Men’s D1 hockey closes fall semester with series split against the Maryville Saints

The Liberty men’s D1 hockey team squared off against Maryville University for the final Midnight Mayhem matchup of the first semester on Dec. 2. 

Liberty came into the game following two huge victories over UNLV, which propelled the Flames in the rankings to the second spot in the ACHA. Liberty was looking to further its dominance against Maryville, another team ranked No. 10 in the ACHA . 

The Flames struck first, scoring the first goal midway through the first period. Junior forward Kam Ottenbreit sent a beautiful pass through that found the stick of freshman forward Samuel Feamster. Liberty continued to dominate possession much of the first period until a four-minute penalty committed by standout freshman defenseman Laz Kaebel resulted in a four-minute power play for Maryville that they eventually converted on, tying up the game. Following the score, junior Hunter Virostek was pulled from the game due to a lower back injury. Senior goalie Cedric Le Sieur was the next man up, and he eventually replaced Virostek. 

The Flames then regained their lead in the waning stages of the first period as junior DJ Schwenke knocked in a one timer with under a minute left to go in the first period. The Flames entered the first intermission with control over the game’s momentum and the scoreboard, but this would not continue throughout the next two periods. 

Both teams entered the third with a slow start. Eventually, Maryville would respond with several strong shifts and would finally bring this game back even following their second power play goal of the night. The Flames penalty kill unit seemed to be uncharacteristically sluggish in this matchup, giving up two goals on the PK. Maryville’s goal in the second period would be the only goal scored that period. 

The Liberty faithful continued to be raucous through the wee hours of the night as both the fans and players on the ice got ready for the third and final period of fury. However, this intensity for Liberty would not last long. Liberty once again faltered out of the gates, and Maryville took the lead for the first time in the game. 

The Flames would give the home crowd in the LaHaye Ice Center a sliver of hope with some sustained possessions in the offensive zone after pulling their goalie Le Sieur, but they would not be able to find the equalizer, and Maryville would skate off victorious in an upset win with a score of 3-2. 

“We were lacking a certain mentality we needed, we didn’t have the bite we needed tonight to get it done,” Head Coach Kirk Handy said.

It was obvious Liberty was extremely frustrated by the loss. The Flames were coming off the two biggest wins of their season over formerly secondly ranked UNLV, which propelled Liberty to swap places with the Running Rebels and occupy that second spot in the ACHA rankings. This upset loss to Maryville could negatively impact Liberty’s position in the rankings. 

Game two of the weekend series was a different story. While the end of Friday night’s game was sluggish and lacking in energy, the ending of Saturday’s was far from it. To call it a brawl would be both accurate and an understatement. 

Forward Jackson Vercellano opened score quickly against the Saints on Saturday, netting two goals in the first period. It seemed Maryville may be poised to make a comeback in the second period, however, as Saints’ Jake Chartier put a backhander through of five hole of Le Sieur to reduce their deficit to 2-1.

The Flames, however, would respond with goals from senior forward Josh Fricks and senior forward Matt Bartel to give Liberty a more comfortable 4-1 advantage entering intermission. Liberty’s offensive attack would not slow down in the third, as Jason Foltz put two more pucks in the net to secure a victory. This doesn’t mean however, that the triumph came without a fight. 

In the third period, both teams accrued a total of eight minor penalties, which is the same amount as the first two periods combined. Those minor penalties were the least entertaining parts of the third period, which was more like a boxing match then a hockey game. 

Five players were ejected for fighting, including two Flames: goalie Cedric LeSieur and junior winger Nate Albers. LeSieur tangled with the opposing goalie with just six seconds left on the clock, and he seems to have no regrets about his actions.

“Sometimes, you’ve got to answer the call,” Le Sieur told media postgame. “That (fight) was more than just for fun. He came up to me, and he wanted it, so I obliged. For them, it was just tempers boiling up, and it culminated with that.”

Le Sieur played exceptionally well leading to his ejection, holding Maryville to just one goal on 33 shots. 

The Flames ended the weekend with both a win and a loss against Maryville. With those games, Liberty puts an end to the first half of its 2022-23 season, ending the semester 13-6. They open the second half of the season at Ohio on Jan. 13.

 Young is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion

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