Thursday, November 6
Lynchburg, VA
7:00 PM
Liberty University Club Sports
4
vs
3
University of Jamestown
DI Flames fight fire on ice to stifle Jamestown comebacks
11/6/2025 10:48:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
Konrad Kausch stood tall as the last line of defense for No. 6 Liberty, which upset the No. 4 Jimmies in Thursday night’s series opener, 4-3.
Playing with the same sense of urgency that first responders bring to their jobs every day, Liberty University's No. 6-ranked ACHA Division I men's hockey team rose to the occasion on Hometown Heroes Night and upset No. 4 Jamestown (N.D.) University, 4-3, in Thursday night's series opener at the LaHaye Ice Center.
"It was a great game," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "Those games can go either way, and we were able to hang on to it. There's a lot of ups and downs, and you've got to stay even keeled throughout the game. I loved our resilience tonight. We played hard, battled hard, and put ourselves in a good spot."
Sophomore forwards Kal Essenmacher, Hayden DeMars, Liam Cox-Smith, Brad Barker, and Tucker Shields put quality shots on goal for Liberty in the first half of the first period.
Junior goalie Konrad Kausch, who made 40 saves on the night as Jamestown (10-5-1) outshot the Flames (12-3) by a 43-32 margin, kept the Jimmies off the scoreboard, even after having his legs taken out from under him on a collision after a fast break.
"I thought Konrad was excellent," Handy said. "He played well tonight for us. He kept us in the game and made some big and timely saves tonight."
Essenmacher set up junior forward Mason Smith for a high-percentage scoring chance. Junior defenseman Nick Pomerleau, skating in the high slot, found senior forward Aiden Carney near the right post for another near finish, but the first period ended in a scoreless tie.
The Flames appeared to capitalize on their first power-play chance early in the second period with tic-tac-tow passing down the slot, resulting in an easy top-shelf finish by Essenmacher in the right crease. But the cage came off its moorings a split second before the puck hit the net, negating the goal.
Liberty broke the scoring ice at the 12:00 mark when sophomore defenseman Joe Feamster launched a shot from the high slot that Cox-Smith deflected high, causing the puck to trickle past Jamestown goalie Brandon Weare inside the right post.
Kausch made glove saves of perimeter shots through traffic off the sticks of defensemen Kade Percival, Sully Ross, and Trey Stevenson in the second period. However, officials ruled he neglected to cover a puck underneath his glove in front and allowed Jamestown forward Carson Brown to swoop in and swipe it away before lifting a point-blank wrist shot into the upper netting, knotting the score at 1 at the 2:59 mark.
But just over a minute later, Smith crashed the cage and cleaned up a shot by Feamster for a point-blank finish at the 1:55 mark, lifting Liberty to a 2-1 edge going into the second intermission.
Less than a minute into the third period, the Flames extended their lead to 3-1 on a well-executed fast break with Shields taking a pass from Cox-Smith and working the puck up the left wing before spotting senior forward Michael DeBrito in the right circle for a shot that beat Weare through the five-hole.
Kausch made a few clutch saves in the first half of the third period before the Jimmies trimmed the deficit to 3-2 with 9:37 by finishing a golden opportunity with Matthew McIntyre slamming home a putback of a close-ranged shot by Brown.
Once again, the Flames responded quickly to neutralize the threat, with Barker receiving a pass from Smith and firing the initial shot before Essenmacher gathered the rebound in the right crease and lifted a top-shelf wrist shot for an insurance goal at the 7:45 mark.
That proved especially valuable, and turned out to be the game winner, after Jamestown struck back with a power-play goal by Brad Fortin to make it a one-goal game with 1:00 remaining in regulation.
The Jimmies pulled Weare for the final minute, but the Flames cleared the puck three times, with Pomerleau nearly putting in an empty-netter with a shot from right on Liberty's blue line that veered just wide left and was ruled icing. Kausch fended off a final shot to seal the victory, ending a two-game skid on the road. Â
Thursday night's game raised support for Impact First Responders, which provides education, peer support, and counseling services for community members serving in area police and fire departments and rescue squads. Friday night's rematch, which will again be streamed live on ESPN with the puck set to drop at 7 p.m. back in the LIC, is Military Appreciation Night, with a pre-game tailgate open to all fans and specialty jerseys to be auctioned online starting at 6 p.m.
