Rutgers rejected
Ryan’s goal makes ESPN’s Top 10 highlights
BATTLE — Freshman defender Chaydan Lauber fought for possession of the puck.
Photo Credit: Caroline sellers
vision I hockey team defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Saturday, Feb. 11 in a merciless game ending in a 10-0 win.
The Flames hit the ice with precision and hot hands as they dominated the Scarlet Knights in all three periods.
Liberty goalie Josh Halpenny put up a wall and never gave the Knights a chance to put the puck in the net.
“We wanted to come out and make a statement tonight,” Halpenny said.
“That’s what we did. The team’s competition level was great tonight. They kept everything on the outside for me which made it a lot easier than having three or four rebounds all the time.”
Six of the 10 goals were scored by freshman center Quinn Ryan and freshman forward Brock Thompson, who both demanded the puck all night.
Both showed synchronization on the ice and knew where the other was at all times, which led to many goals and assists between the two.
“We’re great friends off the ice, so it just helps us carry that chemistry onto the ice,” Ryan said.
“We just try to have fun with it, and we always know where each other are.”
For Ryan’s third goal, he tucked it in the back of the net from behind the goal line effortlessly with a wraparound that was the No. 2 play of the night on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
“It was a great effort by everyone,” Ryan said.
“We stayed focused all the way to the end which is what we wanted to do.”
Brock Thompson stacked the stat sheet with three goals and three assists. Thompson also acknowledged that his friendship with Ryan has helped better both players on the ice.
“We always stay late after practice and work on some crazy stuff, and that showed tonight on Quinn’s third goal,” Thompson said.
“That was ridiculous.”
When asked how they stay sharp in between starts, Thompson said they like to keep things dialed in and remain as focused as possible.
Junior team captain and defender Ben Hughes echoed his teammates after
the game.
“The keys for us were to have a winner’s attitude,” Hughes said.
“We have a really solid D-Core — all seven defensemen can play well offensively as well as defensively.
Guys that aren’t normally out there got to show what they were capable of during power plays, and that was cool to see.”
Hughes and the rest of his teammates left an impression on Head Coach Kirk Handy.
Handy was proud of his team and commended the efforts of his players during the game.
“Our guys stuck with it, and I give them a lot of credit,” Handy said.
“They all gave great effort tonight. We played a solid two-way game. We didn’t stay on the outside, we had some traffic on the goalie, and we made his night difficult.”
Despite having such a young roster, Handy stresses the importance of getting young players as much experience as possible.
“We have a young team, but that’s what builds a strong desire to achieve at a high level,” Handy said.
The Liberty men’s hockey team faces the University of Rhode Island at the LaHaye Ice Center Friday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.