No. 4 Flames weather storm, await No. 5 Jamestown in ACHA DI men’s quarterfinals

Sunday, March 16

St. Louis, MO

11:15 AM EST / 10:15 AM CDT

Liberty University Club Sports

University of Jamestown

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Flames junior forward and head captain Sam Feamster arrives at the ACHA National Championships near St. Louis.

No. 4 Flames weather storm, await No. 5 Jamestown in ACHA DI men’s quarterfinals

3/15/2025 7:55:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

Liberty won three out of four meetings with the Jimmies in 2021-22, their only previous encounters with the Midwest College Hockey members who compete in the same conference as No. 1 Minot State.

Members of Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team got a bit of a scare Friday night when tornadoes touched down not far from the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo., site of the National Championships.

"We were in the hotel when the whole thing went down," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said, noting that the severe storm forced the ACHA to suspend Friday night's late games due to power outages at the Centene Center and move Saturday morning's matchups to various other rinks around the region. "It was very windy. It could have been really bad, to be honest. Fortunately, we were able to stay in the hotel, which never lost power."

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Liberty's players and coaches were able to scout out their quarterfinal opponent on Saturday morning at the St. Louis Ice Zone in Hazelwood, Mo., where No. 5 Jamestown edged No. 12 Grand Canyon University, 3-2 in overtime.

"It was a very physical game, a quick game up and down the ice," Handy said, noting the Flames will face the Jimmies at 11:15 a.m. EST Sunday back in the Centene Center. "It's going to be a great game (on Sunday). All the teams are going to be excellent at this time of the year. Any of the teams left in the top eight are going to be great, and we're going to have to bring our A game for 60 minutes."

Both teams have played exceptionally strong schedules this season.

"Jamestown and Minot State play in the same (Midwest College Hockey) conference, and they've played a lot of the top teams in the league, including UNLV," Handy said, noting Jamestown went 1-6 against the No. 1 Beavers and 1-2 against the No. 2 Skating Rebels as well as 1-0 against No. 3 Ohio. "The Lord has blessed us with a great schedule this year. Our team has played great opponents all year long, which has allowed us to be in a great spot for nationals. The guys feel confident and we're ready for a great game tomorrow."

The Jimmies and Flames both hosted a two-game series against one another in the 2021-22 season, and Jamestown will be returning to Liberty's LaHaye Ice Center next season.

"We are excited to play Jamestown again," Handy said. "We're really looking forward to the game tomorrow. We're going to be ready to go."

A victory would send Liberty to its third Final Four in five seasons. The Flames were eliminated by Minot State in 2021 and again in 2023, when the Beavers went on to win their third national title.

Scouting Preview, Game 35: No. 5 Jamestown (24-8-2) vs. No. 4 Liberty (23-5-5), Sunday at 11:15 a.m. EST in the USA Arena in the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. The game will be streamed live on FloHockey.tv, along with the rest of the ACHA National Championship games in all five divisions.

All-time series: Liberty leads 3-1.

Liberty Scouting Report: The Flames got excellent production from their veterans and newcomers in Friday's 6-3 second-round win over No. 20 Oswego State (N.Y.) University, overcoming 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 deficits with four unanswered goals in the third period.

Graduate forward and leading scorer Jackson Vercellono (18 goals, 18 assists) started the third-period outburst with the equalizer off assists from senior defenseman Kevin Bite and senior forward Truett Olson. Sophomore forward Mason Smith netted two power-play goals off assists from junior forward and head captain Sam Feamster, second-leading scorer Hayden DeMars (18G, 17A) scored at even strength and added an empty netter after fellow freshman forward Tucker Shields, Liberty's third-leading scorer (17G, 19A), capitalized on a man advantage to tie the game at 2 early in the second period.

Sophomore goalie Konrad Kausch made 18 saves to improve to 16-3-2 while slightly raising his 2.12 goals-against average and lowering his 94.0 save percentage. He has posted three shutouts on the season while junior Nick Bernstein (7-3-3, 2.75 GAA, 91.9 SP) has recorded two.

Jamestown Scouting Report: The Jimmies also feature balanced scoring, with their three leaders — forwards Jordan Baranesky, Brad Fortin, and Darius Makse — all netting 18 goals, including three game-winners. That's one fewer than their 10th-leading scorer, forward Jacob Thomas, who has four-game winners out of his seven goals scored. Baranesky and Makse lead the team with six power-play goals as Jamestown converted 24.2 percent of their chances in the regular season. Fortin scored the game winner against Grand Canyon 2:18 into the first overtime period after Baranesky and Thomas netted the first two goals to lift the Jimmies to a 2-1 lead after the first period.

In net, Brandon Weare (24-8-2, 2.27 GAA, 92.3 SP, 4 SO) has been an anchor for Jamestown, played all 2,045 minutes between the pipes this season.

Coaches: Handy is in his 25th season as head coach for the Flames, sporting a career record of 561-227-38 and leading Liberty to its ninth consecutive nationals appearance and 17th in 19 seasons at the DI level. Dean Stork is in his second stint and seventh 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 147-83-17. 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, going 201-131-28.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer