Schwenke found friends for life on Flames’ family-focused DI men’s hockey team

DJ Schwenke skates between fellow senior forward Jason Foltz and an Ohio player during last year's Star Wars game at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photo by Chase Reed)

Schwenke found friends for life on Flames’ family-focused DI men’s hockey team

3/6/2024 6:48:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

As one of three married players, along with linemate Jackson Vercellono and goalie Hunter Virostek, senior forward DJ Schwenke has had several mentors model servant leadership and sacrificial love to him at Liberty.

DJ-Schwenke-Jonathan-Chung — Schwenke is exhorted by Assistant Coach Jonathan Chung during the Flames' Midnight Mayhem game vs. Minot State on Sept. 23. (Photo by Chase Gyles)

When DJ Schwenke, now a senior on Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team, arrived on campus in Fall 2020 as a freshman forward from Colorado, he turned to then-senior Cole Gammer, one of the team's captains, for counsel on a personal matter.

"I was going through some really hard stuff with my family and Cole was the first person I reached out to and he was so loving and he prayed with me," Schwenke recalled after a post-practice skate session at the LaHaye Ice Center on Monday. "He didn't care about me as a hockey player or as a student, he cared about me as DJ. He wanted to make sure that DJ was OK and that I was doing fine."

That personal approach instantly earned Schwenke's respect, and he would form an even closer friendship with Gammer's younger brother, Brett. They have played on the same offensive line and on special teams (power play and penalty kill) over the past few seasons in addition to serving on the same captaincy corps together this year.

"I just looked up to him, the way he treated Julie and how much he loved his wife, just seeing that relationship, and how much time he spent in the Bible and how much he prioritized Jesus," Schwenke said. "He probably doesn't know how much of an example he was to me. I think back to that freshman year and a lot of who I am today is because of Cole. He meant so much to me and I'm so blessed."

DJ-Liza-Schwenke — DJ and Liza Gammer are photo-bombed by Liberty freshman Micah Witt left, and share a kiss in the LIC foyer.

Gammer set the standard for what it means to be a godly man and loving husband, and Schwenke is following in those steps now after marrying his high school sweetheart, Liza, in July. She joined him at Liberty this past fall in pursuit of her B.S. in Nursing degree, which she will complete online next year after the couple moves back to Colorado this summer and Schwenke finishes his B.S. in Civil Engineering online in December and launches his career in construction.

"I've got a couple job offers out there," Schwenke said, noting that he and Liza are expecting their first child in August. "It's sad to leave, but I am really excited to be an adult now. Liberty's all about learning how to be an adult. It'll really teach you how to provide and to how to take care of people other than yourselves, and to be a sacrificial leader and a servant leader … to give everything you've got for that person so that they know that they are taken care of. I learned that here. This team isn't about me, my marriage isn't about me, being a father won't be about me. It's about taking care of those who are around you and look up to you and want to see you be an example. That's been really, really good."

He considers fellow senior forwards and team captains Nate Albers, Matt Bartel, and Brett Gammer a few of his best friends.

"Obviously, Brett's my best friend on this team," said Schwenke, who won't be able to make Bartel's wedding this summer but will attend Gammer's. "We've poured into each other pretty evenly and sharpened each other. Nate is just the leader that everyone wants to be. He's so vocal and so disciplined. He loves everyone. He's always looking out for other people and to call him my brother is just like an honor."

"There's no way I deserve friendships like this or a brotherhood like this, but I'm so blessed that God gave me what I have," he added, noting that the Flames' spiritual leaders — graduate forward Jackson Vercellono and fellow senior forwards Kris Bladen and Truett Olson — are some of his closest friends, as well. "This is a journey that I didn't expect or couldn't have written up, but God knew what was best for me and knew that He was going to surround me with a bunch of brothers in Christ and men that I know I can call at any moment and they'll help me out or guys that I know can reach out to me and I'll be there for them."

After last season's unifying team theme of "We Fight," this year's motto for the Flames is simply "Family," which is what Liberty's hockey program is all about.

