Flames trade sticks for lightsabers, win physical Star Wars battle with Bulldogs

Friday, February 2

Lynchburg, Va.

07:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Adrian College

Flames senior forward Jason Foltz chases the puck as an Adrian player puts out his stick in Friday night's top-five clash on Star Wars Night at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photos by Jacob Summersgill)

Flames trade sticks for lightsabers, win physical Star Wars battle with Bulldogs

2/2/2024 11:17:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

Liberty, which moved up two spots to No. 5 in this week's ACHA national rankings, knocked off No. 2 Adrian in the series opener at the LaHaye Ice Center, 4-3, with Saturday's rematch set for 1 p.m.

The Force was with Liberty University's No. 5-ranked ACHA Division I men's hockey team on Friday night as the Flames (17-6-1) extended their winning streak to 12 games and snapped No. 2 Adrian College's 18-game run of success in series-opening 4-3 victory in front of a full house on hand for the annual Star Wars Night at the LaHaye Ice Center.

"It was super exciting," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "We stuck with them. We had a lot of injuries happen during the game and a lot of ups and downs, but I liked how our guys stuck with it tonight. It was great hockey. That was some of the best hockey I've seen. Both teams worked hard and both teams wanted it."

Senior forward and head captain Matt Bartel said the level of physicality ramped up for the playoff-level showdown with the Bulldogs (27-3-1), and the Flames prevailed by showing restraint.

Brett-Gammer-Liberty-Adrian — Senior forward Brett Gammer starts a fast break against the Bulldogs on Friday night.

"A lot of guys were battling the hits tonight," he said. "They were pretty physical, but I thought we did a good job of matching that and not getting too involved in anything after the whistle, so we were able to stay out of the box there until the end."

Liberty broke the scoring ice with 19:18 remaining in the second period when junior forward and leading scorer Jacob Kalandyk deflected freshman defenseman Nicholas Pomerleau's shot from the high slot past Adrian goalie Noah DeCottignies for a 1-0 advantage.

Then, less than a minute and a half later, the Flames capitalized on a two-on-one break sparked by a long outlet pass from sophomore defenseman Colten Kovich onto the tape of Kalandyk's stick at the top of the right circle. He skated in and put a shot on goal before graduate forward Jackson Vercellono chipped the rebound up and into the back of an open net at the 16:54 mark.

"We came out firing in the second period," Handy said. "It took us a little bit to adjust to the physicality of the game in the first. In the second period, we adjusted well and scored some nice goals."

Then, with 13:05 to play in the period, Bartel padded the lead to 3-0 after taking sophomore forward Sam Feamster's pass out of the left corner — off a secondary assist from sophomore defenseman Laz Kaebel — and firing a shot from the inside edge of the left circle into the top-right corner of the cage past DeCottignies.

"Feamster found me there in the right spot and I was able to get one over the glove," Bartel said. "They seem to be going in for me right now, so I'm happy about that. I thought Feamster played really good with us after (senior forward) Kam (Ottenbreit) got hurt there when he took a high hit in the first period. If Kam can't go tomorrow, I'm excited to play with Feamster again."

Seconds after killing a Liberty power play, the Bulldogs got on the scoreboard 3:22 before the second intermission when Nathaniel Mott took a pass from Chad Noetzel and launched a shot from the right point that Justin Jamer deflected into the top-left corner of the cage, over the blocker of Flames graduate goalie Hunter Virostek, trimming the deficit to 3-1.

Virostek-Pomerleau-clear — Freshman D Nick Pomerleau clears the puck in front of graduate GK Hunter Virostek.

A penalty assessed to Liberty at the end of the second period carried over to the start of the third when Adrian leading scorer Matt DiGiulio capitalized from deep in the left circle off an assist from Matthew DiCesare just 21 seconds after the opening faceoff, making it a 3-2 contest.

With 2:51 remaining in regulation, after Vercellono chased down a puck behind the cage and put it out in front, the Flames added an insurance goal when Kalandyk poked the loose puck through traffic into the back of the cage.

That last one, I think that epitomized the game we played tonight," Handy said. "Jackson's working hard, he's all over the puck, and he makes a great play, stays on the puck, snuck it out in front and Kalandyk stays with it and he put the puck in the net. That exemplified our night tonight."

The Bulldogs went on a power play with 2:16 remaining in regulation and pulled DeCottignies to give themselves a 6-on-4 advantage, which increased to 6-on-3 at the 1:00 mark, before finally cashing in to pull within 4-3 with 26 seconds to go when second-leading scorer Sam Spaedt finished feeds from Sebastian Smith and Dylan Gajewski.

"We can't take those penalties at the end," Handy said. "We've got to be smarter than that. We almost let them back in it by taking those. It's a lesson learned. But I like what our guys did tonight. They played hard and they deserved the outcome that they got."

With the Bulldogs back on a 6-on-4 for the final seconds, the Flames and Virostek withstood a few quality chances down the stretch to emerge victorious.

Nick-Pomerleau-Kris-Bladen-clear — Pomerleau works a breakout alongside Flames senior forward Kris Bladen.

"It definitely brings back memories from (a February 2020 sweep of then No. 1-ranked Adrian at the LIC)," Bartel said. "It was very similar at the end of the game. It was a tight game and we had to gut it out and that was huge. This was a good win for our team. We faced some adversity there at the end, but it was good to come together and pick up the win. There are a lot of similarities to that (2020) season, how close we are as a group and how bad guys want it. It's been super fun to be a part of."

The Flames were outshot by the Bulldogs, 35-33, on the night, but Virostek made 32 saves and earned First Star of the Night honors.

The puck will drop at 1 p.m. for Saturday's rematch back at the LIC, where the Flames will seek to complete the sweep and the Bulldogs will try to salvage a split for the second time this season.

"This was a huge win, but it would be even better if we could beat them (Saturday) and sweep them," Bartel said. "That would be huge not only for the rankings but for our momentum. We have a 12-game win streak and if we can continue that and keep building as we go into nationals, that would be huge for our team.

"We're going to have to play harder and smarter than we did tonight," Handy added.

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