Flames fend off Marauders in ACHA DI nationals opener, advance to quarterfinal battle with Bulldogs

Graduate forward and head captain Matt Bartel ended a scoreless tie with a goal assisted by senior forwards Jason Foltz and Kam Ottenbreit.

Flames fend off Marauders in ACHA DI nationals opener, advance to quarterfinal battle with Bulldogs

3/9/2024 9:14:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

Liberty outshot Mary by a 43-29 count in the 2-1 triumph, Saturday near St. Louis, moving it it one step closer to a third semifinal appearance in four years and three wins away from a first-ever ACHA DI national championship.

A defensive duel unfolded for Liberty University's No. 7-seeded ACHA Division I men's hockey team in its National Championships opener against No. 10 University of Mary (N.D.), Saturday night at Centene Community Ice Center near St. Louis in Maryland Heights, Mo.

The Flames (21-9-1), making their eighth consecutive trip to the tournament, survived and advanced past the Marauders (26-14-1) — in their first season of DI play after winning two of the past three DII national titles — by a 2-1 count.

The triumph sets up Sunday's quarterfinal showdown between Liberty and No. 2 Adrian (Mich.) College, a 4-1 winner over No. 15 Calvin University, at 5:45 p.m. EST. View the complete DI men's hockey bracket with results and schedule information on the ACHA's National Championships website.

"It was a great game," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "I thought both teams played well. Mary played really, really well. It was a barn-burner, for sure. I was proud of our guys. (Graduate goalie) Hunter (Virostek, 28 saves) played well again. We've got some things to work on for tomorrow, but that's part of it. We want to get better as the tournament goes on."

After a scoreless first period, the Flames seized a 1-0 lead just 22 seconds into the second period on a goal by graduate forward and head captain Matt Bartel assisted by senior linemates Jason Foltz and Kam Ottenbreit.

"Bartel went hard to the net," Handy said. "Sometimes, you try to be too pretty, but both the goals that went in were (gritty). You just have to have a willingness to put shots on net (and good things happen)."

Liberty maintained the one-goal advantage for the next 35 minutes before junior forward Jacob Kalandyk added an insurance score on a power play at the 4:35 mark of the third. He received passes from junior defenseman Kevin Bite and Foltz before launching a shot that deflected off a Mary player's stick past sophomore forward Sam Feamster's screen in front of Marauders goalie Kyle Hayden (41 saves) and into the top-right corner of the ner.

Virostek's save percentage was a perfect 24 for 24 up to that point before Mary's leading scorer, junior forward Isaiah Thomas — who netted two goals in Friday's 3-1 first-round win over No. 23 West Chester — capitalized just over a minute later, cutting the deficit in half off assists from defensemen Johnny Witzke and Teddy Lillico with 3:31 remaining in regulation.

The Flames' defense tightened, and Virostek saved Mary's last four shots on net down the stretch, even after the Marauders pulled their goalie for the extra man advantage.

"They are going to be tight games like this," Handy said. "This is how playoff hockey is. We just need to keep winning games. You want to keep moving forward. We're back at it tomorrow against Adrian, and we are excited to go after we split both series with them in the regular season. Tomorrow's a new day. We're excited to embrace it."

All games in the ACHA National Championships will be streamed live on FloHockey.TV.

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