Hunter Virostek spent five seasons as the Flames' primary starter between the pipes before signing with the Columbus (S.C.) River Dragons in March.
Virostek, Schartz back in Virginia with two new semi-pro programs
10/18/2024 4:49:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
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Liberty alumni Hunter Virostek ('24) and Zane Schartz ('18) will make their debuts with the Blue Ridge Bobcats and Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs tonight.
Friday night marks the debuts of two former Liberty University ACHA Division I men's hockey players with new professional programs, with defenseman Zane Schartz playing for the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) and goalie Hunter Virostek joining the Blue Ridge Bobcats, a Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) team based in Wytheville, Va.
The Rail Yard Dawgs, which is where Virostek was assigned for the preseason, open against the Fayetteville (N.C.) Marksmen at the Berglund Center Coliseum. Virostek and the Bobcats, meanwhile, who play out of the newly renovated Hitachi Energy Arena — a 90,000 square-foot facility with 3,650 chairback seats — will host the FPHL expansion Athens (Ga.) Rock Lobsters.
"Wytheville is about two hours from Lynchburg, one hour from Roanoke," Virostek said. "It's only in its second year, so it's a fresh program and it's been great so far. They've got a great coaching staff and some awesome players who are fun to be around. It's just exciting to get to play somewhere, and I am excited to see what we can do this season. It will be a fun year."
The Bobcats traded forward Justin Somero and defenseman Egor Dolkart to the FPHL's Columbus (S.C.) River Dragons to obtain the rights to Virostek, who played the last month of the 2023-24 season in Columbus after completing his career with Liberty at the ACHA DI National Championships near St. Louis.
Virostek spent the preseason working with Liberty's two goalies, NCAA Division III transfers Konrad Kausch and Nicholas Bernstein.
"It was great to be back and be on the ice with them again and help them out, to be a third goalie out there if they needed a break," Virostek said. "Now, they should be good to go."
Virostek is currently battling a lower-body injury, but expects to be ready to play next weekend, when the Bobcats host the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Thunderbirds. He was still in Roanoke when Blue Ridge — which finished 16-40 and in last place in the FPHL's Continental Division during its inaugural season — hosted the Biloxi (Miss.) Sea Wolves in an exhibition series and the Bobcats gave up 12 goals in a 6-5, 6-7 split.
"I am excited to get back into the net," Virostek said. "It will be good. There will be more opportunities to make more saves."
Over his five-season career at Liberty, Virostek posted a career record of 62-27-4 for the Flames (including 6-3-1 at ACHA national tournaments), maintaining a 2.50 goals-against average and 92.5 save percentage. The Alberta, Canada, native won both of his starts in Columbus and was due to play in Roanoke — where Flames Assistant Coach Dan Berthiaume, a former NHL goalie, spent the majority of his professional career in the ECHL — before the Rail Yard Dawgs brought Tyler Roy back from the ECHL's Reading (Pa.) Royals. Roy previously played with Virostek on the River Dragons.
"Hunter Virostek brings a solid presence to our goaltending unit, and we are excited to have him join the Bobcats," Bobcats Head Coach Vojitech "Zemmy" Zemlicka, who formerly played for the Rail Yard Dawgs, said on the Blue Ridge website. "We believe he will be a great fit for our team and are looking forward to his contributions on the ice." SPHL Roanoke defenseman Zane Schartz is on his second stint with a Virginia semi-pro team after previously playing at ECHL Norfolk.
Schartz, who has appeared in 76 career games in three different leagues, including 49 games with eight different teams in the ECHL, launched his pro career in the spring of 2018 after concluding his junior season with the Flames. He played an additional 21 games in Finland in the 2020-21 season and five more in Hungary. Altogether, after scoring 49 goals and distributing 82 assists in 101 games at Liberty, the Plano, Texas, native has netted seven goals and distributed 15 assists at the professional ranks.
"We were trying to recruit Zane out of Liberty University a number of years ago," Roanoke Head Coach Dan Bremner said on the Rail Yard Dawgs' website. "At the time, he was focused on pursuing the ECHL and went on to play parts of many seasons at the 'AA' pro level. Zane has the ability to be a top defenseman in our league and he will be an immediate impact in our lineup."
