Senior forward Jacob Kalandyk celebrates one of his two goals over the weekend against Minot State at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photos by Chase Gyles)
No. 4 Flames fly to Minot, N.D., for weekend rematch with top-ranked Beavers
9/28/2023 3:53:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
Share:
Liberty will look to turn the tables on the defending ACHA Division I national champions in a hostile environment.
Less than a week after being swept by top-ranked, defending national champion Minot State in the ACHA Division I season-opening series at the LaHaye Ice Center, Liberty University's No. 4-ranked men's hockey team is eager to return the favor against the Beavers in their own barn this weekend.
"We're getting ready for a big weekend in Minot," Liberty graduate forward Jackson Vercellono said. "We are hoping to bounce back and take it from these guys like they did to us last weekend."
Â
LU defenseman Kevin Bite celebrates a goal against Minot State in the Midnight game.
The Flames took a bus to Raleigh, N.C., on Wednesday morning before flying to North Dakota to arrive in plenty of time to practice twice on faraway ice before this Friday and Saturday nights' rematches.
The back-to-back home-and-away series against the defending national champions will certainly test Liberty's resilience and raise both the returnees' and newcomers' standards for where they want to be by the end of the year.Â
"We're playing these games to learn and to continue to build who we are," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "That's part of the process we're going to go through. There are a lot of things we can take away (from the losses) this week as we watch film. Because we're playing a really tough schedule and it's right away for us … making sure that we're on top of guys and helping them understand what they need to do differently is of utmost importance for us."
Balancing the number of shots on goal — and preventing multiple putback chances for Minot — will be key to Liberty's success after the Beavers outshot the Flames by more than a 2-to-1 ratio (105-50) this past weekend. Â
"We need to be a lot stronger in front of our own net," Handy said. "They won the net-front battles (last) weekend."
While the "Midnight Mayhem" crowd didn't seem to faze Minot in last Saturday's ACHA DI opener for both teams, Liberty can expect to be tested by a similarly hostile atmosphere with the Beavers offering free admission on "Build the Dam" night and are calling for a "Black-out" among the fans on hand for Friday's opener. Prior to the start of the game, Minot State will hold a special banner-raising ceremony to put its third national championship banner on display inside Maysa Arena.
Â
Kalandyk, Liberty's leading scorer, launches a shot from the high slot vs. the Beavers.
The Beavers have been one of the premier programs in ACHA DI over the past decade, making 11 consecutive national quarterfinal appearances, six semifinals, and raising three Murdoch Cup trophies. Minot Head Coach Wyatt Waselenchuk anticipates facing the best challenge from the Flames, and every other team vying to knock it from the No. 1 ranks and strip the national title away from the Beavers.
"Nobody ever likes Minot State," he said. "Nobody ever likes this program. When you're prolifically at the top of the heap, everybody's always gunning for you … Whenever you're wearing that Beaver, you're getting the best from whoever is coming into this building or wherever you're going. I wouldn't want to have it any other way."
The Flames will look to have their way with the Beavers this weekend.
Scouting Preview for Games 4-5: No. 4 Liberty (1-2) at No. 1 Minot State (4-0), Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. EST at the Maysa Arena in Minot, N.D. Both games will be streamed live on the NSIC Network.
All-Time Series:Â The Beavers hold a commanding 18-3 advantage, winning 15 of the past 16 meetings. Minot State got late goals to clinch both games of its series sweep last Saturday in Lynchburg, Va., winning the opener 4-2 early in the morning and the rematch later that night, 5-3.
Liberty Scouting Report:Â The Flames will have sophomore defenseman Colten Kovich back for Friday's opener after he missed last Saturday's second game due to injury. They will still be without senior forward Kris Bladen, sophomore defensemen Reid Bogenholm and Grant Morton, and sophomore goalie Jackson Glassford, who suffered a concussion in practice earlier this month.
After scoring twice in a span of eight seconds early in the second period of the season-opener against North Carolina State, senior forward and top returning scorer Jacob Kalandyk (4 goals, 1 assist) netted Liberty's first goal in both games against the Beavers last weekend — on wrist shots from about the same spot atop the right circle.
Â
Freshman forward Ryan Finch ranks second in scoring with 4 points through 3 games.Â
Junior defenseman Kevin Bite pulled the Flames within 3-2 in the opener with his second goal in as many games before Truett Olson — who scored both Liberty goals on first-period putbacks in last season's 3-2 overtime loss to Minot in the national semifinals — pulled the Flames back within 4-3 midway through the third period of Saturday's rematch with the Beavers off the fourth assist of the season from graduate forward Jackson Vercellono.
Freshman forward Ryan Finch (2 goals, 2 assists) ranks second to Kalandyk in scoring through three games.
In goal, graduate Hunter Virostek kept Liberty in both of its games against the Beavers by making a total of 96 saves. Still, the eight goals allowed raised his goals-against average to 3.33 while lowering his save percentage to 92.2. He is expected to start both games again this weekend with backup from DII call-up Nick Bernstein, a sophomore transfer from NCAA Division III Chatham (Pa.) University who also played with freshman defenseman Nick Pomerleau on the Twin City (Maine) Thunder in the USPHL in the 2021-22 season.
The Flames' penalty kill unit was unscored upon on seven Beavers power plays in the opener before allowing them to score on their only opportunity in the rematch.Â
Minot State Scouting Report: The Beavers have won 10 games in a row since Liberty ended its 11-game winning streak against them on Feb. 24 at the LIC. They feature five forwards with three or more points — Joey Moffatt (2G, 2A), Reid Arnold (3G), Jay Buchholz (2G, 1A), Troy Hamilton (1G, 2A), and Reece Henry (1G, 2A).
Between the pipes, Minot leans on Jake Anthony (2-0, 2.50 GAA, 90.0 SP), with Riley Wallace (1-0, 1.00 GAA, 96.2 SP) waiting in the wings.
Coaches:Â Handy is in his 24th season at the helm of the Flames, having guided them to seven consecutive ACHA DI National Championships appearances and posted a career record of 517-213-32. Waselenchuk, Minot State's first ACHA Division I Player of the Year in 2013 after leading the Beavers to their first national championship, is 68-6 in his third season at the helm. He served as assistant coach over the previous five seasons, including 2018-19, when Minot claimed its second national title.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
