DI Flames primed for Friday night’s season-opening showdown with Tar Heels

Friday, September 13

Lynchburg, VA

7:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

University of North Carolina

Senior forward and alternate captain Truett Olson is one of the Flames' fastest skaters and top scoring threats. (Photos by Matt Reynolds)

DI Flames primed for Friday night’s season-opening showdown with Tar Heels

9/10/2024 5:39:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

Liberty will start the 2024-25 campaign, its 40th year of men's hockey, with back-to-back Friday night games against ACHA Division II opponents, welcoming UNC over Homecoming before entertaining FGCU next week.

Nick Bernstein saves shot on goal — Junior goalie Nicholas Bernstein is the projected starter for Friday night's opener against North Carolina at the LaHaye Ice Center.

As Liberty University celebrates the start of its 40th season of men's ice hockey, plenty of alumni will be in attendance when its ACHA Division I men's hockey team hosts the University of North Carolina's ACHA DII squad at the LaHaye Ice Center on Friday night, with the season opener coinciding with Homecoming weekend.

"It is always exciting to play the season's first game, especially at home," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said, noting that several former Liberty DI, DII, and DIII players will square off in a combined alumni pickup game, an annual Homecoming tradition, on Saturday morning.

Homecoming promo Truett Olson

Even more exciting for Flames Hockey fans is that Friday night's clash with UNC will signal the renewal of a rivalry between two programs that haven't met since Liberty made the leap from the DII to the DI ranks in 2006. The Tar Heels will transition to the DI level along with ACCHL rival North Carolina State next season.

"That creates a little more of a geographical opportunity for us with them being so close to us," Handy said. "The fun part is that we get to see the growth of hockey in the South."

"I'm excited to get going again," added sophomore forward Ryan Finch, who played youth hockey in Raleigh, N.C., through his U14 season and for the Eastern Hockey League's NC Golden Bears in 2019-20. "Hockey is definitely becoming more popular in the South."

Recognizing that growth, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Hockey is in the process of relocating its headquarters from Alexandria, Minn., to Lynchburg, Va., this month.

However, there are currently very few ACHA DI opponents in the Southeast region. Pittsburgh, which Liberty will travel to play in its ACHA DI-opening series on Sept. 27-28, and Delaware, which the Flames will host Oct. 4-5, are two of the closer programs at more than five hours' drives, so the two North Carolina foes just over two hours away will be welcome additions to the Flames' future schedules.

Last week, UNC announced a $25 million capital campaign to fund the construction of a 3,000-seat multi-use ice hockey arena in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Liberty will entertain another Southeast program, perennial ACHA DII national contender Florida Gulf Coast University, next Friday night at the LIC.

"Our first two opponents are Division II teams and I really like our schedule, playing against some of the top teams in the ACHA, and we're looking forward to continuing to build on that," Handy said.
"We know UNC is an up-and coming team at the DII level. They have a brand-new coach and are looking to elevate their program. It is a great opportunity for our team to get back to it and see how we can start the season on a really high note."

Friday night's contest will mark the Flames debut for 10 players, including seven forwards.

"With so many new guys, it is important to bring them along as quickly as we can, and our older guys have done a great job so far of trying to do that," Handy said.

"The guys are fired up, ready to play their first game," Flames senior forward and alternate captain Truett Olson added. "It'll be fun. The freshmen have seen all the videos of the fans and the students, but they're really looking forward to actually being in the moment. We're excited and I think we're ready to go."

Scouting Preview for Game 1: North Carolina (1-2 in 2024-25; 18-7-1 in 2023-24) at Liberty (21-10-1 in 2024-25, ranked No. 5 in ACHA Division I), Friday at 7 p.m. at the LaHaye Ice Center. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+

All-time series: First meeting since 2006, when Liberty moved up to the ACHA Division I level.

Liberty Scouting Report: The Flames have implemented new systems in the preseason that the players have gradually adjusted to, seeing their first live action in last Thursday's and Friday's scrimmages against the West Chester (Pa.) Wolves Juniors program.

"We like what we have in our lineup and our systems are very conducive to the type of players we have," said Handy, who is finalizing line combinations for Friday night's opener, noting they may fluctuate throughout the season. "We need to stay diligent to make the right combinations."

"We're switching up a lot of things from last year and we're all around trying to dial into our systems and just get all five guys buzzing on the ice," Finch added.

Olson, who complements junior forward and head captain Sam Feamster and fellow senior forward and alternate captain Jacob Kalandyk, said there is no shortage of leadership among the 14 returnees.

"Everyone's a leader on this team, from the top down, starting with the coaches, the captains, and then that second corps," he said. "We've got a lot of skill and speed, the best in the country. We have had that the last few years, it's just a matter of dialing into systems and everyone being on the same page."

Goalie celebration — Bernstein is congratulated by defensemen Nicholas Pomerleau and Laz Kaebel during a promotional photo shoot last spring.

Junior Nicholas Bernstein is projected to start in goal after going 3-3 with a 2.93 goals-against average and 87.0 save percentage as a transfer from NCAA Division III Chatham (Pa.) University last season, notching two shootout wins. Konrad Kausch, a sophomore transfer from NCAA Division III St. Mary's (Minn.) University, has shown tremendous promise to contend for playing time between the pipes.

"We have confidence in both of our goalies," Handy said. "This is a brand-new team, bringing in 10 new guys, and I am looking forward to starting this journey and seeing how we can continue to push the envelope with this group of guys."

North Carolina Scouting Report: The Tar Heels, who are celebrating their 50th season, are coming off 4-2 and 5-4 losses to defending AAU Division I national champion South Carolina in nearby Hillsborough, N.C. They feature their fair share of newcomers with potential, including Will Smith and Daniel Hu, who scored the game-winning goal in a season-opening win over ACHA DII rival Wake Forest on Sept. 1. Sophomore forward and head captain Patrick O'Shaughnessy and junior goalie Lucas Brown are also key contributors.

Coaches: Handy enters his 25th season as head coach for the Flames, having guided them to eight consecutive ACHA DI National Championship tournaments and 16 in 18 seasons while accumulating a career record of 540-221-33. UNC is in its first season under the direction of Canadian-born Head Coach Steve Rice, a 1989 first-round draft pick of the New York Rangers who played more than 300 games in the NHL as a right winger for the Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, and Carolina Hurricanes before retiring in 1998. He replaces Adam Dauda, a former NCAA Division I forward at Colgate (N.Y.) University from Slovakia now coaching the Greenville (S.C.) Swamp Rabbits.

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