D1 Hockey secures first two wins of the season
It was 23 seasons ago when a young Kirk Handy began his journey as the head coach for the Liberty Flames D1 hockey team.
On Sept. 22, he hit an incredible benchmark, netting his 500th win.
To help their coach achieve this legendary milestone, the Flames opened their season with two dominant wins over their visitors. They defeated the NC State Icepack 9-3 in their home-opener and then followed that up a week later with a 12-1 victory over West Virginia.
The Flames offense seems to be their calling card in the early going. They put up a combined 21 goals in their first two opponents, currently ranking second in ACHA Division 1 total points. Pairing their offensive prowess with a dominant defense, the Flames have the best differential in the league, scoring 17 more points than their opponents.
This Flames team is a fun one to watch due to its insatiable hunger for goal-scoring and its quick, aggressive style of defense. That style has led to years of success for Liberty hockey as a whole, but it couldn’t be run successfully without the men on the ice. Over their first two wins, 20 different Flames contributed by assisting or scoring on the total 21 goals.
Currently leading the Flames in goals are forwards Jason Foltz, Kam Ottenbreit and Jackson Vercellano, each having three goals to their respective names. Ottenbreit, however, leads the team in points with three assists.
After missing the season-opener due to illness, Foltz made a statement in his return to the ice. His three goals came as part of a package deal that was delivered to WVU. He scored three of Liberty’s 12 goals, giving him a hat trick.
“Foltz is a great hockey player for us, and he came ready to go tonight,” Handy said. “Right from the get-go, he scored that first one. He had great jump tonight in his skates. That line played really well for us.”
A major contributing factor to the success of this Liberty program is the team’s ability to recruit and develop young players. This gives them a stream of talent to fill its depth chart, and the Flames may have found a few stars this season.
Lazarus Kaebel, the freshman defender out of Minnesota, has quickly become a staple for this Flames team. He’s already tallied four points on the year, including one goal. Kaebel is one of only two Flames defenders with a goal so far, and he leads all defenders in points.
On the other side of the ice lies another freshman, forward Samuel Feamster. He’s also tallied a goal in these first two matchups. His presence hasn’t been felt in the stat sheets as of yet, but his movement and speed on the ice aren’t something one could miss.
The Flames will pick things up next week, starting their first two-game series at home against Niagara University Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Puck drop will be at 7 p.m. Sept. 30 and 11:59 p.m. Oct. 1 for the first of three “Midnight Mayhem” games this season.
Palsgrove is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion