Flames to spend Fall Break in Michigan challenging defending national champion Bulldogs

Battling reigning ACHA Division I men's hockey national champion Adrian College on its home ice over Liberty University's Fall Break will push the No. 5-ranked Flames to their limits as they seek to extend their four-game winning streak to start the ACHA DI regular season.

"It's always good to go to Adrian at this time of the year," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said of the showdown between teams ranked in the top five in the ACHA DI preseason rankings. "We know where we're at, and we're going to come ready to play this Thursday and Friday."

Last season, the Flames split both regular-season series against the Bulldogs at home and away before being eliminated by Adrian in the quarterfinals of the ACHA DI National Championships near St. Louis, 4-2.

"We know Adrian's the defending national champion and always a good team to play against," Liberty junior goalie Nick Bernstein said. "We love playing against good teams. We're always going toe-to-toe and splitting series with them, but we're a new team this year (with nine freshmen and one transfer)."

While the Flames are underdogs against the Bulldogs, they believe they are battle-tested and ready to show they can be a national contender, too, come March back in the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.

"We definitely have to up our level and play the way we've been playing and just prepare as best as we can and trust each other," Bernstein said. "We've proven that we can anchor it down in big games and come through in the clutch like that. We're definitely a team that can go all the way this year (so) it's exciting."

Scouting Preview for Games 7-8: No. 5 Liberty (5-1) at No. 2 Adrian College (4-0-1), Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Arrington Ice Arena. Both games will be streamed live on Adrian's YouTube channel.

All-time series: Adrian leads Liberty 16-6, dating back to the teams' first meeting in 2012, when the Bulldogs bounced the Flames from the national tournament near Cleveland.

Liberty Scouting Report: The Flames, coming off back-to-back sweeps of ESCHL opponents Pittsburgh on the road and Delaware at the LaHaye Ice Center, have outscored opponents 38-10 this season.

Offensively, Liberty has received contributions from all of its lines, with five players recording game-winning goals.That includes junior forward and head captain Sam Feamster (5 goals, 4 assists), the second-leading scorer who netted a backhanded game winner with 3:17 left in overtime to help the Flames take Game 2 against Delaware on Saturday night.

Freshmen forwards have given the attack added firepower, with four of Liberty's top six scorers newcomers to the 24-man roster. Michael DeBrito (6G, 5A), who scored a hat trick in the first Midnight Mayhem matchup of the season against the Blue Hens, moved into the scoring lead, complemented by Mac Ratzlaff (4G, 4A), Liam Cox-Smith (3G, 4A), and Kal Essenmacher (4G, 2A).

Nick Pomerleau, who leads the Flames with eight assists, will be complemented by the return of fellow junior defensemen Kevin Bite and Laz Kaebel, who sat out the Delaware series due to injury along with Reid Bogenholm, who remains on the injured reserve list.

Between the pipes, Liberty has platooned sophomore Konrad Kausch (3-0, 1.33 goals-against average, 95.1 save percentage, 1 SO), a transfer from NCAA Division III St. Mary's (Minn.) University, and Bernstein (2-1, 1.98 GAA, 94.2 SP, 1 shutout), a junior transfer from NCAA DIII Chatham (Pa.) University.

Adrian Scouting Report: Like Liberty, the Bulldogs added 10 players to this year's 31-man roster, including seven from Canada, two transfers from NCAA DIII programs, one transfer from ACHA DI Central Oklahoma, and one recruit from France. Overall, Adrian features 16 players from north of the border and 12 from Michigan.

The Bulldogs won their first three ACHA games handily before allowing preseason No. 18 Illinois State to play them to a 4-4 tie and stage a shootout victory on Adrian's home ice this past Saturday.
Defenseman Ethan McLaughlin sparks Adrian's attack with a team-high seven points (1G, 6A), followed closely by forwards Dylan Gajewski (2G, 4A), Alex Schaumburger (2G, 4A), Justin Jamer (4G, 1A), and Hunter Allen (2G, 3A).

In net, Peyton Trzaska (2-0-1, 1.95 GAA, 91.4 SP, 1 SO) has logged the most minutes, with backup from Dylan Knighton (1-0, 3-0 GAA, 84.2 SP).

Coaches: Kirk Handy is in his 25th season as head coach for the Flames and has a career record of 545-222-33 behind the bench. Gary Astalos is in his ninth year at the helm of the Bulldogs. He boasts an overall record of 256-24-3, including a 100-2 mark in Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League play, and ACHA DI national championships in 2018, 2021, and 2024.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media

Flames to spend Fall Break in Michigan challenging defending national champion Bulldogs

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Players Mentioned

Kevin Bite

Reid Bogenholm

Liam Cox-Smith

Kal Essenmacher

Konrad Kausch

Mac Ratzlaff