Men’s D1 Hockey Routs NC State, 7-2 in Season Opener

Liberty’s DI hockey team returned to the ice Friday in its first intercollegiate action since March – and the Flames came back with a bang, routing the North Carolina State Ice Pack 7-2 at the LaHaye Ice Center.

After a scoreless first period in which both teams appeared sluggish, Liberty did not wait long to find rhythm in the second period. Just 42 seconds after the initial faceoff, freshman right winger Jason Foltz gained the zone and dished a backwards pass to graduate center Quinn Ryan, who wristed a shot past Ice Pack goaltender Joshua Canon to give the home team a 1-0 lead.

“That first goal was huge,” senior left winger Cole Gammer said. “After that, the floodgates opened, and that goal allowed us to loosen up. We didn’t want to give up the first one.”

The Flames dominated the rest of the second period, scoring four more goals in a span of just over 11 minutes. Gammer would score the next two goals off assists by senior defenseman Chaydan Lauber and junior right winger Josh Fricks.

On the first goal of the set, Fricks received a pass from Lauber, maneuvering his way toward the net and banking a pass off the end boards to Gammer, who had crept down toward the net mouth. Canon did not expect the play by Fricks, and he left half the net open for a one-timer from Gammer to make it 2-0.

Several freshmen and firstyear Liberty DI members ALSO had productive nights. Senior defenseman Alex Norwinski, who was playing in his first DI game after starting at the DIII level, corralled an offensive zone faceoff win and glided toward the high slot, wristing a shot past Canon, earning his first point at the Division I level, and making the score 4-0.

The freshman third line of left winger Daniel Schwanke, center Kris Bladen and right winger Bryce Pierce combined for a goal and three assists to supplement the Flames proven core of seniors and graduate students.

“We are really deep on offense, and anyone can contribute offensively,” Gammer said. “I’m thrilled for all the freshmen who got their first point tonight, it will definitely take pressure off of them and get that weight off their shoulders.”

Gammer would complete his hat trick one minute and 13 seconds into the third period on a power-play goal.

Flames netminder Tyler Myers carried a shutout into the third period, but goals by Ice Pack left wingers Colby Peterson and Chris Solomon spoiled his chance at a clean score sheet. He would finish the night with 18 saves on 20 shots.

Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy noted that this game revealed several areas that the Flames will need to improve on before they travel to Michigan for a rematch with topr-anked ACHA rival Adrian College Nov. 12.

“It took us a bit to get going, but once we did, we played well overall. We had a couple defensive breakdowns, but this game gives us an idea of what we need to work on going forward,” Handy said.

Even though the Flames have an unorthodox schedule for the rest of the semester, Lauber knows this will not deter Liberty from focusing on its goal of winning the national championship.

“We made a promise to the guys that didn’t get the chance to play for a championship last year that we were going to win it this year,” Lauber said. “We have a lot of motivation to do it.”

John Simmons is the Web Manager. Follow him on Twitter @JohnSimmonsJr7.