Thursday, November 6
Lynchburg, VA
7:00 PM
Liberty University Club Sports
vs
University of Jamestown
Sophomore forward Brad Barker (left) and senior forward and head captain Sam Feamster promote Thursday's and Friday's contests with first responder and military themes.
DI Flames host Jimmies in national quarterfinal rematch Thursday and Friday nights
11/5/2025 9:00:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
Liberty dropped one spot to No. 6 in this week’s first computer rankings while Jamestown rose two rungs to No. 4.
Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team will play its second straight Thursday-Friday series this week, welcoming Jamestown (N.D.) University in a rematch of last season's National Championship quarterfinal matchup near St. Louis.
ACHA Division I men's hockey national rankings jumbled significantly this week with the poll's sources shifting from coaches to computers. After being swept by Niagara University last weekend in upstate New York, Liberty slipped one spot to No. 6 this week while the Purple Eagles jumped six positions to No. 2, the highest ranking in program history.
Additionally, UNLV, which knocked the Flames out of their third Final Four in five seasons en route to its first national championship, dropped from No. 1 to No. 8. Meanwhile, Jamestown — which Liberty defeated to reach that semifinal game against the Skatin' Rebels — moved up two places to No. 4.
"They're a big, strong team that is really fast and plays a physical style, so we've got to definitely be ready to go for these two games," said junior forward Luke Munroe, a transfer from NCAA Division III SUNY Geneseo, who had family members from his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario, attend the series at Niagara. "We're looking forward to playing at home again this weekend, and I think our team's ready. I like the way we practiced this week and how we've responded to (the losses at) Niagara. It should be an exciting weekend here at the rink."
"We're playing a really good team, and we're just going to have to play two really good games," he added. "We can't take a period off, even a shift off against this team. We have to be ready to go from the start. It should be a really good test to see where we're at. Our team is ready, and we're eager to kind of make up for last weekend, and two wins does that."
Scouting Preview, Games 15-16: No. 4 Jamestown (10-4-1) at No. 6 Liberty (11-3), Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. at the LaHaye Ice Center. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+, with the first being Hometown Heroes Night to support Impact First Responders, and second being Military Appreciation Night, with a pre-game tailgate in the parking lot. Flames sophomore forward Brad Barker and sophomore defenseman Michael Adamek, both volunteers at a local firehouse, will be part of the first responders promotional video for Thursday's opener. Then, after Friday night's rematch the Flames' patriotic military jerseys will be auctioned off online.
All-time series: Liberty leads 4-1, winning three out of their four encounters with the Jimmies in 2021-22 before defeating them in the quarterfinals of last season' ACHA DI National Championships near St. Louis.
Liberty Scouting Report: Injuries to fourth-leading scorer Ryan Finch and sophomore forward Mac Ratzlaff have forced Head Coach Kirk Handy to shuffle his offensive lines a bit.
"It's good to play with different guys and see how we do this weekend," said Munroe, who normally plays with fellow junior forward and NCAA DI transfer Aiden Carney and Finch. "I'm looking forward to it."
Munroe and Carney, who scored his first goal against Niagara, will be joined by sophomore forward Hayden DeMars — Liberty's second-leading scorer last season — against the Jimmies.
Munroe (10 goals, including 2 game winners, 6 assists), senior forward Michael DeBrito (6G, 10A), and junior defenseman Nick Pomerleau (1G, 15A) are tied for the Flames' scoring lead, with Finch (9G, 2 GWG, 5A) and sophomore forward Kal Essenmacher (5G, 6A) also double-digit scorers.
Liberty has converted 28.9% of its power-play opportunities, while killing off 75% of its penalties.
"We've just got to continue bearing down on the power play," Munroe said. "The power play runs through (Pomerleau)."
Between the pipes, Liberty has platooned senior goalie Nick Bernstein (5-1, 2.47 goals-against average, 91.1 save percentage) and junior Konrad Kausch (5-2, 3.00 GAA, 87.8 SP, 1 shutout) with similar results.
Jamestown Scouting Report: Located in North Dakota, the Jimmies compete in the same Midwest College Hockey conference as No. 3 Minot State, which it split an Oct. 10-11 home-and-home series with, dropping the first game in Jamestown, 3-2, before winning the rematch in Minot, 4-3 in overtime. Last weekend, Jamestown split a series with then-No. 1 UNLV, bouncing back from losing the opener 6-2 by winning Game 2, 4-1, before defeating another MCH team from North Dakota, No. 12 University of Mary, 4-0.
The Jimmies also feature balanced scoring, with four forwards in double-figures in points — Brad Fortin (5G, 8A), Carter Johnson (6G, 6A), Jordan Baranesky (3G, 8A), and Carson Brown (6G, 4A) — each netting one game winner.
Goalie Brandon Weare (9-2, 1.88 GAA, 92.7 SP, 2 SO) has been an anchor for Jamestown's defense, showing no weariness for the Jimmies by playing all 662 minutes between the pipes so far this season after playing all 2,105 minutes in net last year.
