Junior goalie Konrad Kausch switched to last year's smaller pads and regained his mobility that allowed him to make stretch saves like this one. (Photos by Ted Allen)
Flames’ special forces outman Jimmies in national quarterfinal rematch
11/7/2025 11:36:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
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Despite having four players on injured reserve, No. 6 Liberty won the special teams battle and completed a sweep of No. 4 Jamestown on Military Appreciation Night.
Liberty University's No. 6-ranked ACHA Division I men's hockey team waged an on-ice battle with playoff-level intensity in Friday's rematch with No. 4 Jamestown (N.D.) University on Military Appreciation Night at the LaHaye Ice Center.
The Flames' platoon of players — decked out in Army black jerseys with red, white, and blue Liberty logos on their chests — showcased military levels of preparedness and resilience, exercising high degrees of discipline and precision on the ice while capitalizing on offensive opportunities with authority in a 5-3 triumph.
"Jamestown's a good team," Liberty junior goalie Konrad Kausch said. "They beat Minot State, they beat UNLV, they're ranked very high, so it's awesome for the guys to build off a weekend like this and to come out and perform the way we did."
The Flames had eliminated the Jimmies in the quarterfinals of last season's ACHA DI National Championships near St. Louis before falling to the eventual champion Rebels in the Final Four.
"We knew (Jamestown) had a lot of returning guys, so they were going to have a lot of motivation to knock us off," Kausch said. "We want to be in that top-four spot come nationals so we can get our first-round bye, so this was a step in the right direction, knocking off a team ranked higher than us. It took resilience from our guys and commitment for 120 minutes this weekend and it showed on the scoreboard."
Special teams again favored the Flames (13-3), who converted on both of their power-plays and killed off both of their penalties in the second period before both teams capitalized skating 4-on-4 late in the third.
"It was really a team effort tonight, all around," said Kausch, who made 35 saves as the Jimmies (10-6-1) outshot Liberty, 39-29. "It took all the guys blocking shots, taking hits, getting the puck 200 feet. All the little things led to a big weekend. We had a lot of guys sacrificing (their bodies), taking their guys out, getting their sticks in lanes, letting me see the puck, making my job as easy as possible, and that's all you can really ask for."
On attack, Liberty struck first at the 14:22 mark when junior forward Mason Smith recovered a puck dumped into the backboards by sophomore defenseman Michael Adamek and fed it to sophomore forward Kal Essenmacher in the left crease, where he lifted the putback of his own blocked shot past Jamestown goalie Brandon Weare inside the left post.
However, the Jimmies took advantage of a turnover that sprung a 2-on-0 counterattack with top scorer Brad Fortin finishing the uncontested breakaway by lifting his backhand past junior goalie Konrad Kausch inside the left post.
Essenmacher nearly tucked away a backhand in front of another feed from Smith off the backboards, but Jamestown goalie Brandon Weare blocked his shot before Kausch fell to his back to make a spectacular sliding pad save of another point-blank chance by the Jimmies.
Stationed in front, Flames junior forward Luke Munroe nearly put away sophomore forward Brad Barker's slapshot from the left boards, blocked by Weare, before Jacob Thomas was called for charging Liberty senior forward Aiden Carney.
Junior forward Mason Smith sparked the Flames with the go-ahead goal in the first.
That put the Flames on the power play, and Smith converted with a deflection in the slot that bounced junior defenseman Nick Pomerleau shot from the top of the left circle past Weare for a 2-1 Liberty lead.
Kausch and Liberty's defense withstood an onslaught of offensive opportunities by Jamestown in the second period, when the Jimmies were held scoreless on two man-advantage situations. In between, Kausch made a quick reflex glove save of a puck that flipped over his shoulder after he blocked the initial shot.
"He shot it from the slot and it went up my stick and ramped up and I just looked behind me and saw it a foot from the goal line and in kind of desperation put my glove back," Kausch said. "As a goalie, the backstop of the team, you want to make those big saves when you're called upon, and you want to control the game in moments where you can freeze the puck or keep the puck moving, whatever it is."
In Thursday's 4-3 victory over the Jimmies, Kausch had his feet knocked out from under him as a Jamestown player crashed through the crease with helmet-to-helmet contact.
"I took one to the head but the head's a long way to the heart," he said. "I give all the glory to God. He blesses us with the opportunity to play here with amazing fans, amazing facilities, so all glory to God."
The Flames temporarily lost Pomerleau, their primary playmaker, to a lower-body injury on a collision against the boards in the opening 30 seconds of the third period.
"He's a rock on our D end," Kausch said of Pomerleau, who returned later in the period and played to the end. "He takes hits, he makes plays, he blocks shots, he does all the little things. It just shows the resilience of him coming back into the game and putting his heart on the line."
Tucker Shields provided the Flames a two-goal cushion at the 17:42 mark by taking a puck from fellow sophomore forward Hayden DeMars and launching a howitzer of a shot from the right circle past Weare into the upper netting.
Adamek, filling in for Pomerleau on the power play, set up Liberty's fourth score with a shot from the high slot. Carney, stationed in front, gathered the rebound and put away the point-blank putback of his own blocked shot, rattling the puck off the left post and into the right side of the net with 12:36 remaining in regulation.
The Jimmies trimmed the deficit to 4-2 at the 7:23 mark when defenseman Sully Ross scored for the second night in a row, firing his left circle past Kausch off an assist from Jacob Thomas.
Then, with 2:36 to go and the teams skating 4-on-4, Jamestown made it a one-goal game, matching the score from Thursday's opener when Fortin cleaned up a loose puck in the crease after Kausch blocked an initial shot by Trey Stevenson. With one second left on the 4-on-4, the Flames again called on Shields to provide an insurance score, taking a pass from sophomore forward Liam Cox-Smith and all but putting the sweep on ice with 1:47 remaining in regulation. A few Jamestown players who previous played Juniors with a few of the Flames in Minnesota joined Liberty's post-game prayer huddle.
After none of the Jimmies joined the Flames on Thursday night, three former Junior hockey teammates of Kausch participated in Liberty's postgame prayer huddle.
"They had three guys on their team that played in Alexandria (Minn.) with (senior forward Michael) DeBrito and (sophomore forward Hayden) DeMars and I, so it was fun," Kausch said. "They're very good, very skilled guys. It shows that it's much more than just a game and that we were able to join each other in a circle with prayer."
Liberty will have next weekend off before traveling to St. Louis for a showcase with games against host Maryville on Nov. 20, Calvin University on Nov. 21, and Arizona on Nov. 22 leading into Thanksgiving Break.
"We've got a lot of guys limping around, and our captain — Sam Feamster, a huge motivator for our team — wasn't able to play this weekend," Kausch said, noting forwards Ryan Finch and Mac Ratzlaff also were sidelined by injury along with defenseman Michael Fischer. "Hopefully, those guys will get healthy throughout this next off weekend and get their mindsets rested, but at the same time ready to go to St. Louis."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
