Stone cold Seawolves
Men’s DI hockey team gets swept in weekend series by No. 7 Stony Brook
The No. 15 Liberty Flames men’s Division I hockey team’s comeback attempt came up short against No. 7 Stony Brook Seawolves Nov. 7 at the LaHaye Ice Center as it fell, 8-5.
Maneuvers — Flames freshman Michael Thomas moves around a defender during the Flames loss. Photo credit: Leah Seavers
The Flames started with an early attack, controlling the puck in the Seawolves defensive zone. Early shots from the Flames were stopped by the Seawolves junior goaltender Todd Scarola.
A high-stick penalty gave the Flames a powerplay about 12 minutes into the first period. The Flames took advantage, as junior forward Robert Ward put the puck in the back of the net to give the Flames the first goal of the game.
“The power play was consistent this weekend, it was really effective for us,” Head Coach Kirk Handy said.
Less than a minute later, the Seawolves answered. Junior forward JT Hall had a good look at the net and sent the puck upstairs to tie the game.
With three minutes left in the period, the Flames were on the power play again following a tripping penalty by the Seawolves. Once again the Flames took advantage. Senior defender Ben Hughes fired a shot on net that met the blocker of the goaltender. The puck then deflected to the stick of freshman forward Zechariah Roberts, who tapped it in for the lead.
The second period was dominated by Stony Brook as the Seawolves offense scored three times and held the Flames scoreless, taking a 4-2 lead.
“Well, I think the effort was there in the second (period),” Handy said. “We just were not as solid as we needed to be. They got some bounces and they ended up in the back of our net.”
Stony Brook added to its lead early in the third period, but this time the Flames responded. With a battle in front of the net, senior forward Bram Erickson managed to squeak the puck into the net to give the Flames some life.
The Flames found themselves down 6-3, but they still had a sliver of hope. Freshman defender Jackson Giammona fired a shot into the top corner that deflected off of the post and into the net to make it 6-4. Less than a minute later, the Flames struck again. Junior forward Grant Garvin put the rebound of senior forward Danny Logan’s shot to bring the Flames within one.
“Everyone battled hard tonight,” Garvin said. “Not one player took a shift off.”
The Flames would not get any closer. Six seconds after the Flames scored, the Seawolves answered right back and put the game out of reach. Stony Brook would take advantage of an empty net to bring the final to 8-5.
Four Flames finished with a point. Senior forward Tyson Street, who had two assists, was the only Flame with multiple points.
Next week, the Flames will be back in action at LaHaye for their midnight showdown against Delaware, Friday, Nov. 13.
“That game will be lots of fun,” Handy said. “The place will be crazy in here, and it will be a great opportunity for us to get a win.”
Day is a sports reporter.