Men’s D1 Hockey Preps For Upcoming Season

The Liberty University Division I Men’s Hockey team will soon take the ice, donning commemorative “Hockey 40”-branded jerseys to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the program. The Flames will host the University of North Carolina at the LaHaye Ice Center during Homecoming Weekend Sept. 13.

In addition, Head Coach Kirk Handy enters his 25th season behind the bench, sporting a record of 540 wins, 220 losses and 33 ties.

“I think the best moments for us are seeing guys who come in as freshmen and seeing God work on their heart and their lives and see them mature,” Handy said. “For me, over the years, it’s great to see how God has continued to encourage us by the alumni who’ve graduated, who encourage us by the stories they share with what God’s doing in their lives.”

Handy and his team will usher in a new era of the program with the addition of 10 recruits on their roster. The Flames hope these additions will help balance an improvement in their defense while maintaining a strong offensive performance.

“There’s a lot of great energy around our team and a lot of excitement around the newness of everything,” Handy said. “I think one area of focus that we’ve had is on systems we’ve been running and the execution of those systems. It’s new for everyone, both for the returning and new players.”

The team also welcomes back several key veteran players, one being senior and newly minted assistant captain Jacob Kalandyk. As the Flames’ leading scorer last season with 19 goals and 22 assists, Kalandyk made his impact on the ice known. Another familiar Flame returning to the roster is junior forward Sam Feamster, who is serving in his first year as the team’s head captain. Sam Feamster will also be joined by his younger brother, freshman defenseman Joseph Feamster.

Handy emphasized the importance of veteran leadership as the Flames enter this season.

“We’ve got a great group of leaders, not only guys who are captains, but we’ve got a great group of spiritual leaders and returning players who understand what Liberty is all about,” Handy said. “They want to really help these freshmen transition as quickly as they can to play and perform right away and not wait for the season to get going before that happens.”

The Flames will be tested this season with a hefty 33 regular-season games in their future, a schedule that includes familiar ACHA foes such as Minot, Ohio University and Niagara. The biggest test for Handy and his team will be against reining ACHA D1 champion Adrian College, which they will play four times this season. The Adrian Bulldogs eliminated the Flames in the ACHA Division I National Championship quarterfinal last season.

“Our team’s message every year is to be the best version of Liberty Hockey that we can be,” Handy said. “In order to do that, individually, we’ve got to be at the top of our game. So we’re going to push everyone to be spiritually fit, to be physically fit and to be fit in the classroom.”

Pais is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.