COLLEGE PARK, MD (Sunday, February 11, 2007) – Liberty University scored
five consecutive unanswered goals following a 4-4 deadlock and went on to
defeat Navy’s ice hockey team, 11-7, in the championship game of the 30th
annual Crabpot Tournament Sunday afternoon at the Herbert Wells Ice Rink in
College Park, MD.
With the loss, the Mids’ overall season record fell to 18-9-1, while
Liberty’s Flames (who were ranked #8 nationally in the most recent American
Collegiate Hockey Association poll) improved to 25-5-1.
The first period was a see-saw 20 minutes of play. Navy got on the
scoreboard first when freshman Nick Hinkley tallied just 1:28 into the
period. Liberty tied the contest at 1-1 with a power play goal at 3:59, but
the Mids regained the one goal advantage with a Kevin Krmpotich power play
goal at 6:42.
Before the first period ended, the Flames had sandwiched a pair of goals
around a lone Navy tally, with Liberty’s goals coming at 16:58 and 19:38,
and the Mids’ goal -- off the stick of junior Nick Schwob -- coming at
18:54.
With the game tied at 3-3 after 20 minutes, Liberty grabbed a 4-3 lead with
a goal just 30 seconds into the second stanza, but Navy bounced back to tie
the score at 4-4 when sophomore defenseman Matt Swezey picked up a
shorthanded tally at 8:21.
Unfortunately for the Mids, the Flames scored the game’s next five goals to
seemingly put the fight and penalty-marred game out of reach. Liberty
registered four consecutive goals before the second period ended, then
scored again just 1:05 into the third period, to take a 9-4 lead.
But the resilient Mids narrowed the gap to 9-6 midway through the third
period when sophomore Charlie Daniel found the back of the net at the 9:45
mark, the lone assist going to Swezey, followed 44 seconds later by a Donnie
Horner tally at 10:29 that was assisted by Krmpotich. Both goals came while
Navy was on a power play.
Liberty regained its four-goal lead 23 seconds later with a shorthanded goal
at 10:52, but Navy fought back again just 16 seconds later when Schwob
scored at 11:08 to cut the deficit to 10-7. The Flames closed out the
scoring with a late goal at 15:27 to bring the final count to 11-7.
Freshman goaltender Eric Anderson finished with 28 saves in a valiant effort
for the Mids, while Liberty’s Mike Binnie recorded 30 stops, as the Flames
outshot Navy, 39-37.
Referee Sal Mazzola called nearly 200 minutes in penalties, including
several 10-minute misconducts and 5-minute major infractions. Krmpotich
racked up 30 minutes worth of penalties for Navy, while Liberty’s Steven
Jensen accumulated 24 minutes. The Flames tallied three power play goals,
and the Mids scored four times with an extra man.
With Sunday’s conclusion of the regular season, Navy (#3 seed) will next
play again when it meets Lehigh (#6) in the opening round of the Eastern
Collegiate Hockey Association (ECHA) tournament this Friday, February 16, at
2:30 p.m. at West Chester’s Ice Line Arena. West Virginia (#4) will face
Drexel (#5) in the other opening round game.
If the Mids defeat Lehigh Friday afternoon, they will face the University of
Rhode Island on Saturday, February 17.
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST PERIOD
N – Hinkley (Westerman) 1:28
L – Dykstra (Dodgson) 3:59
N – Krmpotich (Martin, Schwob) 6:42
L - Shaw (Beech, Ziegler) 16:58
N – Schwob (Krmpotich) 18:54
L – Ahier (Dykstra, Langabeer) 19:38
SECOND PERIOD
L – Dodgson (Niemi, Jensen) 0:30
N – Swezey (Westerman) 8:21
L – Stewart (Ahier) 9:28
L – Niemi (Jensen) 11:25
L – Wilson (Stewart) 12:59
L – Ahier (unassisted) 16:26
THIRD PERIOD
L – Bauman (Dodgson, Langabeer) 1:05
N – Daniel (Swezey) 9:45
N – Horner (Krmpotich) 10:29
L – Dodgson (Bauman) 10:52
N – Schwob (unassisted) 11:08
L – Dufrene (Boothman) 15:27
SAVES
Binnie (Liberty) 12 10 8 - 30
Anderson (NAVY) 7 10 11 - 28
SHOTS
Liberty 10 15 14 - 39
NAVY 15 11 11 - 37