Flames senior forward DJ Schwenke starts a fast break against the Bobcats in a series sweep at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photos by Brooke McDuffee)
Flames sweep Bobcats behind valiant PK play, goalkeeping by Virostek
11/11/2023 11:04:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
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Liberty got goals from five different players in the 5-2 win, its fifth in a row, and seized a 20-19 lead in the teams' all-time series with Ohio.
In a showdown between Final Four qualifiers from last year's national championships, Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team erased an early 1-0 deficit and completed a series sweep of independent rival Ohio University with a 5-2 triumph Saturday night at the LaHaye Ice Center.
For the second night in a row, the No. 10-ranked Flames (10-6-1) got stellar goalkeeping from graduate Hunter Virostek as they stretched their season-high winning streak to five games to reclaim a 20-19 lead in their all-time series with the No. 12 Bobcats (8-6-2).
Flames forward Brett Gammer clears the puck in front of Hunter Virostek (40 saves).
"Our PK was unbelievable tonight," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "They were super special. (Assistant) Coach (Jonathan) Chung has done a great job with them and the buy-in and dedication that those guys have is unbelievable."
The Flames killed five out of six penalties for the game and were outshot by Ohio by the same margin that they outshot the Bobcats on Friday night, 42-38, with Virostek making 40 saves.
"Hunter, welcome back," Handy said. "He played fantastic for us. He's our best penalty killer every time."
After Ohio forward Barron Stibbe ended Virostek's shutout bid early by scoring off an outlet pass from defenseman Spencer Schons at the 7:59 mark with a shot from the right circle inside the left post, the Flames tied it at 1 with 4:20 to play in the first period on a bit of a fluke goal by sophomore defenseman Grant Morton. He took a pass from senior forward Matt Bartel and launched a shot from the top of the left circle that deflected off the shin of Bobcats defenseman Sam Turner past goalie Max Karlenzig into the top-left side of the net.
"They scored the first goal and put us on our heels a bit, but even in the first, we outshot them 17-7 and I thought we played pretty well," Handy said.
In the second, the Flames were outshot by a 26-9 margin and spent 12 of 20 minutes in the penalty box but still managed to outscore the Bobcats by a 3-0 count.
Anchored by Virostek between the pipes, Liberty withstood an onslaught of shots from close range around the cage on an Ohio power play midway through the second period. Then, with 10:59 to go in the period, junior forward Jacob Kalandyk received a short pass from sophomore forward Sam Feamster and graduate forward Jackson Vercellono out of the left corner and skated through the left circle before threading a shot past Karlenzig through the five hole for a 2-1 edge.
Just 1:43 later, Liberty extended its lead to 3-1 on an unassisted goal by senior forward Brett Gammer, who swiped the puck around a defenseman with a quick crossover move before sending a wicked wrist shot from the slot past Karlenzig inside the left post.
"Gammer's a guy who you notice every time he's out there," Handy said. "He's had a great year for us. He's a big part of our team and a heart and soul guy for us."
Then, with 1:07 left in the period, Jason Foltz chased down a long backhanded stretch pass from fellow senior forward Kam Ottenbreit off a secondary assist from freshman defenseman Marty (Marnauzs) Mocs and finished a one-on-one opportunity with the Ohio goalie as he had for the Flames' first score on Friday night.
"Foltz, Bartel, and Ottenbreit were big for us this weekend," Handy said.
After Morton and Aiden Grieco were issued 10-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for fighting, Liberty ended the period on its fifth penalty kill of the night, and Virostek withstood another barrage of shots to keep the three-goal lead intact.
Sophomore forward Sam Feamster battles the Bobcats' Barron Stibbe for the puck.
The Flames nearly came away empty-handed after an extended 5-on-3 power play, but finally cashed in in the closing seconds of the man advantage when junior defenseman Kevin Bite netted the putback of a shot by Kalandyk set up by Foltz in the left crease for a 5-1 advantage at the 9:46 mark.
"We went into the third and had some power plays and we just weren't finding the back of the net until we got that big goal by Kevin (Bite)," Handy said.
Just six seconds into a power play resulting from a five-minute major assessed to Foltz, the Bobcats struck on a shot by reigning ACHA DI Player of the Year Luc Reeve from the top of the left circle to trim the deficit to 5-2 with 6:08 remaining in regulation. But Liberty's PK unit killed off the rest of the non-releasable penalty with Virostek making a few more key saves.
The Flames will have next weekend off before returning from Thanksgiving Break to host Pittsburgh on Dec. 1 and 2, with the series opener being the second Midnight Mayhem matchup of the semester.
"The break comes at a good time for us to try to get some guys who were injured back healthy before Christmas," Handy said, noting that the Flames are preparing to return to Finland as a team for the second time in four years in early January.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