Coaches: Handy is in his 26th season as head coach for the Flames, sporting a career record of 572-231-38 and leading Liberty to its ninth consecutive nationals appearance and third trip to the Final Four in the past five seasons. Dean Stork is in his second stint and eighth season at the helm of Jamestown, which debuted as an ACHA DI program with a 20-10-3 mark in his first season 2016-17. His career record with the Jimmies now stands at 157-88-18. Stork started his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Cincinnati Cyclones, helping them win two ECHL Kelly Cup Championships in his four seasons with the team. He also served as head coach for five seasons with the ECHL's Greenville (S.C.) Warriors, compiling a record of 201-131-28.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
ACHA Division I men's hockey national rankings jumbled significantly this week with the poll's sources shifting from coaches to computers. After being swept by Niagara University last weekend in upstate New York, Liberty slipped one spot to No. 6 this week while the Purple Eagles jumped six positions to No. 2, the highest ranking in program history.
Additionally, UNLV, which knocked the Flames out of their third Final Four in five seasons en route to its first national championship, dropped from No. 1 to No. 8. Meanwhile, Jamestown — which Liberty defeated to reach that semifinal game against the Skatin' Rebels — moved up two places to No. 4.
"They're a big, strong team that is really fast and plays a physical style, so we've got to definitely be ready to go for these two games," said junior forward Luke Munroe, a transfer from NCAA Division III SUNY Geneseo, who had family members from his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario, attend the series at Niagara. "We're looking forward to playing at home again this weekend, and I think our team's ready. I like the way we practiced this week and how we've responded to (the losses at) Niagara. It should be an exciting weekend here at the rink."
"We're playing a really good team, and we're just going to have to play two really good games," he added. "We can't take a period off, even a shift off against this team. We have to be ready to go from the start. It should be a really good test to see where we're at. Our team is ready, and we're eager to kind of make up for last weekend, and two wins does that."
Scouting Preview, Games 15-16: No. 4 Jamestown (10-4-1) at No. 6 Liberty (11-3), Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. at the LaHaye Ice Center. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+, with the first being Hometown Heroes Night to support Impact First Responders, and second being Military Appreciation Night, with a pre-game tailgate in the parking lot. Flames sophomore forward Brad Barker and sophomore defenseman Michael Adamek, both volunteers at a local firehouse, will be part of the first responders promotional video for Thursday's opener. Then, after Friday night's rematch the Flames' patriotic military jerseys will be auctioned off online.
All-time series: Liberty leads 4-1, winning three out of their four encounters with the Jimmies in 2021-22 before defeating them in the quarterfinals of last season' ACHA DI National Championships near St. Louis.
Liberty Scouting Report: Injuries to fourth-leading scorer Ryan Finch and sophomore forward Mac Ratzlaff have forced Head Coach Kirk Handy to shuffle his offensive lines a bit.
"It's good to play with different guys and see how we do this weekend," said Munroe, who normally plays with fellow junior forward and NCAA DI transfer Aiden Carney and Finch. "I'm looking forward to it."
Munroe and Carney, who scored his first goal against Niagara, will be joined by sophomore forward Hayden DeMars — Liberty's second-leading scorer last season — against the Jimmies.
Munroe (10 goals, including 2 game winners, 6 assists), senior forward Michael DeBrito (6G, 10A), and junior defenseman Nick Pomerleau (1G, 15A) are tied for the Flames' scoring lead, with Finch (9G, 2 GWG, 5A) and sophomore forward Kal Essenmacher (5G, 6A) also double-digit scorers.
Liberty has converted 28.9% of its power-play opportunities, while killing off 75% of its penalties.
"We've just got to continue bearing down on the power play," Munroe said. "The power play runs through (Pomerleau)."
Between the pipes, Liberty has platooned senior goalie Nick Bernstein (5-1, 2.47 goals-against average, 91.1 save percentage) and junior Konrad Kausch (5-2, 3.00 GAA, 87.8 SP, 1 shutout) with similar results.
Jamestown Scouting Report: Located in North Dakota, the Jimmies compete in the same Midwest College Hockey conference as No. 3 Minot State, which it split an Oct. 10-11 home-and-home series with, dropping the first game in Jamestown, 3-2, before winning the rematch in Minot, 4-3 in overtime. Last weekend, Jamestown split a series with then-No. 1 UNLV, bouncing back from losing the opener 6-2 by winning Game 2, 4-1, before defeating another MCH team from North Dakota, No. 12 University of Mary, 4-0.
The Jimmies also feature balanced scoring, with four forwards in double-figures in points — Brad Fortin (5G, 8A), Carter Johnson (6G, 6A), Jordan Baranesky (3G, 8A), and Carson Brown (6G, 4A) — each netting one game winner.
Goalie Brandon Weare (9-2, 1.88 GAA, 92.7 SP, 2 SO) has been an anchor for Jamestown's defense, showing no weariness for the Jimmies by playing all 662 minutes between the pipes so far this season after playing all 2,105 minutes in net last year.
Coaches: Handy is in his 26th season as head coach for the Flames, sporting a career record of 572-231-38 and leading Liberty to its ninth consecutive nationals appearance and third trip to the Final Four in the past five seasons. Dean Stork is in his second stint and eighth season at the helm of Jamestown, which debuted as an ACHA DI program with a 20-10-3 mark in his first season 2016-17. His career record with the Jimmies now stands at 157-88-18. Stork started his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Cincinnati Cyclones, helping them win two ECHL Kelly Cup Championships in his four seasons with the team. He also served as head coach for five seasons with the ECHL's Greenville (S.C.) Warriors, compiling a record of 201-131-28.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
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