Senior forward and alternate captain Truett Olson, who scored a hat trick in Saturday's overtime loss to Calvin, will again be relied on for leadership with head captain Sam Feamster sidelied by injury. (Photo by Ryan Anderson)
DI men look to turn tables on Purple Eagles after being swept in shootouts in N.Y.
1/22/2025 5:27:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
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No. 3 Liberty hopes to have its five players back from the Winter World University Games when it hosts No. 11 Niagara in Friday's Midnight Mayhem matchup and for Saturday's 7 p.m. rematch.
Just in time for this weekend's series against Niagara, Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey Head Coach Kirk Handy is anticipating the return of the five players who spent the past 10 days in Italy competing in the FISUÂ Winter World University Games.
The Flames remained at No. 3 in this week's ACHA DI rankings despite dropping back-to-back overtime decisions to No. 10 Calvin last weekend at the LIC, playing without those five Team USA players as well as junior forward and head captain Sam Feamster and junior defenseman Reid Bogenholm, both sidelined by injuries.
Senior forward and alternate captain Jacob Kalandyk, junior defenseman Laz Kaebel, sophomore goalie Konrad Kausch, sophomore forward Ryan Finch, and freshman forward Michael DeBrito all represented Liberty and the U.S. team well in the tournament. Team USA swept its four pool play games, many in decisive fashion, and won Sunday's playoff quarterfinal over South Korea, 12-3.
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Flames senior Jacob Kalandyk (14) celebrates a Team USA goal.
However, it was sent to the consolation final with Tuesday's 10-2 loss to Team Canada, despite a power-play goal by Kaebel and assist from Kalandyk. On Wednesday, Team USA settled for a fourth-place finish in the 10-team field after a 5-3 loss to Ukraine, a team it had defeated in pool play, with DeBrito scoring his fifth goal of the tournament.
"Having those guys back is going to be awesome," said Flames senior forward Truett Olson, who netted a hat trick in Saturday's rematch with the Knights, a 7-6 overtime setback. "We miss them a lot … (but) we're super proud of them."
Handy is hopeful the five Flames will be available and in peak form against the Purple Eagles, starting with Friday night's third and final Midnight Mayhem matchup at 11:59 p.m. at the LaHaye Ice Center.
"They are flying in at midnight on Thursday and I am going to assume that all our guys are ready to go and that we will be able to put our lines back together on Friday night," he said. "If not, we'll go with the guys we've got."
They know the Purple Eagles are a dangerous team, as they proved in tying Liberty twice and winning both shootouts after scoreless five-minute overtimes on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 in Niagara, N.Y.
"They're a strong opponent, a team that is going to be right there at the end of the year at the national tournament," Handy said. "They're going to give us two great games this weekend."
"Niagara's a good team," Olson added. "We just have to have a great week of practice, stay positive, keep working hard, lift each other up, get on the same page, continue to play our game, and fine-tune some of the little things that we need to work on. Forget this past weekend, learn from it, and move forward."
Scouting Preview, Games 24-25: No. 11 Niagara (15-4-1) at No. 3 Liberty (14-5-4), Friday at 11:59 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the LaHaye Ice Center. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+. The Flames' black jerseys will be auctioned off following the last of the season's three Midnight Mayhem games.
All-time series:Â Liberty still holds a 6-1-2 lead, even after being swept at Niagara on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, back-to-back shootoutsetbacks.
Liberty Scouting Report:Â Flames freshman defenseman Luke Anderson, who transferred in from Bethel (Minn.) University this semester, filled in nicely for Bogenholm, netting his first goal and two assists on Saturday.
Feamster, Liberty's leading scorer with 10 goals and 14 assists, is still on injured reserve, so the Flames will need others to step up, as they did last week. Graduate forward Jackson Vercellono (13G, 9A) ranks second in scoring followed by freshman forwards Hayden DeMars and Tucker Shields and sophomore forward Mason Smith, who each have scored seven goals and distributed 13 assists.
Junior defenseman Nick Pomerleau leads the team with 19 assists and a trio of freshmen forwards — Liam Cox-Smith (9G, 9A), Mac Ratzlaff (7G, 10A), and Kal Essenmacher (8G, 8A) — who rank seventh, eighth, and ninth in scoring, respectively. There is a three-way tie for 10th between Kalandyk (10G, 5A), Kaebel (7G, 8A), and senior forward and alternate captain Truett Olson (6G, 9A), whose second and third goals tied Saturday's rematch with Calvin at 5 and 6, forcing overtime for the second night.  Â
"We need to find a way to win those ones in overtime," Olson said. "It really just comes down to our heart and hard work. We've got all the skill in the world, and we just kind of need to find a way to battle through and win, execute, and honestly, it just comes down to we have to want to win."
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Liberty sophomore goalie Konrad Kausch (left) is consoled by a Team USA player after Monday's loss to Team Canada in the semifinals.
In goal, Liberty plans to platoon Kausch (9-2-1, 1.72 goals-against average, 94.8 save percentage, 3 shutouts), who played the majority of minutes between the pipes for Team USA in the Winter World University Games, and junior Nicholas Bernstein (5-3-2, 2.98 GAA, 91.3 SP, 2 SO).
Niagara Scouting Report:Â The Purple Eagles' attack is paced by Charlie Belanger (13G, including 3 game-winning goals, 10A), fellow forward Jacob Kalin (8G, 2GWG, 8A), and defenseman Quinn Schneidmiller (6G, 10), with supplemental scoring from forwards Adam Sojka (8G, 6A) and Louis Chabot (7G, 7A).
In net, Niagara relies on Jacob Dubinsky (6-1, 1.82 GAA, 94.3 SP, 2 SO) and Brady McEwan (7-3-1, 2.07 GAA, 93.2 SP, 2 SO).
Coaches:Â Handy is in his 25th season as head coach for the Flames, sporting a career record of 552-226-37. Tom Mooradian is in his fifth season at the Purple Eagles' helm and boasts a 75-30-4 mark.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media Â
