Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
No. 5 Flames hope familiarity breeds humility, success on road against No. 15 Bobcats
2/10/2022 2:49:43 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
There is no team in the nation that Liberty University’s ACHA Division I men’s hockey team is more familiar with than Ohio University, a program it played nine times last season, winning eight of the matchups. That run of success was capped by a 10-2 triumph in the ACHA DI National Championship quarterfinals last April near St. Louis that sent the Flames to their first “Frozen Four” since 2008.
Senior defenseman and head captain Colin Baird is hopeful his team can get back to that level in exactly a month, at the March 10-14 National Championships in St. Louis. The Flames will use this weekend’s series against the Bobcats as a tune-up, looking to end a season-long three-game skid.
“It’s always good to practice that (playing away from home) before we go out to nationals, so we’re going to use it to take it really seriously and focus on the little things we need to do right to win on the road,” Baird said as he watched Liberty’s men’s basketball team’s 78-69 victory over Lipscomb on Tuesday night at the Liberty Arena. We locked in some stuff this week in practice and we’re working on a few things and I think once we smooth those things out, we’ll be just fine. Our team is starting to figure out our roles and it is going to take our team coming together and really playing to the best of our ability and I think we’ll straighten some things out and come away with a couple wins (at Ohio).”
He said the rivalry with the Bobcats should bring out the best in the Flames, who are coming off back-to-back home losses to No. 2 Minot State, the team that eliminated them in the national semifinals.
“We have a lot of history with (Ohio), so we have to rely on what worked in the past this weekend,” he said. “We know the rink is a little tighter, a little smaller, so we just have to keep it simple and play smart. We’ve got to play like it’s do or die, and when that happens, we’re the best team in the country and no one’s going to beat us.”
Scouting Preview for Games 26-27: No. 5 Liberty (17-7-1) at No. 15 Ohio (14-11-3), Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. at Bird Arena in Athens, Ohio. Both games will be streamed live on Ohio's Stretch Internet channel.
All-Time Series: Ohio leads 16-15, but Liberty has won 12 of the last 14 meetings.
Liberty Scouting Report: The Flames, who slipped two spots in this week’s national rankings, overcame a 1-0 deficit in this season’s first meeting with Ohio on Nov. 12, scoring the last four goals in a 4-1 triumph that evened the all-time series. But despite a furious third-period rally, they couldn’t overtake the Bobcats in Game 2, falling, 3-2.
Liberty’s attack has been tremendously balanced this season with six players netting 10 goals or more and three — sophomore forward Jason Foltz (12 goals, 24 assists) and senior forward and alternate captain Matt Bartel (13G, including four game-winners, 20A) and senior defenseman and head captain Colin Baird (4G, 20A) distributing at least 20 assists. Senior forward Josh Fricks (10G, 17A) ranks third in scoring behind Foltz and Bartel.
Besides Baird and graduate defenseman and alternate captain Chaydan Lauber, the Flames’ defensive corps is anchored by junior transfer Cam Kuhl and freshman Matt Berezowski.
Between the pipes, Hunter Virostek (13-6-1, 2.38 goals-against average, 92.6 save percentage, 1 shutout) has logged the most minutes (1,234), with backup support from fellow junior Cédric Le Sieur (3-1, 2.05, 93.6, 2 SO).
Ohio Scouting Report: Before splitting its Nov. 12-13 series at Liberty, the Bobcats played 15 of their first 16 games in the friendly confines of Bird Arena, with their only road contest at reigning ACHA DI national champion Adrian College, which swept a home-and-away series. It has since been swept by the Niagara and Stony Brook at home before having last weekend’s home series against top-ranked Lindenwood postponed by inclement weather.
Offensively, Ohio is led by a trio of 30-point scorers — forwards JT Schimizzi (17G, 13A), Drew Magyar (16G, 14A), and defenseman Sam Turner (11G, 19A) — followed closely by forward Ryan Higgins (10G, 19A). Schimizzi and Turner both have three game-winners and Magyar has netted two.
In goal, the Bobcats have primarily platooned Max Karlenzig (7-6-2, 2.90 GAA, 90.1 SP) and Matthew Server (5-3, 3.82 GAA, 87.1 SP, 1 SO).
Coaches: Kirk Handy is in his 22nd season at the helm of the Flames with a career record of 494-197-30. Lionel Mauron, a former ECHL player originally from Switzerland, is in his first season as the Bobcats’ head coach and is 14-11-3 so far.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
