Live Scoring | Liberty Hockey

LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Panthers return to the ice in Virginia coming off an impressive first weekend in Division I.  Last weekend, the Panthers split with the #1 Lindenwood University Lions in Wentzville, MO.  #16 Davenport will now hit the road to take on #10 Liberty.  Live scoring will be available for both weekend games beginning Friday at 7:30 PM.

Although the Panthers fell in the first game to Lindenwood in a shootout, they rebounded nicely by putting together a full game's effort against the Lions in the second game, downing them by a score of 3-2.  DU enters the Liberty weekend with an overall mark of 3-1 with the lone loss coming in a shootout.

Scouting the Liberty University Flames

The Panthers and Flames have forged a rivalry over the years that isn't expected to let down in 2010.  The Panthers are 7-9-0 all-time against the Flames, and entering the game, the Panthers are ranked 16th while the Flames have been voted into the 10th spot.  The Flames come into the weekend series 3-2-0.  The LaHaye Ice Center proves to be a formidable venue to play in as the Flames faithful pack the barn to the tune of around 2500 people per game.  Physicality has been the core strength of Liberty's team, however, the Flames graduated senior defenseman, Dave Semeneya, who was a staple on the point for the Flames especially on the power play.  The Flames have been lethal with the man advantage thus far as they've netted eight PPG in five contests.

The Flames' top scorer this season is sophomore Brent Boschman from Ottawa, Ontario.  He has seven goals in five games with four of them coming from the power play.  Senior Jonathan Chung always proves difficult to defend for the Panthers, as the left winger has a point per game average this season and is coming off a junior year campaign where he posted 58 points.

Backstopping the Flames are goaltenders Blair Bennet and Brad Whittingstall.  The two goalies have split so far this season with Whittingstall accumulating a 2-0-0 record with a 3.00 GAA while Bennet is 1-2-0 with a 3.33 GAA.

Against Adrian College, a fellow GLCHL member, Liberty allowed almost 50 shots per game.  They brought it back down to around 25-30 shots per game against Niagara University the next weekend.  Look for the Panthers forwards to pepper the two goaltenders with a lot of shots this upcoming weekend, as the forward lines look to improve on their solid performance against Lindenwood.

Coach Sweeney's keys for weekend:

• Stay out of the penalty box
• Slow down the Flames entering the offensive zone
• Take the crowd out of the game early with quick goals
• Take a lot of shots
• Play solid defensively and block the shots coming from the points