Liberty University Club Sports
ACHA National Tournament
Flames open 2-0 lead on No. 1 Minot State before being upended in OT, 3-2
3/21/2023 9:06:14 AM | Men's D1 Hockey
For the second time in three years, Liberty University’s No. 5-seeded ACHA Division I men’s hockey team was ousted in the semifinal round of the National Championships by top-ranked Minot State in a 3-2 season-ending setback, Monday night at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Mass.
Liberty (18-13-2) snapped Minot’s 11-game winning streak against it on Feb. 25 at the LaHaye Ice Center before allowing the Beavers (34-3) to rally from a 3-1 deficit and salvage a series split with a 5-3 win. On Monday, the Flames let Minot dig its way out of a two-goal hole again before burying their hopes of advancing to their first championship final at the Division I level.
“That stings,” Liberty Associate Head Coach Jeff Boettger said. “We’re so close. We were right there, on the cusp of knocking the No. 1 team off, so there’s nothing to hang our heads about. It was a great game, the guys played with heart and with honor, and they honored the Lord with their efforts. It was awesome.”
Flames senior goalie Hunter Virostek said Minot plays a similar game as the Flames, based on fundamental execution and simply outworking opponents.
“They’re a tough team,” he said. “They work hard. They’ve got a lot of vets on their (roster) and they’re hungry all of the time. They’ll never quit.”
Junior forward Truett Olson scored both of Liberty’s goals in the first period on putbacks in the right crease. Graduate defenseman Colin Baird assisted the first, with 5:52 left in the period, after taking a back feed from senior forward Jackson Vercellono and launching a shot from the top of the left circle. Olson gathered the rebound of before lifting a wrist shot into the upper netting past Beavers goalie Jake Anthony.
Then, 15 seconds before the first intermission, sophomore defenseman Nate Cox unleashed another perimeter shot from the left point and junior forward Jacob Kalandyk shuffled the rebound to Olson for another point-blank finish and a 2-0 Liberty lead.
However, the first period was costly as the Flames lost senior forward Brett Gammer after he took a hard Minot shot to the knee as he was out with the penalty kill unit.
“It hurts losing Gammer because it changes up your lines and hurts your chemistry a little bit,” Boettger said.
“(Gammer) is a key player and a good guy for breakouts and everything,” Virostek added. “That’s a big skill piece gone … and having (junior forward Kris) Bladen out, too, it hurt the team for sure.”
The Flames held a 15-14 lead in shots in the first period before Minot State peppered Virostek with high-percentage chances throughout the second, when the Beavers held a commanding 20-6 advantage.
“They were hammering us,” said Virostek, who was phenomenal as the Flames’ last line of defense, repelling multiple shots from all angles around the cage with the Beavers narrowly missing several others wide.
The Beavers carried that intensity and momentum over into the third period, when they held an even wider 21-5 shot margin. They remained eager to get on the scoreboard and had plenty of jump as Joey Moffatt showed by forcing an early breakaway steal and one-on-one opportunity with Virostek, who shut down the attempt.
However, that put the Flames in a defensive posture and the Beavers capitalized on a power play less than a minute later, when Davis Sheldon slammed home a putback of Reid Arnold’s shot from the right point set up by Moffatt, cutting the deficit in half with 18:49 still to go.
“It started off with that power play that they had, and from there it seemed like they got some momentum, kind of just kept us on our heels a little bit,” Virostek said.
With 3:51 remaining in regulation and the Flames content to dump the puck into the Beavers’ end and bunker down defensively, Minot took to the offensive to net the equalizer, with Josh Pederson sticking in Christian Kadolph’s sharp-angled assist from the right circle with a one-timed finish deep in the left crease.
That shot tied the game at 2 and gave Minot a commanding 50-25 advantage in shots for the contest.
“Our guys were pretty sure and confident, like they weren’t rattled when Minot got the tying goal,” Boettger said.
“We were able to kind of weather the storm,” Virostek added. “We tried keeping an even keel and tried to get the momentum back.”
Liberty reset its offense and generated a couple quality scoring chances of its own over the final few minutes, but the teams remained tied and went into sudden-death overtime with both teams’ seasons on the brink of elimination.
Minot maintained a possession edge in the 20-minute overtime, especially after going on a power play at the 7:01 mark. The Flames’ PK came up big before the Beavers finally broke through for the game-winning goal 18 seconds later on a shot by the left-handed Moffatt from the right circle.
“I saw the pass go in and it was a direct shot and I pushed hard and tried to get my chest with it,” Virostek said. “The shot came off my glove and my shoulder and I watched it go in. I was like half an inch away from making a save.”
Minot State outshot the Flames 64-31 on the night and Virostek made 61 saves.
“That many shots hurts,” Boettger said. “We had a goalie that kept us in it and gave us a chance to win. When you’re playing at this level, playoff-style hockey is not easy hockey. It’s fast, it’s hard, it’s physical, it’s demanding. Both teams work super hard. Only one team can finish without losing at a national championship. Good teams find ways to win and we just did it for two games and they did it for three.”
After drawing the 10:15 a.m. time slot for its first two games in the tournament, facing the Beavers in the 8 p.m. semifinal may have seemed like playing at midnight for the Flames.
"We had to adjust our bodies to a different game time," Boettger said. "Not making excuses, but just things that come into play."
Minot will advance to a 2021 championship final rematch against No. 3 Adrian College, which upset No. 2 Ohio in its semifinal game on Tuesday at 8 p.m. The Bulldogs won their second title that year after winning their first in 2018; Minot has also claimed two crowns in 2013 and 2019.
The Flames’ returning players and coaching staff will regroup and continue their recruitment efforts to try to make another run at their first national championship next season.
“What a year,” Boettger said. “We are super proud of our guys … and how they maintained their focus. They have really grown together as a team and are super unified.”
Virostek looks forward to playing with Gammer and a few of the Beavers on the Team Canada squad that will travel to Karcfalta, Romania to compete in the 2023 World Cup of University Hockey from April 14-19. That tournament field also includes five Flames on Team USA: Baird, senior forward Matt Bartel, junior forwards Jason Foltz and Jacob Kalandyk, and freshman defenseman Laz Kaebel.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
