No. 5 Flames eager to open ACHA DI schedule at No. 10 Pittsburgh

Freshman forward Kal Essenmacher celebrates his first goal for the Flames in last Friday night's 4-3 loss to Florida Gulf Coast University. (Photo by KJ Jugar)

No. 5 Flames eager to open ACHA DI schedule at No. 10 Pittsburgh

9/25/2024 6:52:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

Liberty will look to repeat its recent success against the Panthers, which it swept last season at home and beat in the 2023 ACHA DI National Championships opener.

Humbled by last week's loss to ACHA Division II Florida Gulf Coast University, Liberty University's ACHA DI men's hockey team is hungrier than ever before as it gears up for this weekend's ACHA DI regular-season-opening series at ESCHL powerhouse Pittsburgh.

The Flames will embark on their first road trip by bus at 9 a.m. Thursday and practice upon arrival in preparation for Friday night's first game against the Panthers.

"It will be our first ACHA Division I game and we're looking forward to kicking this thing off right," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "We played those first two games and learned a lot about who we are, and we are excited to get going here. We're looking forward to the first time on the road, getting the group together. It's going to be a tough weekend (and) we're going to have to play our best."

"Pittsburgh's going to be a great test, for sure, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how our group responds," freshman forward Kal Essenmacher added. "I'm excited to see this week of practice (translate into) how we play in those games against (the Panthers). They're a good team. We can't underestimate anyone. FGCU was a really good team, and we didn't come in with the best mindset so we can't do that again this time. I think the guys are ready. We've been reflecting on that loss, and it's been a good bounce-back (week)."

In this week's practices at the LaHaye Ice Center, Liberty has regrouped and fine-tuned its 5-on-5 play and power play unit, looking to add more spark and finishing touch to its attack.

"We're focusing on our systems, doing things the right way, developing good habits that we want to continue on for the rest of the year," Handy said.

"Just getting back to having fun, with some good battle drills and just getting the mindset in the right place is the most important thing, making sure we're doing the right things," Essenmacher added. "The small details are always important going into this weekend."

The Tennessee native is looking forward to playing in Pittsburgh, home of the five-time NHL Stanley Cup champion Penguins.

"It's the first road trip for me and a lot of other freshmen, so it's a great opportunity, really exciting," Essenmacher said. "It's going to be a fun environment to play in."

Scouting Preview for Games 3-4: Preseason No. 5 Liberty (1-1, 21-10-1 in 2023-24) at No. 10 Pittsburgh (3-1, 21-14-2 in 2023-24), Friday at 7:20 p.m. and Saturday at 2:20 p.m. at the Alpha Ice Complex. The games will be streamed on Pittsburgh's YouTube channel.

All-time series: Liberty leads 3-0 in recent history, a 7-2 first-round victory at the 2023 ACHA DI National Championships in Boston and a 5-3 Midnight Mayhem triumph and 3-1 "Teddy Bear Toss" win in the rematch last Dec. 1-2 at the LaHaye Ice Center.

Liberty Scouting Report: Through two games, the Flames have gotten points from 16 of their 22 skaters, led by junior defenseman Nick Pomerleau's four assists and two goals apiece from graduate center Jackson Vercellono and senior forward Jacob Kalandyk. Junior forward and head captain Sam Feamster has contributed a goal and two assists.

With their defensive corps depleted by injuries to Reid Bogenholm and Grant Morton, Liberty has called up fellow junior defenseman Connor Diem from its ACHA DII team, which is idle this weekend, for the series against the Panthers.

In goal, the Flames feature two NCAA Division III transfers in sophomore Konrad Kausch (1-0, 1.00 goals-against average, 95.7 save percentage), who started the season-opening 7-1 win over ACHA DII North Carolina, and junior Nick Bernstein (0-1, 4.00 GAA, 90.7 SP).

Pittsburgh Scouting Report: After winning its first two ACHA Division I National Championships games in program history last March near St. Louis — over No. 13 Arizona (5-2) and No. 4 Jamestown (4-1) for one of the biggest upsets in tournament history — the Panthers lost in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up UNLV (5-1) to finish ranked No. 8 in the nation.

The Panthers have gotten off to a strong start this season, winning their first three games against Duquesne (8-2), West Virginia (7-1), and Oswego State (2-1) before dropping the rematch with the Lakers (5-3) in New York.

Offensively, Pittsburgh is paced by forwards Ed Pazo (4G, 2A) and Maverick Crupi (2G, 4A), who have each netted a game-winning goal, and defenseman Jack Kisela (1G, 4A).

Between the pipes, Grant Lindsay (2-1, 2.27 GAA, 93.5 SP, 1 shutout) has logged the most minutes.

Coaches: Kirk Handy is in 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 541-222-33. The Panthers are coached by Stu Rulnick, the four-time College Hockey Mid-America Coach of the Year now in his 14th season at the helm with a career record of 240-131-24 at the ACHA DI and DII levels.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Annie Cory/Liberty Broadcast Communications Apprentice