DJ-Schwenke-family — DJ and :Liza Schwenke are joined by family on Senior Night at the LIC on Feb. 10. (Photos by Megan Davis)

"We make sure we take care of each other, make sure we are keeping each other accountable," Schwenke said. "We win as a family and we lose as a family, and make sure that we are respecting each other. That's been our identity this year."

He said his family was instrumental in laying a solid foundation for his faith and building a strong character, commitment to a mission, and team-over-me approach to life and work.

"A lot of my work ethic came from my parents and the upbringing I had … but coming here reaffirmed that it's never done, just because you think that you've made it," Schwenke said. "I thought I'd made it and coming to Liberty was going to be my riding-off-to-the-sunset moment, but I learned that hard work happens day-in and day-out, and it's not something you achieve one day. You've got to work hard until the day you die. God gave us work before sin entered the world, so work is not a bad thing. Just understanding that work is actually a blessing is so cool, and hopefully, my hard work and work ethic will glorify God. It hasn't always been that way. it's been selfish sometimes, but I do pray that people see my work ethic and know that it's something greater than just me."

Schwenke and his linemates — Gammer and Albers, who was recently replaced by Vercellono — have embraced a blue-collared approach that inspired Head Coach Kirk Handy to give them the nickname, "The Plumbers." That style should suit them well at nationals.

"That's playoff hockey. It's blue-collar, hard-hitting hockey, with lots of shot-blocking and forechecking," Schwenke said. "It's super grindy. That's the kind of hockey we're expecting and the kind of hockey we're going to deliver."

He said the team has ramped up the intensity of its practices over the past week and a half in preparation for nationals, where they look to build on last year's second semifinal showing in the past three seasons.

"The team that works hardest now is the team that's going to win it in the middle of March," Schwenke said. "The team is so dialed in. This is the best part of the year. Everyone is so focused, everyone just wants to win at this point. No one is playing for themselves. The mission is clear now. We are here to win everything, so it's really fun to see all the boys buy into that and put themselves to the side and put the team first in everything."

He said this year's team doesn't have superstars such as forward Quinn Ryan or defenseman Zane Schartz as in the recent past, but it is the deepest he has played on in the past four years.

Schwenke-leaves-for-Finland — Schwenke leaves the LIC to board a bus for Dulles Airport for the team's trip to Finland in early January.

"You can see that everyone's contributing this year, from the first line to the fourth line, so it's really exciting going into that and knowing that everyone's going to be part of a victory this year," Schwenke said.

Win or lose in the tournament, the Flames, and especially their graduating players, want to represent Liberty in the best way possible, reflecting the light of the Lord.

"There's eight senior (forwards) that all have Christ in their heart, so yeah, we want to win and everything, but these are eight guys who know where their identity is and it's in something much greater than a hockey game," Schwenke said. "Having eight seniors gives you experience and then having seven Christian seniors gives you some freedom to go out there and you're not playing stressed, you're not playing scared. You're playing free and you're at your best and that's really exciting."

He takes heart in knowing that the same Spirit that defeated sin and death and rose Jesus from the grave lives within him.

"How encouraging is that?" Schwenke asked. "Who then shall I fear? I can go out and perform without nervousness or timidity or anything. I have Jesus in me. Nothing's greater than Jesus. I'm going to be fine. I just get to go out there and live and glorify Him and pray that my life is an example and a light that maybe someone doesn't see me in what I do, but they see Jesus and they understand the love that Jesus has for me and then they get to experience that relationship and that eternity with Him."

In Finland over Christmas Break, the Flames had five team members baptized, including freshman forward Ryan Finch, who gave his life to Christ on the trip.

"How awesome is that?" Schwenke asked. "God moves in crazy ways. I never would have thought Ryan Finch would have been the guy that kind of kickstarted all of this. He had never heard the Gospel, didn't know who Jesus was, didn't know that He was a living Person that loved him so much and died for our sins and to see him embrace that and understand that that is the truth, that kind of paved the way for other guys to be bold (and be baptized as well) as a public display of their faith and obedience."

He said that trip was an extension of the spiritual culture and family atmosphere he experienced at Liberty.

"I thought I came here to play hockey, and I'll be walking away with a family of men that love and support me, and then those men's wives and fiancées, too, just a huge community of believers in Liberty Hockey, so that's amazing," Schwenke said.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer