Liberty men’s hockey holds third annual Liberty Hockey Select Camp

Liberty University men’s hockey recently held its third annual Liberty Hockey Select Camp at the LaHaye Ice Center April 25-27. 

The three-day Select Camp not only allowed prospective players to showcase their abilities, but also gave them the chance to experience campus life. 

“We ended up bumping it up a little this year,” Assistant Head Coach Dan Berthiaume said. “We typically do it the second weekend of May, right after graduation or right before. This was our third year doing it, and so we figured, ‘Hey, let’s do it while school is in session, while we have all our guys around, so that we can give everybody kind of a full experience.’”

Through an application process, prospects were selected and invited to join the camp. 

“I think when we’re looking to invite guys, a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish here at Liberty is a culture component,” Berthiaume said. 

Due to the large number of participants, prospects were divided into two separate groups. Group one took the ice on Thursday afternoon to participate in a practice led by coaches, while group two was given a campus tour. Later, the groups switched places as group two hit the ice. Following the ice sessions, the prospects attended dinner and a Q&A panel with coaches and other valued members of the Club Sports department. 

On Friday, the groups had two separate scrimmages on the ice that took place in the morning and evening. Prospects also attended Convocation, where they heard President Dondi Costin speak. To close out the camp, on Saturday, prospects participated in scrimmages and were offered player meetings with coaches. 

During the camp, the participants were also joined by members of the men’s D1, D2 and D3 teams throughout the ice sessions. 

“We wanted to give the guys coming and their families the ability to kind of see the level of play that we can offer here at Liberty,” Berthiaume said. “While we can’t throw the recruits into an actual game, we figured the best way to do that would be to throw them in a scrimmage alongside our guys that are returning for the next year.” 

The off-ice abilities of prospects were also put to the test when they participated in dryland performance testing. Dryland testing, administered by assistant athletic director of sports performance Chris Kerr, is a new camp feature. The assessment includes tests for horizontal force-velocity profile, broad jump, peak vertical velocity and a 10-meter sprint.

“I think overall the camp went really well,” Berthiaume said. “We’re excited with a lot of the young guys that were here, and we were able to make some — I think — great decisions for our program and are very hopeful with some of the other decisions that we’re hoping to make here in the next couple of weeks as things unfold from having this camp.” 

Berthiaume hopes that the campers will see how different Liberty is from other places, both from a hockey perspective and overall.

“We want to be different. I think it’s what makes us who we are. I think that it’s what attracts a lot of people that actually come to Liberty,” Berthiaume said. “Our goal is to ultimately show that we are a Christ-centered program. It’s not just something that we talk about, and this camp has been an unbelievable opportunity for us to display that in the flesh rather than just talk to these families and recruits about it.”

Pais is a sports reporter.