Men’s D1 Hockey Starts Season With A Win

Alumni from across the nation sold out the LaHaye Ice Center Friday night of Homecoming weekend, cheering on the Flames Men’s Division 1 Hockey team in its season opener as it defeated the University of North Carolina Tar Heels 7-1. 

The game kicked off with a ceremonial puck drop from former Head Coach and Rawlings School of Divinity professor Gary Habermas to commemorate the program’s 40th anniversary. 

The Flames were ready to head back on the ice and wasted no time showing it as senior forward Jacob Kalandyk scored his first goal of the night just 19 seconds after the clock started.

“It was really special,” Kalandyk said. “Every first game and every home game we have here is always special, but to get the first one (goal) and to see the crowd get all fired up was really cool. It was a great start.”

A lot of fresh faces hit the ice and donned Flames jerseys for the first time, as the team has 10 new recruits this season. Freshman center Tucker Shields made the second goal of the night.

“I thought the new guys played well,” Head Coach Kirk Handy said. “It’s a tough environment to come in; you’re trying to manage your emotions, manage your energy and playing in front of a sold-out crowd, and so I thought they did a very good job.” 

The Flames made their claim on the puck in a game of keep-away as they continuously tried for shot attempts against their opponent. The Tar Heels managed to steal the puck and sneak one goal in before the first period wrapped up, but the Flames worked to prevent the opposing team from scoring again for the remainder of the night. 

“Our power play wasn’t very good tonight. We will have to do some work on that,” Handy said. “Typically, that happens earlier in the year. The power play is usually the thing that takes a little bit to get going, so we’ve got some work to do with that this week.”

Shortly after the second period began, freshman forward Mac Ratzlaff found his way to the goal with an assist by senior defender Reid Bogenholm and junior defender Grant Morton. Ratzlaff claimed this period as his own, finding the back of the net a second time before the clock ran out.

“It was a great find; I didn’t have to do a whole lot of work, and then (Michael) Adamek had a great block on the penalty kill,” Ratzlaff said. “I can’t take too much credit for that. It was so exciting. Even in warmups, there was like 1,500 people watching, so it was pretty insane, just a great atmosphere out there tonight.”

The Tar Heels made another shot attempt, which was blocked by sophomore goalie Konrad Kausch. This closed out the period 4-1 in favor of the Flames.

Kalandyk had no rust on his skates as he rushed the ice again in the third period, scoring another goal less than a minute in with an assist by freshman left wing Liam Cox-Smith. 

The Flames scored two more goals before the final period ended. Sophomore forward Ryan Finch scored with five minutes left on the clock off an assist by Ratzlaff and graduate forward Truett Olson. Junior forward and team captain Samuel Feamster closed the night, bagging the seventh goal for the Flames.

“Our goal is always to win the national championship, and so we’re going to have to continue to work harder week in and week out to hit our goal,” Handy said.

Win or lose, the Flames always gather in prayer on the ice with their opponents following each game. 

“The message throughout this whole school is so consistent: Training Champions for Christ,” Ratzlaff said. “It allows me to play a lot more free out there and not have my identity in how many goals I score or whether we win or lose. We are so blessed to play in these facilities and have people that believe in us, so it is hard not to play out of gratitude.”

The Flames’ next matchup will be against Florida Gulf Coast University Friday, Sept. 20 at the LaHaye Ice Center.

White is the asst. sports editor for the Liberty Champion.