The rising Flames: Liberty men’s D2 hockey sweeps Keene State Owls

The Liberty University men’s D2 hockey team impressed the home crowd at LaHaye Ice Center Jan. 27-28, sweeping its weekend series against the Keene State Owls. 

The Flames scored less than a minute into the first period of game one as sophomore forward Thomas Kayner ripped a shot over the glove of Owls netminder Will Slohm, putting Liberty up 1-0. Minutes later, freshman forward Aaron Higgins entered the zone, looking to pass to his fellow freshman forward Jacob Padgett. The pass bounced off the skate and deflected toward the net, creating a rebound opportunity as Padgett continued to crash the net, backhanding a shot into the net and putting the Flames up 2-0. Jacob Padgett, the brother of sophomore forward Mark Padgett, was a mid-season addition to the team playing in the first home game of his Liberty career.  

After Jacob Padgett netted one, it was his brother and linemate’s turn to add to the lead. Keene State won the next faceoff, looking to make a pass in front of its net, which was deflected into the net by Mark Padgett.  

The Owls tested Liberty junior goaltender Lane Skon and the Flames early on in the second period, gifting Keene State a power play opportunity. The Flames managed to kill off the penalty, but Keene State continued to battle back. The Owls generated opportunities for themselves as Dylan Webber put a rebound goal past Skon with 3:07 remaining in the second period, cutting their deficit to 3-1.

The Flames looked to regain their momentum in the third period as junior center Roman Lamoureux raced down the ice, snapping a shot from the right circle and putting it over the shoulder of Slohm, extending the lead 4-1. A power play opportunity would be given to the Flames with 13:24 left in the third period. Just as their power play ended, Owls forward Shane McCaffrey snuck a rebound goal by Skon, making the score 4-2. The two-goal differential was too lofty for the Owls to overcome, however, and as the period came to a close, the Flames headed into game two with a 4-2 win. 

On Saturday evening, the Flames struck first as sophomore Richard Indermill netted a rebound goal off a shot from Kent on a power play opportunity. Tensions rose between teams following an altercation between Indermill and McCaffrey, as both headed to the penalty box. The Flames, given a power play opportunity as McCaffrey was assessed a double minor, looked to extend their lead but were unable to.  

Defenseman Jayde Justus evened it up for Keene State as he ripped a shot over the shoulder of Skon. With less than a minute left in the first on a power play opportunity, Mark Padgett passed the puck to graduate defenseman Dylan Kent, who fired it past Slohm, giving the Flames a 2-1 lead to end the period.  

“Our power play has been our Achilles’ heel all season up until this weekend,” Flames Head Coach Ben Hughes said. “Today, we scored the first two power plays that we had, so it truly has been something holding us back, and I feel today we can step forward in the right direction.” 

The tension between teams would boil over into the second period as both groups found themselves in the box following some extracurricular activities behind the net. With 8:45 left in the period, sophomore forward Josh Martin’s pass found senior forward David Hauke in front of the net for Liberty’s third goal of the night. Once again, with less than a minute left, Lamoureux raced past the defensemen, going bar down on Slohm and extending the Flames’ lead 4-1. 

Liberty continued to dominate in the third period as Kayner sniped one past the shoulder of Slohm from the top of the left circle, putting the Flames up 5-1. Minutes later, junior forward Eric Abbate raced down the ice, netting a shorthanded goal for the Flames.  

The Owls answered back as Nick Feliciano shot one past Skon. But moments later, the puck found its way to the back of the Owls’ net as senior forward Cooper Neal scored, extending the lead to 7-2. Neal found himself with back-to-back goals, netting the eighth goal of the night shortly after.  

To close out game two, Lamoureux netted his second of the game, scoring on a power play opportunity for the Flames and notching his 100th point of his Liberty career — a benchmark that not many achieve.  

“(Lamoureux) has a massive impact,” Hughes said. “Not necessarily just scoring goals, but when he’s buying into back-checking and finishing his hits. It gets everyone else going, so as one of our most skilled players, when he’s doing hard habits like that, we’re going to have a successful win.”  

The final score was 9-2, as Liberty remained victorious.  

“We have guys that scored tonight that don’t normally score because they’re just doing the things that they need to do to score, working on finishing their checks, winning footrace battles,” Hughes said. “Our identity as a team is if we can compete and be hard to play against, then the plays kind of prepare themselves for us.” 

The Flames are back in action at LaHaye Ice Center Feb. 2–3 as they take on Miami University (Ohio) in a two-game series matchup.

Pais is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion