No. 8 Flames dammed up by No. 2 Beavers after Midnight

Friday, December 5

Lynchburg, VA

11:59 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Minot State University

Midnight Mayhem Sam Feamster shot on Minot goal

Senior forward and head captain Sam Feamster (left) is stuffed by two Minot State defensemen and goalie Will Dyke as he skates into the slot for a second-period shot. (Photos by Ted Allen)

No. 8 Flames dammed up by No. 2 Beavers after Midnight

12/6/2025 9:11:00 AM | Men's D1 Hockey

Photo Gallery

Liberty slipped to 15-5 on the season after being shut out for the first time in 42 games while Minot State improved to 16-1-1 by posting its first shutout.

Gallery: (12-6-2025) DI men's hockey vs. Minot State Game 1

Three inches of snowfall early Friday morning made No. 2-ranked Minot State (N.D.) University feel right at home upon arrival in Lynchburg, Va., for its Midnight Mayhem matchup against No. 8 Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team (15-5).

The Beavers (16-1-1) maintained their mastery against the Flames by a 5-0 final in front of a sellout crowd in the LaHaye Ice Center, opening a 3-0 lead after the first period and cruising to their 18th win in its past 20 meetings and 21 of 25 in the all-time series.

"I didn't like the start we had in the first period, when they really took it to us," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "You never want to kill off two penalties, and against a good team, it's tough, and they got us. Those (penalties) are avoidable, and we can't take those at the beginning of the game. It just disrupts the flow of how you want the game to start."

The Beavers capitalized on their second power-play opportunity when leading scorer Colby Joseph netted his team-high fourth game-winning goal of the season. He received feeds from Jay Buchholtz and Joey Moffatt and lifted a wide-open wrist shot from the center of the right circle off the shoulder of Flames junior goalie Konrad Kausch and into the top-left corner of the cage for a 1-0 advantage at the 13:47 mark.

Then, 9:46 before the first intermission, Moffatt and Slade Stanick executed a two-on-one counterattack to perfection, with Moffatt finishing from the left crease into the top corner of the cage to double the Beavers' lead to 2-0.

Minot State struck again less than five minutes later when Jaxon Grosdidier put away passes from Logan Rands and Austin Clyne with 4:57 to play in the first period.

The 3-0 deficit after the first period proved to be too much to overcome against a feisty Beavers squad.

"Emotionally, it's tough," Handy said. "The crowd was great. We just didn't get them into it too much. We got on our heels quickly."

After the first period, when the Beavers outshot the Flames, 16-7, the shot totals were even at 17-17, with Minot converting the only two goals, one in each stanza.

"The second period, we did a lot of things well," Handy said. "We had a lot of good chances on the power play, and we hit a post and another off the side of the net. We had a couple of good looks, and they just didn't go. But we were chasing the game the whole time, and that's hard to do."

The Beavers broke through the dam of Liberty's defense with 2:21 remaining in the second period when Matt Egan scored in front off assists from Grosdidier and Ben Johnson. Then in the third, Brett Tataryn capped the scoring for Minot State off fast-break feeds from Stanick and Sheldin Howard.

"Things definitely didn't go our way, but we'll be ready for (Saturday night's rematch)," said Flames freshman defenseman Jentzen Kaebel, whose tripping penalty on his first shift set up Joseph's game winner. "(The Beavers) are definitely better than what we've played (against so far). But I don't think that was our team playing to the best of our capabilities. (Tonight) if we just regroup and come back focused and ready to play our game the way we need to play it, we'll be good."

In all, the visitors outshot their hosts, 33-24, with Beavers goalie Will Dyke (10-1-1) posting his first shutout in 12 starts to lower his goals-against average to 1.74 and raise his save percentage to 93.2.

For Liberty, it was the first shutout loss in 42 games, since a 1-0 setback on Nov. 1, 2024, at Niagara — now the No. 1 team in the nation which lost to No. 3 Ohio, 5-2, on Friday night. Kausch made 28 saves but took the loss in net to fall to 8-3.

"We've got to hit the reset button, come back (tonight), and be better in those little areas — the one-on-one battles, those little opportunities," Handy said.

Kaebel, the cousin of former Liberty defenseman Laz Kaebel, played more minutes than normal after sophomore defenseman Michael Adamek was ejected for ripping the helmet off a Beavers player during a scrum around the Flames' cage.

"That fired the team up, and once he went out, I kind of had to step up and play my game," Kaebel said. "We'll see what we can do (tonight)."

"We've got to stay focused on the little details," he added. "Whether that's positive energy on the bench, making the right play at the right time, just keeping things a little more simple (tonight), we'll be fine."

He said the Flames need to rest up Saturday morning and be able to use their speed to their advantage against the Beavers.

"They're a good team, but once we play our game, honestly no team can keep up with us," Kaebel said. "They're ranked higher than us, but once we play our game — tonight we didn't — but (tonight) when we do, it will be a lot better. Everyone needs to get some rest, regroup, have quiet time, talk to God a bit, and be ready to come back (tonight)."

Fans are encouraged to bring a new or gently used Teddy Bear or other stuffed animal to Saturday night's rematch to toss it out onto the ice after the Flames' first goal, with donations supporting the Lynchburg area Toys for Tots Christmas drive.

"We are going to play better (Saturday night)," Handy added. "We've got to play a little faster than we did today (and) make quicker plays. Hopefully, with it being the Teddy Bear Toss, we can have a better start and get that first goal real quick."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer