From Liberty Club Sports
By Ted Allen
For the first time since Spring 2020, when Liberty University’s ACHA Division I men’s hockey team shocked No. 1 Adrian (Mich.) College on back-to-back nights at the LaHaye Ice Center before having the National Championships canceled by COVID-19, the Flames completed a sweep of the Bulldogs (21-3-2) with a 4-2 triumph Saturday afternoon.
This time, Liberty (18-5-4) was the favorite, ranked No. 4 against the No. 6 defending national champions, who had knocked the Flames out of the quarterfinal round of last season’s national tournament near St. Louis by the same 4-2 final.
“We have something special in this room this year and everybody pulled together this weekend and played as a team and we were positive,” sophomore forward Ryan Finch said. “We just trust the process and came out with two wins which was huge going into nationals in (six) weeks.”
Liberty was outshot by Adrian 45-30 for the game, but Flames sophomore goalie Konrad Kausch stood his ground and kept the Bulldogs at bay, making 43 saves and earning First Star of the Game honors as he had after Friday night’s 3-1 victory.
“Konrad’s fantastic,” Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. “He played great again for us and our forward units were going, our defensive units were going.”
Both teams were assessed five penalties and converted one power-play opportunity before Liberty clinched the contest shorthanded on freshman forward Hayden DeMars’ second goal of the game, an empty-net insurance goal in the final minute.
“It’s a great way to finish off (the sweep),” Handy said. “We took five penalties today, maybe one or two that we might not want to take, but when you’re in a battle like this, there’s going to be things that happen. For us, it’s super important to learn how to win these games, learn what it takes emotionally and physically and spiritually to be able to play 60 minutes and then turn around and do it again.”
Kausch saved a one-on-one opportunity by the Bulldogs midway through a scoreless first period, as the Flames’ defense killed off two penalties with Kausch fending off several Adrian scoring chances.
Finch ended the period with a driving shot out of the right corner that struck off the top of the cage before the Flames’ penalty kill unit squelched a third Adrian power play early in the second.
Later in the period, graduate forward Jackson Vercellono lifted Liberty to a 1-0 lead off assists from senior forward Truett Olson and freshman defenseman Joe Feamster at the 11:42 mark, tucking a loose puck inside the lower right post.
Just 52 seconds later, sophomore forward Mason Smith doubled the advantage to 2-0 by cleaning up a putback in the slot after shots by freshmen linemates Kal Essenmacher and Brad Barker.
“Sometimes, we want the pretty goals, the things that look great on ESPN. But sometimes the hard-working goals are the ones that (win games),” Handy said. “It’s a good reminder for us.”
After Kausch made a diving save of a dangerous Bulldogs chance in front, Finch was tied up by an Adrian player behind the cage, who took some cheap shots without retaliation, putting the Flames on their first power play of the game.
“Keeping our cool is what’s going to help our team have success because we’re a good fast, physical team so they want to get under our skin, but if we don’t let them, then they’ll get mad,” Finch said. “So it feels good to get some power plays out of it, too. It was huge.”
Liberty couldn’t capitalize, however, and the Bulldogs took advantage on the other end. A costly turnover on a pass across the high slot set up Adrian’s Dylan Gajewski for a top-shelf wrist shot that cut the deficit to 2-1 at the 5:41 mark.
The Flames went back on the power play after another roughing penalty behind its own net before killing off another penalty as the period wound down. At last, Liberty capitalized on its third power-play chance early in the third when DeMars received feeds from fellow freshmen forwards Tucker Shields and Mac Ratzlaff at the top of the right circle and rocketed a shot past Adrian goalie Peyton Trzaska for a 3-1 lead with 16:31 to go.
After an interference penalty on Barker, the Bulldogs trimmed the deficit to 3-2 with 8:17 left when Keegan DeCaluwe redirected Gajewski’s shot from the high slot past Kausch.
As the clock wound down, Adrian pulled Trzaska for the final minute and the Flames started a counterattack with DeMars crashing into the empty net after he was tripped from behind and awarded a goal even though the puck never crossed the line.
“Our team played really well this weekend and we’re really proud of the young guys like DeMars, just being a horse out there, just non-stop working hard,” Finch said. “It’s really good for our team and people feed off of it.”
“I love the growth we’ve seen in our team,” Handy added, noting that the short span between games was a test of the young squad’s resilience. “It’s tough, last night to empty the tank and then come back and do it again with a quick turnaround. For us, it’s huge for us to be in games like this. Adrian’s a very good hockey team, and they’ve got the same (challenge of playing on short rest), but you’re so emotionally engaged in each game, players and coaches. It’s a type of feeling that we know we’ll have at the national tournament, and we’re getting it game-in and game-out here.”
The Flames will be tested on the road next weekend in a rematch with No. 3 Ohio, which swept last semester’s series at the LIC. Then, they will conclude the regular season by entertaining No. 17 Pittsburgh on Feb. 14-15 and hosting the Bobcats for a final time Feb. 21-22.
(Originally published at https://libertyclubsports.com/news/2025/2/1/mens-d1-hockey-fourth-ranked-flames-fend-off-no-6-bulldogs-complete-impressive-sweep-in-nationals-rematch)
