The No. 8 NC State hockey team defeated the No. 3 Liberty Flames 4-1 Sunday in Lynchburg, Virginia to book its first-ever trip to the ACHA National Tournament.
The Wolfpack kept its foot on the gas as it dominated play against a Liberty team that was looking for its sixth straight bid to the national tournament.
“We knew we had to get bodies to the front of the net,” head coach Mike Gazillo told PackTV. “We knew there would be some rebounds and we knew they had to be there for that. Just incredible stuff.”
The offensive pressure was helped along by a lethal penalty kill and strong goaltending by senior goalie Joey Hall.
“I just put it all out there,” Hall told PackTV. “I just kept smiling, you know have fun. You have to play every game like it’s your last, and then you hear and see the crowd and then you don’t want this to be your last so you play for that.”
The Wolfpack started the game hot as Liberty was immediately pressed back onto its heels by the high-powered NC State offense. Momentum swung back as the Pack found itself on the penalty kill late in the first, but what could have been a game-changing 5-on-3 powerplay for the Flames was quickly extinguished by a goaltender interference call on Liberty.
NC State struck early in the second as senior captain Sam Banasiewicz beat Liberty goaltender Adam Partridge short side on the powerplay to give the Wolfpack the early advantage.
The penalty kills for each team shined as both sides killed off the next five combined penalties in the remainder of the second to preserve the 1-0 score.
“Heading into the third period I told them ‘Listen keep your foot on the gas,’” Gazillo said. “We’ve been playing as a team for so long and the games are going to get harder and they know that. We are seeing that.”
Things got a bit strange in the final period of play, as a dump-in by graduate Eric Mura during a delayed offsides on the Wolfpack, the puck deflected off of Liberty goaltender Adam Partridge’s stick and into the back of the net.
The goal was waved off according to the NCAA Ice Hockey Rulebook section 86.3 on delayed offsides that states, “If a puck is shot on goal during a delayed offside, the play shall be allowed to continue under the normal clearing the zone rules. Should the puck enter the defending team’s goal during a delayed offside, either directly or off the goalkeeper, a player or an on-ice official, the goal shall be disallowed.”
A minute later, Hall mishandled a heavy shot from Liberty’s Blake Flanders, and the puck ended up behind him and rolled across the goal-line to tie the game 1-1.
It seemed as if the game was going to swing towards Liberty’s favor after that when senior Ellis Rushford took his third penalty a few minutes later and was also assessed a 10-minute game misconduct.
However, the Wolfpack refused to quit as freshman Alex Robinson stole the puck, split the defense, and went forehand-backhand to tuck in the short-handed goal and give the Pack back its lead.
“The resilience of this team has really been there all year,” assistant coach Tim Healy told PackTV. “We saw it against GWU, Wake Forest and UVa being down and having to come back. You’ve seen it there all year.”
NC State kept the pressure on the Flames, not resting on its lead, and was rewarded when freshman Parker Szarek cashed in on the second-chance rebound opportunity to extend the Pack’s lead to two with under five to play.
The Wolfpack’s penalty kill came back on the ice twice more for the third period, staying perfect, to give the Pack a perfect 8 for 8 on the kill.
Banasiewicz iced the game for the Wolfpack by scoring the empty-net goal and booking his team’s trip to nationals as the Pack won 4-1 over Liberty.
“Two years ago we came out here and lost to this same team [Liberty] 15-1 and I think it just speaks volumes to the team we have now,” Banasiewicz told PackTV. “Just to come out and hang with them the whole way. Certainly a game I’m going to remember forever.”
NC State will travel to Frisco, Texas to take part in the ACHA National Tournament that takes place March 21-31.
