Beavers make case for No. 1 ranking after sweeping Flames decisively

Saturday, December 6

Lynchburg, VA

7:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Minot State University

Sophomore forward Brad Barker poke checks the puck around Minot State forward Reece Henry. (Photos by Ethan Smith)

Beavers make case for No. 1 ranking after sweeping Flames decisively

12/6/2025 11:33:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

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No. 2 Minot State replicated the recipe for its Midnight Mayhem success, stifling No. 8 Liberty’s offense and winning the special teams battle in a 4-1 semester-ending setback.

Gallery: (12-6-2025) DI men's hockey vs. Minot State Game 2

Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team was dealt a double dose of defeat for the second time this season, Saturday night at the LaHaye Ice Center, suffering a sweep at the hands of No. 2 Minot State as it had at No. 1 Niagara on Halloween.

The three-time national champion Beavers (17-1-1), who have snuffed the Flames in the ACHA DI semifinals twice in the past five seasons, improved to 22-4 in the all-time series after dominating No. 8 Liberty (15-6) by a 4-1 final. Minot shut out the Flames for the first time in more than a year in Saturday morning's Midnight Mayhem matchup.

"I think that's the best team in the country right now," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said, noting No. 3 Ohio swept the Purple Eagles in their weekend series. "I thought we played a little better tonight over (Saturday morning), but we were not consistently the best team for the majority of the weekend. We're going to have to figure how we adjust that going into the second semester."

Just 2:04 into Saturday's rematch, the Beavers picked up where they left off 17 hours earlier, as forward Sheldin Howard deflected defenseman Matthew Yakubowski's shot from the left point past Flames goalie Nick Bernstein for a quick 1-0 lead.

With 3:10 remaining in the period, Logan Cyca finished feeds from fellow forwards Jay Buchholtz and Joey Moffett to double Minot's lead to 2-0.

Less than a minute into the second period, leading scorer Colby Joseph capitalized just 13 seconds into the Beavers' first power-play opportunity on the night, deflecting Yakubowski's shot from the high slot past Bernstein to widen the gap to 3-0.

Brett Tataryn then made Liberty pay for a turnover behind its cage, pivoting with the puck near the right post and threading his shot through the five-hole to make it 4-0 at the 12:07 mark.

The Flames nearly capitalized on a breakout opportunity by Ryan Finch who skated into the right circle before dishing the puck across the slot to fellow senior forward Aidan Carney, whose one-timed shot veered just wide left.

Finally, 3:02 into the third, senior forward Michael DeBrito controlled the puck along the left boards and flicked a pass across to Finch, cutting down the slot where he deftly deposited the puck past Beavers netminder Will Dyke, ending his bid for a second shutout of the series and the season. That long-awaited score triggered a spontaneous sacrificial offering of hundreds of stuffed animals as fans littered the ice in support of the Lynchburg area Toys for Tots Christmas drive.

"Finch has been fantastic all semester," Handy said. "Finch and DeBrito, they've been two catalysts. That was a nice goal, and there were moments in the game where we got better looks offensively tonight than we did last night. Again, we lost the special teams battle tonight, and it's tough to win games against these guys (when that happens)."

The Beavers outshot the Flames, 37-26, for the game, and Bernstein made 33 saves.

Despite the semester-ending sweep, Handy sees plenty of reason for optimism as the Christmas season and spring semester approach.

"There's a lot of hope with our team," he said. "We weren't at our best, so that's the exciting part. There's another level that we can still see out of this group. We've got to heal up. We've got some key guys out. We'll heal up and get ready to go to Finland (on a third Operation Mobilisation trip organized by LU Send from Jan. 4-14) and go from there. That will be a huge catalyst for us."

The Flames will return to Lynchburg, Va., in time for a few practices prior to opening their spring semester schedule with a rematch with Niagara in the LIC on Jan. 23-24.
"The second-half schedule is really strong, and we're excited about that," Handy said. "We've got some huge games ahead of us here, so I'm looking forward to the play from our team down the stretch. Each week, we'll have great opportunities (to get better before nationals)."

Liberty had a unique opportunity that prepared it for the trip to Finland on Saturday at 4 p.m., when players and coaches from the Flames and Beavers gathered in the Club Sports Athletic Training Center, located on the opposite end of the North Campus Garage behind the LIC, to witness the baptism of Minot defenseman Anthony Dewar. The ceremony was officiated by Impact Church Pastor Tim Witt — husband of Club Sports Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine Angie Witt — who also baptized former DI men's goalie Matt Pinel and his wife, former DI women's hockey forward and Assistant Coach Madi (Fischer) Pinel, in the same hot and cold spa over Homecoming Weekend.

"That's the first time that's happened, that an opposing player has asked us to baptize him," Handy said. "It puts a lot of perspective into what we are doing. It's humbling knowing that people are watching what we're doing, both words and actions, and I'm proud of our guys. That's an awesome thing to have a guy who asks to get baptized when he comes to campus here. Tim Witt talked to him, and the awesome thing is he gave the Gospel message to everyone who was there, both their team and our team."

Later, the Beavers joined the Flames in their post-game prayer circle at center ice for the second time in the weekend series.

"There's two teams that have a lot of respect for one another," Handy said.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Videos edited by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media