"It's going to be a 60-minute battle and they're going to be better (Friday) night, so we have to be better as well," Handy said.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
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"It was a great game," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "Those games can go either way, and we were able to hang on to it. There's a lot of ups and downs, and you've got to stay even keeled throughout the game. I loved our resilience tonight. We played hard, battled hard, and put ourselves in a good spot."
Sophomore forwards Kal Essenmacher, Hayden DeMars, Liam Cox-Smith, Brad Barker, and Tucker Shields put quality shots on goal for Liberty in the first half of the first period.
Junior goalie Konrad Kausch, who made 40 saves on the night as Jamestown (10-5-1) outshot the Flames (12-3) by a 43-32 margin, kept the Jimmies off the scoreboard, even after having his legs taken out from under him on a collision after a fast break.
"I thought Konrad was excellent," Handy said. "He played well tonight for us. He kept us in the game and made some big and timely saves tonight."
Essenmacher set up junior forward Mason Smith for a high-percentage scoring chance. Junior defenseman Nick Pomerleau, skating in the high slot, found senior forward Aiden Carney near the right post for another near finish, but the first period ended in a scoreless tie.
The Flames appeared to capitalize on their first power-play chance early in the second period with tic-tac-tow passing down the slot, resulting in an easy top-shelf finish by Essenmacher in the right crease. But the cage came off its moorings a split second before the puck hit the net, negating the goal.
Liberty broke the scoring ice at the 12:00 mark when sophomore defenseman Joe Feamster launched a shot from the high slot that Cox-Smith deflected high, causing the puck to trickle past Jamestown goalie Brandon Weare inside the right post.
Kausch made glove saves of perimeter shots through traffic off the sticks of defensemen Kade Percival, Sully Ross, and Trey Stevenson in the second period. However, officials ruled he neglected to cover a puck underneath his glove in front and allowed Jamestown forward Carson Brown to swoop in and swipe it away before lifting a point-blank wrist shot into the upper netting, knotting the score at 1 at the 2:59 mark.
But just over a minute later, Smith crashed the cage and cleaned up a shot by Feamster for a point-blank finish at the 1:55 mark, lifting Liberty to a 2-1 edge going into the second intermission.
Less than a minute into the third period, the Flames extended their lead to 3-1 on a well-executed fast break with Shields taking a pass from Cox-Smith and working the puck up the left wing before spotting senior forward Michael DeBrito in the right circle for a shot that beat Weare through the five-hole.
Kausch made a few clutch saves in the first half of the third period before the Jimmies trimmed the deficit to 3-2 with 9:37 by finishing a golden opportunity with Matthew McIntyre slamming home a putback of a close-ranged shot by Brown.
Once again, the Flames responded quickly to neutralize the threat, with Barker receiving a pass from Smith and firing the initial shot before Essenmacher gathered the rebound in the right crease and lifted a top-shelf wrist shot for an insurance goal at the 7:45 mark.
That proved especially valuable, and turned out to be the game winner, after Jamestown struck back with a power-play goal by Brad Fortin to make it a one-goal game with 1:00 remaining in regulation.
The Jimmies pulled Weare for the final minute, but the Flames cleared the puck three times, with Pomerleau nearly putting in an empty-netter with a shot from right on Liberty's blue line that veered just wide left and was ruled icing. Kausch fended off a final shot to seal the victory, ending a two-game skid on the road. Â
Thursday night's game raised support for Impact First Responders, which provides education, peer support, and counseling services for community members serving in area police and fire departments and rescue squads. Friday night's rematch, which will again be streamed live on ESPN with the puck set to drop at 7 p.m. back in the LIC, is Military Appreciation Night, with a pre-game tailgate open to all fans and specialty jerseys to be auctioned online starting at 6 p.m.
"It's going to be a 60-minute battle and they're going to be better (Friday) night, so we have to be better as well," Handy said.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
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Players Mentioned
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