Flames fall to Adrian College in second round

• By Jay Sir
• Published: March 6th, 2012

Adrian College knocked out Liberty University in the second round of the ACHA Nationals, 6-3.

Liberty took the lead in the game on a goal by Jake Hannon, but it was quickly equalized by the Bulldogs.

Fourteen minutes into the second period, the game was still tied 1-1. Thirty seconds later, the score turned, 2-1, Adrian College.

The game started to look out of hand during the second period of the game, as a flurry of Adrian College goals left the score 5-1.

The game started to look grim during the second half of the game as a flurry of goals scored during the second period saw Adrian College up by 4 points, 5-1, when the second period ended.

After a few missed chances during power plays, Rick Turner and Ryley Egan managed to score two more goals.

Though Adrian College was seeded considerably lower than Liberty, competition has toughened the hockey community enough so that lower ranked teams have a fighting chance against higher ranked teams.

Liberty was not the only team that was knocked out by a lower-seeded opponent as No. 4 Arizona State University was knocked out by No. 13 Oakland University.

“Anyone between Rank one and Rank 18 are able to win on any given night,” head coach Kirk Handy said. “I really feel that within the top 15 teams, if someone shows up without their ‘A’ game they’re going to get beat. I feel that with Adrian College, whether they’re seeded 12th or eighth or sixth, they’re a very strong team and a very good opponent.”

The Finals of the ACHA Tournament will be played at 7:30 p.m. on March 7.

Editor’s note: Liberty’s Mike Morrison became the second Liberty hockey player to be signed by a professional team when he was picked by the Dunedin Thunder in New Zealand. Read the Liberty News story here.