right at the opposite post to scoop up the rebound and flick the puck top-shelf under the crossbar.
As the on hand faithful erupted in excitement, Langabeer went right back to work on a tremendous offensive effort to set up freshman Kevin Hendrix’s eventual game winning goal.
“I was lucky enough to get a stick on their pass and chip it to Langabeer, and Langabeer gets all the credit for (the game winner). He went wide and totally faked out the defenseman and made the nice pass to slide it across to me, all I did was tap it in,” Hendrix explained.
Up 3-2 on the nation’s number-one team with less than five minutes to play, the Flames refused to settle in and play to protect the lead. Learning from past experiences in playing passively with late leads, freshman Alexandre Gelinas iced the contest on an insurance goal with 1:22 remaining-- giving Liberty what is likely their biggest regular season win in program history and a subsequent confidence boost down the stretch.
“This weekend proves that we can play with the best of the best and it just gives the guys a lot of confidence knowing we are a number-one team and can go very far,” Langabeer said.

Come cheer on the Flames as they take on the University of Maryland this Saturday night at 9pm!

[PAmedic]

"I don’t think anyone in the country respects us. I mean, we’re sixth in the Southeast and people probably thought this was a fluke, but we know in the dressing room that we can compete and it’s just another stepping stone,” Stoltz said. “It’s another step in the right direction.”

it's great to be the underdog. this team will be very good for many years to come.

[PAmedic]

from the official site- great job putting this together

[Innocent Bystander]

I didn't realize until just now that Liberty had Davenport on the schedule for hockey. Now I see that Liberty is coming up here next weekend to play two and I am going to be out of town on vacation.

To answer any questions you have on Davenport...they are an NAIA school for most sports, but are very new to intercollegiate athletics of any kind. The hockey team is a club program, but Davenport treats it like its NAIA sports because it gets them a little press and doesn't really cost them anything. Davenport is kind of like a mini University of Phoenix. They have campuses all over Michigan and northern Indiana, but their main campus is in Grand Rapids (right across the street from where I work actually). I wish I was going to be here for the game, but alas...plane tickets are already purchased. Go Flames.

[PAmedic]

good info- thanks for the u/d and have a good trip! (someplace warm I'm assuming!)

[Innocent Bystander]

Yeah, going to Florida for a week with Mrs. Bystander and the little Bystanders. It will hard to get back on the plane to come back to the cold.