Men’s D2 hockey goes 1-1 against UMary

The reigning ACHA D2 men’s national champion University of Mary Marauders came to town from Bismarck, North Dakota, to visit the Liberty men’s D2 hockey team for a two-game series Oct. 14-15. 

The Flames entered the series 8-1, with their only loss handed to them by the Marauders just two weeks prior. Now, on home ice, the Flames would look to reclaim victory over the top of the ACHA. 

The series’ first game did not disappoint, with a thrilling 3-2 shootout win for Liberty that had the Flames buzzing headed into Saturday’s matchup. 

Despite a massive victory the previous night, the Flames’ offensive attack would fail to best the Marauders a second time. 

Liberty had two power play opportunities in the first period but could not find the back of the net. The Flames also had a penalty that was successfully killed in the first, and goalie Lane Skon came up with multiple crucial saves. 

The second period started off fast and aggressively with 4-on-4 play. Both teams received multiple power play opportunities but couldn’t capitalize. UMary finished the game 0-4 on the power play, while the Flames were 0-5.

The Flames offense persisted, however, with many scoring opportunities coming from sophomore forward Eric Abbate and graduate defenseman Alex Norwinski. But Saturday’s story was the goaltenders, as the goalies for both teams posted incredible performances. 

UMary’s sophomore goalie Conan Hayton posted 25 saves on the night, with 10 of those coming in the second period. Flames’ sophomore Lane Skon posted an impressive night in his net, turning away 31 shots. 

The third period brought much of the same, with goalies matching each other save for save and forcing the teams to face off in overtime. 

It appeared neither team would seal the victory in the overtime period, until Marauder Seth Cushing stole the puck from Liberty’s Tanner Eskro and went dashing down the ice with 1:51 on the clock. 

Cushing sent a pass to Drew Lenertz in the right circle, where Lenertz would place the puck perfectly for Cushing to take a shot on goal. His first slash at the puck missed, but his second attempt was right on target. Cushing’s shot found the net, giving UMary a dramatic 1-0 victory. 

The Liberty men’s D2 ice hockey team will return to the ice Oct. 21, when it hosts the University of Massachusetts Amherst at 7:30 p.m.

Cote is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion

Cory is the sports editor for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on Twitter