Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
DII Flames open season Friday at home versus Virginia Tech
9/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's D2 Hockey
Liberty University's ACHA Division II men's hockey team, coming off its first trip to the ACHA DII tournament final since 2006, begins its quest for a fourth consecutive National Championship appearance Friday at 2 p.m. in the LaHaye Ice Center against Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey (MACH) South Division rival Virginia Tech.
"We kind of start in the heart of our season this year with a pretty important game right off the bat," Flames Head Coach Chris Lowes said. "It will be a good battle. It's a league game, the first game of the (best-of-three) ‘Battle of the Blue Ridge,' against a team normally ranked in the top 10 in the South Region."
While they return a strong core of veterans who played key roles in the run to the ACHA DII final — a 4-1 loss to a Florida Gulf Coast team they beat three out of four times in the regular season — the Flames had plenty of turnover from last season. However, Lowes picked up several promising freshmen as well as former DIII and DI players.
"We return a lot of our strengths, and picked up some a few veterans and some real encouraging freshmen who should be able to make an impact early on," Lowes said. "Execution-wise, it will take us a couple weekends to put together our game plan, but the new guys are eager, the returning players are ready to pick up where we left off, and we as coaches are excited to see what we have to deal with."
The Flames return senior forwards Devon Docksteader and Ben Freymond, two of their top three scorers from the past two seasons, along with graduate forward Peter Kazmierczak and junior Tim Bierema, both returning alternate captains, and senior Jordan Barstead.
They will be complemented by four forwards with experience on the DI squad — graduates Danny Logan and Tyson Street and seniors Paul Lamoureux and Robert Ward — and senior DIII call-up Caleb Weesner.
"We should be able to roll four lines," Lowes said.
Liberty also has five of its top six defensemen back, including seniors Ryan Sidun, Daniel Huntington, Roger Roulette, and Kaleb Shannon, as well as junior Adam Gnatowski, who is injured to start the season. Sophomore DIII call-up Nathan Glick will work his way into the rotation.
"We've got the talent to do some big things this year," Lowes said. "Part of the challenge will be putting guys in roles so they can be successful. Last year, we had guys who filled different roles — goal scorers, guys who could shut down other teams' top lines, and special teams guys who could play on the penalty kill and power play. Initially, we will have veterans doing that and plug in guys to see what works best."
In the net, the Flames have three newcomers without any college experience.
"We're a little green in the goal, but I like what I've seen so far," Lowes said. "It'll be an interesting battle to see who will earn the start in net each weekend."
Lowes is excited that the regional rankings will be determined by computer, rather than by committee, this season.
"The results on the ice will speak for themselves," he said.
Besides Virginia Tech, Lowes anticipates defending tournament champion Delaware, Penn State, UMBC, Maryland, Rider, and Rowan will give the Flames the best challenge for the MACH title.
"They'll all be dangerous come playoff time," he said.
He also predicted Liberty will be joined in the top five in the South Region this season by FGCU, Miami of Ohio, Toledo, and Penn State, with the Hokies, Delaware, Ohio, and Louisville vying for the top 10.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
