Three hat tricks power Liberty hockey over 4A No. 10 Woodland Park

COLORADO SPRINGS – Playing unselfish hockey is generally a great way to win game. Liberty has done a great job of sharing the puck and at times, it would seem they wouldn’t have the best of reasons to.

After all, Tristen Brooks is only the leading goal scorer in the state, which has also helped him take the overall points lead. But as evidenced in the Lancers’ 11-5 win over Class 4A No. 10 Woodland Park on Saturday, they’re so much more than a one-trick pony. They have three of the top nine leading scorers in the state and rode three hat tricks to get the win over the Panthers.

“My team, I want to be a team sport,” coach Kent McIlhany said. “I don’t want just one guy doing it. And the reason those guys are scoring three goals, if you watch their passing, that tic-tac-toe, it’s really fun to watch.”

Ethan Graber needed just three minutes to get the Lancers (6-8 overall) on the board. Then Brooks took over and scored Liberty’s next three goals to give himself a hat trick and the Lancers a quick 4-1 lead. Jeremy Garcia and Tristan Ward each added a goal to go into the first intermission with a 6-1 cushion.

“Part of it is being in the right place at the right time,” Brooks said. “We find those big breakout passes and get up the ice as fast as we can. That’s getting us setup in the offensive zone for those big backdoor passes.”
 

The offensive chances weren’t as plentiful in the second period. In fact, the Panthers (5-6-1) made bit of an offensive surge of their own, scoring three goals to cut the lead to 6-4.

The Panthers outshot the Lancers 19-6 in that second period which played a huge role in getting back into the game.

“We came out really strong in the first period to get that advantage,” Graber said. “I just didn’t work out that way in the second.”

Late in the second period, the Lancers turned up the energy in the offensive zone but they just couldn’t capitalize on their limited number of shots. That wasn’t the case in the third period. They scored three goals in the first six minutes of the period, two of which came off the stick of Graber to complete his hat trick.

Ward got in on the action late in the period, scoring the second and third goals of his day to get the Lancers off the ice with a comfy victory.

“In the locker room after that second period I told everyone we weren’t losing this game, we have to keep scoring,” Graber said. “I told everyone that, I told our (defense) that and the three of us (me, Brooks and Ward) wanted to win.”