Coming off a sweep of the Alabama Frozen Tide, the Flames will look to continue their success in the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) playoffs. Last year, Liberty defeated Delaware 4-2 and Stony Brook 2-1 in the championship game to win their second straight conference title. Cole Burack was named Tournament MVP, with two stand out performances and stopped 66 of 69 shots faced that weekend.

Fast forward a year, and the Flames are in the same position, looking to capture their third consecutive ESCHL playoff championship. Let’s take a look at how this year turned out…

The Flames dominated the regular season conference schedule with a record of 15-1-2-1, while outscoring opponents 89-43 in those games. The Flames have featured a balanced attack, as eight players have double digit points vs ESCHL opponents. Junior (F) Quinn Ryan leads the ESCHL in conference assists (25) and points (38), and Junior (F) Brock Thompson leads in goals (16).

Even though Liberty has seemingly had it easy in the ESCHL this season, ten games were decided by two goals or less—the Flames won eight of those. They can expect the playoffs to be close, tight, and fast-paced games regardless of the opponent. Currently, Liberty has a first round bye and will await the results of Friday’s games before finding out their opponent for Saturday’s semifinal matchup.

Liberty’s keys to success:

  • Cycle the puck and get offensive pressure
  • Win the special teams battle
  • Solid goaltending

Players to watch:

Liberty University- #83 Freshman (F) Josh Fricks

Stony Brook University- #75 Senior (D) Frank Coscia

Syracuse University- #17 Junior (F) Peter Owen Hayward

University of Rhode Island- #24 Freshman (D) Jake Durocher

University of Delaware- #13 Junior (F) Chris Mazzella

New York University- #31 Junior (G) Patrick Cavanaugh

Location:

Ice Line Rink- 700 Lawrence Drive, West Chester, PA 19380

Game Schedule:

Friday 3/15/2019

  • 1:00pm (#3 seed Syracuse vs. #6 seed NYU)
  • 3:30pm (#4 Rhode Island vs. #5 seed Delaware)

Saturday 3/16/2019

  • 5:00pm (#1 seed Liberty vs. Lowest remaining seed)
  • 8:00pm (#2 seed Stony Brook vs. Highest remaining seed)

Sunday 3/17/2019

  • 1:30pm Championship Game (Winner of semifinal #1 vs Winner of semifinal #2)