Liberty University Club Sports
University of Michigan-Dearborn
Special teams deliver, high-energy crowd stirs Flames to sweep of Wolverines
10/3/2021 9:13:00 AM | Men's D1 Hockey
On nights when it hosts "Midnight Mayhem" matchups, the vibe found inside the LaHaye Ice Center — voted the ACHA's "Battle of the Barns" champion last week — is different than anything most collegiate athletes will experience, with heart-pounding adrenaline from the opening faceoff.
Such was the case for the rematch between Liberty University's No. 3-ranked ACHA Division I men's hockey team and No. 8 Michigan-Dearborn, with the Flames (4-0) completing a series sweep of the Wolverines (2-2) with a rousing 5-2 victory. The game featured beyond-playoff-level intensity generated by a capacity crowd of fully caffeinated and spirit-filled fans anticipating every puck-drop, shot, and body check on the ice and against the boards.
"The crowd was awesome, phenomenal," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "The environment was fantastic. That's the experience both teams love to play in front of. It's a great college hockey experience and hats off to our guys. They came to play hard and battle hard tonight, both teams did. It could have gone either way. They were great games. Both teams were battling all night."
"It definitely was (playoff-level intensity)," added senior forward Josh Fricks, who netted the game-winner in the third period. "It was fun, one of the best games at Liberty we've had in my four years. It was just really nice to get back out there with fans, not having a full barn in two years almost. It was just really exciting to get back out there and for all of the new guys to experience it for the first time, it was a really incredible experience."
That buzz turned into bedlam when, with 16:54 left in the second period, freshman forward Jackson Vercellono skated onto a loose puck near the Wolverines' blue line and through the high slot before dropping a pass back to sophomore forward Jason Foltz, who beat M-D freshman goalie Tanner Beals with a perfectly placed wrist shot into the top-left corner of the cage for a 1-0 lead.
But at the 8:00 mark the Wolverines struck back as forward Joey Cullinan, stationed in front of Flames senior goalie Hunter Virostek, backhanded a putback of defenseman Henry Laukkanen's shot from the top of the left circle inside the right post, leveling the score.
Seconds into a Flames power play, Foltz skated up the right wing and left the puck for senior defenseman and head captain Colin Baird, who waltzed in from the right circle and fired a shot into the top right corner of the net, giving the Flames a brief 2-1 advantage at the 3:19 mark.
But exactly 20 seconds later, M-D forward Billy Brock skated deep into the left circle and fed a pass back to Brendan West, who retied the contest with a wrist shot through a screen and past Virostek into the upper netting.
"We didn't necessarily take care of the next shift after we scored, which is something we need to do better on, but other than that, we bounced back," Fricks said.
Finally in the third, sophomore forward Kris Bladen sprung a short fast break by intercepting a puck at the red line and skating down the left wing before sending a crossing pass to Fricks slicing through the slot. He received the puck and deftly deked Beals before lifting a backhand past him, igniting a spontaneous celebration among the still-rowdy crowd.
"That was a beautiful pass by Bladen and a great job by Fricks to bury it," Handy said.
Just over a minute later, Virostek made a spectacular kick save near the right post to deny the Wolverines the equalizer. Then, after killing five-minute and two-minute penalties, the Flames capitalized 25 seconds into a power play of their own, with Baird setting up freshman forward Jacob Kalandyk, who skated across the high slot before beating Beals bar-down with a shot from the top of the left circle.
"We scored three power-play goals tonight and the penalty kill was excellent," Handy said. "Special teams are a big, big part of your success and both seem to be working pretty well right now."
Kalandyk, the first Liberty recruit from Michigan since 2014, also assisted the Flames' final goal. Liberty played much of the final three minutes with a five-on-three advantage and Vercellono punched in a deflection of Kalandyk's shot from the high slot with 15 seconds remaining in regulation.
"We went three-for-five on the power play and 100 percent on the penalty kills, so that's all we can ask for, the best we can be," Fricks said. "We showed them we can be a top-five team this year and I think we'll stick to that."
Liberty outshot the Wolverines 47-25 and Virostek made 23 saves to earn Player of the Game honors, with plenty of help from graduate defenseman Chaydan Lauber and Baird.
"Our guys are exhausted, but that's the way it should be," Handy added. "You should play and battle hard and our guys can take a lot of encouragement from the fact that they played hard this weekend. We'll reset next week and get going."
Liberty will return to the LIC next Friday and Saturday nights for Homecoming Weekend showdowns with former ESCHL rival Delaware.
"We're still building," Handy said. "We're not to where we want to be as a team this year. We just want to keep building and getting better each and every time out."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
