Tar Heels get trampled by Liberty Division I Hockey

The Liberty University Men’s Division I Hockey team iced out the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill with a 6-1 win Sept. 19 at the LaHaye Ice Center. 

With this added win under their belt, the Flames are sitting at the No. 3 seed in the American Collegiate Hockey Association in the MD1 Independent category. 

The first period began with a quick start as UNC came out with aggression to take the puck in the faceoff. They attempted a shot on goal, but it was deflected by Flames senior goalkeeper Nicholas Bernstein. 

Liberty matched their pace as junior forward Luke Munroe won a faceoff to send the puck back to senior forward Ryan Finch who slammed one in to put up the first goal of the game. 

The Flames kept the heat on UNC, and junior defender Nicholas Pomerleau put another one between the pipes to bring the score to 2-0. 

During a power play, Flames forwards continued to put pressure on the UNC defensive line, taking multiple shots on goal. 

Head Coach Kirk Handy discussed the Flames’ strong forward line in an interview with  Club Sports. 

“The line of Kal (Essenmacher), (Mac) Ratzlaff and Seth (Wall) was very strong for us tonight,” Handy said. “They had some great chances and created a lot of good energy for us.” 

The first period came to an end with Liberty sitting in the lead 2-0. 

As the Flames reentered the ice, a packed house of lively College for a Weekend guests cheered on the home team.  

Liberty maintained its energy, as senior forward Michael Debrito took a shot on goal while hurdling over a UNC player who was laid out on the ice. 

The second period continued to bring excitement as captain and senior forward Sam Feamster was flipped headfirst into UNC’s bench by a post-whistle shove from UNC sophomore forward Matt Grady. 

Freshman defender Jentzen Kaebel rapidly came to his captain’s defense, followed by junior forward Mason Smith. 

The scuffle ended with two Tar Heels and two Flames taking a trip to the sin bin, but Liberty still skated away with the 5-on-4 power play.  

Later in the second period, the Flames earned another power play, and junior center Hayden DeMars used the advantage to capture his first goal of the season, pushing Liberty’s lead to 3-0. 

Liberty kept this momentum going as Munroe made a cross-rink pass to Finch, who sent the puck flying past the UNC goalie. This move pushed the Flames to 4-0 lead to end the second period. 

“We have the skill throughout the lineup, and we had multiple guys contributing, and that’s how we can be our best every night,” Feamster said to Club Sports. 

The third period began with UNC putting up its first point of the game during a power play. The Flames did not let the Tar Heels come back as they put another puck into UNC’s goal, bringing the score to 5-1. 

The goal was hard fought as Smith took a body slam to the ice to deliver the puck to junior defenseman Luke Anderson, who passed to DeBrito to score. 

Late in the third period, Feamster took the puck from a bounce off the wall to shoot it between the pipes, sending Liberty to a 6-1 lead with only three minutes remaining on the clock. 

“We got a lot of shots on goal, and I thought we played pretty well overall,” Handy said to Club Sports.  

The Flames will compete again on home ice in a weekend series against the University of Delaware Sept. 26-27. Friday’s matchup will be the only Midnight Mayhem game of the season, beginning at 11:59 p.m. EST.  

Stewart is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.