Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
DI Flames fired up for Top-10 showdown with Wolverines
9/30/2021 5:18:01 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
The first of three “Midnight Mayhem” matchups on Liberty University’s ACHA Division I men’s hockey team’s 2021-22 schedule is on tap for this Saturday night when the Flames, the No. 3 team in this week’s ACHA DI national rankings, host No. 8 Michigan-Dearborn.
Liberty has never faced the Wolverines, but it features two first-year forwards from Michigan — freshman Jacob Kalandyk and Kam Ottenbreit, a sophomore transfer from NCAA Division III Aurora (Ill.). They are the first Michigan natives on a Flames roster since 2014 after they had four during the 2012-13 season.
“I’m super excited for the Michigan-Dearborn games,” said Ottenbreit, who is from Grosse Ile, Mich., a 20-minute drive from Dearborn. “A ton of my friends that I’ve played against growing up or played with and who I actually skate with (over the summer, are now Wolverines). So I’m excited to skate against them.”
“It’s going to be a really good test,” added senior forward Zak Albers, Ottenbreit’s roommate. “Kam knows a bunch of those guys and is pretty familiar with some of their talent. It’s definitely going to be a step up from last weekend, but I think we’re ready and we’re looking forward to that fast pace and more physical game.
Albers and his forward line of sophomore brother Nate Albers and senior Devin Melice will look to set the tone for the series by bringing a physically grinding playing style.
“We’re the fourth line so we’re a physical energy line, which is something that we really enjoy doing,” he said. “(The Wolverines) definitely have some good size on the back end and I’m looking forward to competing and going into the corners and battling it out.”
He said the Flames will try to simplify their game and continue to execute offensively.
“We know that we’re not going to be able to do the fancy stuff against a better opponent, so we want to make sure that we’re getting pucks deep and going to the net, getting in there on the forecheck and going to those tough areas and creating chances off of just hard work,” Albers said.
Scouting Preview for Games 3-4: No. 8 Michigan-Dearborn at No. 3 Liberty (2-0), Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 11:59 p.m. at the LaHaye Ice Center (LIC). Both games will be streamed live by the Liberty Flames Sports Network (LFSN) and carried on ESPN+, with links to Friday’s and Saturday’s games highlighted here.
All-Time Series: First meeting
Liberty Scouting Report: The Flames showcased their offensive explosiveness in their season-opening games against Indiana University of Pennsylvania and North Carolina State University, getting hat tricks from freshman forward Truett Olsen in a 9-0 rout of the Crimson Hawks and junior Matt Bartel, who netted the tying and go-ahead goals in an 8-4 come-from-behind win against the Icepack, respectively.
Senior goalie Hunter Virostek posted a shutout in his first start of the season against IUP before senior Tyler Myers and junior Cédric Le Sieur started and closed out the win over NC State, respectively.
Defensively, senior head captain Colin Baird, graduate alternate captain Chaydan Lauber, and freshman Matt Berezowski shined brightest, with Lauber starting the scoring in the season opener with a rocket from the high slot and adding a second goal from the top of the left circle. Berezowski, who distributed multiple assists in the first two games, will not be available for the Michigan-Dearborn series.
Michigan-Dearborn Scouting Report: The Wolverines have consistently been ranked in the top 10 over the last three seasons and won Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League or Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament championships in four of the last five seasons, earning trips to the ACHA Division I National Tournament in five consecutive seasons. As Liberty did this past season, Michigan-Dearborn reached the ACHA DI National Championship semifinals and a No. 2 national ranking in 2018-19. In their season-opening series this past weekend, the Wolverines swept a home-and-home series against Grand Valley State University by 7-3 and 5-2 scores. Forward linemates Brendan West netted a hat trick and Billy Brock scored two goals and distributed four assists in the season-opening win. Sophomore Kayden Pickles and freshman Tanner Beals started between the pipes in UM-D’s first two games.
Coaches: Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy is in his 22nd season at the helm of the Flames with a career record of 479-190-29. Michigan-Dearborn Head Coach Chris Haltinner is in his ninth season and sports a 165-78-2 record over that time.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
