Liberty Men’s Hockey Returns to the Ice Hungry for a Title

When COVID-19 struck last season, Liberty men’s Division I hockey had all the pieces in place to make an ACHA title run. Now, Flames hockey is back – and Coach Kirk Handy believes a first title is finally in the cards. 

“I think the sky’s the limit for this team,” Handy said. “Every year we have three goals: we want to win the conference regular season title, we want to win our conference championship and the national championship. We’ve been great at steps one and step two but we haven’t hit step three yet, but we are going to focus on being consistent first.”

The Flames graduated 13 seniors last semester, including forward Jordan Bochinski and defenseman Jacob Fricks, both dynamic playmakers.

But four of those seniors – who combined for nearly 30% of all points the Flames accumulated last season – will return as graduates: forward Quinn Ryan (22 goals, 43 assists), defenseman Chaydan Lauber (nine goals, nine assists), forward Brock Thompson (14 goals, 11 assists) and defenseman Garrett Nelson (12 goals, 42 assists). 

Nelson is brimming with confidence about the 2020-2021 squad and sees limitless potential in the guys in the locker room.

“Our goal is to win at all costs, but to make sure we are winning in the right way too and doing it in a godly way,” Nelson said. “As long as we can play games, I think we should win.’

Handy is thrilled to welcome back this core of veterans for the leadership value they will provide.

“It’s great to have all those guys back, they understand what it takes to play and compete at this level,” Handy said. “We expect a lot out of them. We need them to set the standard every day … for our young guys.”

Senior defenseman Alex Norwinski is not new to the Liberty hockey scene, but he will dress for the Division I team for the first time in his career this season. He headlines a group of nine players with high potential who will make their debut for the Flames in the fall, supplementing their proven group of veterans.

Norwinski started his career at LU on the Division III team before earning a spot at the Division II level (notching 15 goals and 15 assists in the 2019-20 season), and now is realizing his goal of playing at the Division I level. 

“I’m very excited, a big load of stress is off me now that I’m here,” Norwinski said. “It was my dream to play Division I hockey from the get-go. I’m ready to have a lot of fun and enjoy this experience.”

Aside from the chance of participating in the winning culture of the Division I level – the Flames have won three ESCHL regular season and tournament titles in the past four years — Norwinski was thrilled with his reception from his coaches and teammates in the Division I ranks.

“There are a lot of good people on this team. The culture here is very positive – everyone is really welcoming. It gets you comfortable and used to this level of hockey,” Norwinski said.

Like all collegiate sports teams, practicing and scheduling a season while preventing the spread of COVID-19 has been a complex and tedious process. Players and coaches must remain six feet apart from each other, locker rooms and weight rooms have limited capacity, and everyone must wear a mask. 

However, the Flames have rallied together, and their goal of winning a national title has kept them focused on facing the challenges in the present.

“You’re overcoming a lot in terms of how you practice and workout (separate groups), we’re doing things differently in practice than we’ve ever done before,” Handy said. “But our guys have embraced it, and we get the opportunity to play at the end.”

John Simmons is the Web Manager. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnSimmonsJr7.