Flames hold 2-to-1 advantage in shots and goals as defense jams Jimmies in series opener
2/18/2022 11:34:14 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
A defensive duel with plenty of physicality and a chess match in offensive strategies was on display between Liberty University’s No. 3-ranked ACHA Division I men’s hockey team and No. 11 Jamestown (N.D.) on Friday night at the LaHaye Ice Center, where the Flames emerged with a 2-1 triumph — their third in a row against the Jimmies, all this season.
“I really liked the way our guys played tonight,” Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. “We battled and stuck with it when things weren’t going our way. We got lots of shots and they weren’t turning into goals, (but) I thought our guys were consistently dialed in and consistently focused on the task at hand. That’s the type of game we’re going to play at the national tournament right there.”
The Flames (20-7-1) capitalized first midway through the first period when sophomore forward and leading scorer Jason Foltz took outlet passes from freshman defenseman Matt Berezowski and senior forward Josh Fricks and weaved his way between two Jamestown players before threading the puck through the five-hole of goalie Tyson Brouwer for a 1-0 lead at the 8:26 mark.
Many of the Flames’ players pitched in to help clear the ice after the “Teddy Bear Toss” that followed, using their sticks to collect the hundreds of stuffed animals that will be donated to the nearby Concord-based Gleaning For The World.
“It was awesome, a lot more Teddy Bears than I expected,” freshman defenseman Luke Heimann said. “The fans are consistently here for us every weekend and we know it’s going to be electric. Especially going into nationals, they’re trying to send us off with some good energy.”
Jimmies forward Mario DeCapite netted the equalizer with 4:45 left in the second after forcing a steal near the Flames’ blue line. He skated swiftly across the crease before finishing the breakaway opportunity with a backhand inside the right post past junior goalie Hunter Virostek.
The Flames seized a 2-1 lead with 15:45 remaining in regulation when Heimann received a pass from Foltz and rocketed a shot from in the right circle past Brouwer for his first goal of the season, which proved to be the difference.
“Last weekend, game-winner, I’ll take it,” Heimann said. “Foltz is my roommate, so there’s a little bit of chemistry there.”
Heimann and his defensive partner, Berezowski, played as many minutes as the Flames’ third D pairing as either of the first two.
“They have been playing well the last few games for us and tonight they were real strong for us,” Handy said.
“We’ve had some chemistry lately,” Heimann said of he and Berezowski. “We’ve both battled with injuries this year. The last time we played these guys (in North Dakota), neither of us went because we were both injured.”
Berezowski didn’t show any signs of the concussion that kept him out for about a month before and after the new year, laying his share of body checks throughout the contest.
“He’s a big body and it’s hard to take that man down,” Heimann said. “We like the physicality. We’re a big team so we don’t shy away from it at all. So we like it when they bring it to us; we’ll bring it right back.”
Defensively, the Flames kept the Jimmies in check most of the night.
“We were pretty disciplined and we didn’t let the physicality get to us,” Heimann said. “The refs let us play."
While Liberty was held scoreless on its only power play opportunity, its penalty kill unit killed off both of Jamestown’s power-play opportunities, early and midway through the third period.
“Penalty kill’s always huge for us,” Heimann said. “I think we have the best PK in the ACHA, especially here at home, where it’s something ridiculous like 96 percent. It’s hard to lose games when you have strong special teams like that.”
The Flames outshot the Jimmies, 40-21, for the contest, with Virostek making 20 saves and Brouwer 38.
“They had a really strong goalie,” Heimann said. “We pretty much controlled the pace of the game the entire time. It came down to finishing goals and we kind of had a hard time doing that today, but at the end of the day, we played well and we were able come away with the win.”
He said the key to Liberty closing out their home schedule with a sweep will be executing more efficiently on the offensive end in Saturday’s 10 p.m. rematch.
“We just have to come back and do the same exact thing,” Heimann said. “We just need to bury our chances and bring a little bit more defensive zone discipline as far as our structure.”
“We’re going to need a better effort (Saturday) night,” Handy added. “We can’t be satisfied. We won the game tonight, but we’ve got to continue on tomorrow.”
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
