The Liberty Men’s Ice Hockey team is off to yet another fast start. The Flames have started the season 7-0, including wins over West Virginia, Towson, and #10 Ohio. Liberty, currently ranked #14 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association poll, will likely move up after sweeping the 4-time National Champion Ohio Bobcats on the road over the weekend. The Bobcats had not dropped a home game since December of 2012. Coach Kirk Handy, now in his 14th season, appears to have another big season on his hands, as the Flames will host some of the nation’s top teams at Lahaye Ice Center. Liberty hosts a pair of games this coming weekend against #20 Arizona.
Photo Courtesy Liberty Hockey
Liberty has been a consistent National Tournament team under Coach Handy, however they have yet to bring home the ACHA National Championship. “We got to one final four in 2007-08…I believe we have the skill to compete for a national championship every year though,” noted Handy. In order to make it to the championship level, the Flames will have to be more consistent than they have been in recent seasons though. Liberty won their first 8 games last season, before dropping 9 of their next 10 and finishing the regular season at 23-15. That mark was good enough to make the National Tournament, where they advanced to the second round before falling to Ohio. Handy acknowledges that his team will need to improve. “We need to consistently play well throughout a complete year…we’ve been a little streaky.”
Another factor that has plagued past Liberty teams down the stretch has been a lack of secondary scoring. The team has relied on their first line to get goals, and deeper into the season fatigue becomes an issue. Star Forward Rick Turner tallied 43 goals last season, 25 more than the team’s second leading scorer Ryley Egan. The loss of Turner means the Flames will need to replace a lot of scoring, and will need to find better balance to improve on last season’s results. Liberty will need returning Forward Lindsay LeBlanc to be the star sniper he is capable of being, and the addition of talented Freshman Robert Ward should help compensate for the loss of Turner. It would appear that scoring balance is improved thus far for 2013, as Liberty already has 5 players with double-digit points on the season. Handy agrees. “This year’s team has a balanced attack up front.”
Photo Courtesy Liberty Hockey
Goaltending is always crucial. Liberty will feature youth and experience at the position this season. Handy has shown in previous seasons his preference for playing two goalies, however Freshman Matt Pinel has gotten the lion’s share of minutes thus far in 2013. Expect Senior Blair Bennett to compete for starts though, as his experience will no doubt benefit the Flames throughout the season. Relying on a Freshman Goaltender in the clutch can be dangerous, so having an experienced player like Bennett will be important.
Liberty has a tough schedule, facing top 20 teams in 25 of their 37 regular season contests. Coach Handy states that the season will be a success if they can take the next step in the National Tournament, but as he noted, “Obviously, a National Championship is our goal,”. The ACHA season is more marathon than sprint, so the Flames have a long way to go until the February National Tournament. However, if early results indicate anything, the Liberty Men’s Hockey program seems poised to make the 2013-14 season a success.
All of the Flames’ home games are broadcast live over the internet. To watch, simply head to Liberty Hockey’s page which is accessible through LibertyFlames.com Select games are also available on the Liberty Channel.
Just a thought on Turner, in our content meeting yesterday we noticed that less than 10 of his points last season came against ranked teams. So it may be interesting to note that he is not that big of a loss as we all expected and Ward has been cool under pressure so far, already ranked 4th in league in points along with Captain Andrew McCombe.
Good job hockey team! Keep representing Liberty well! Bring home a real championship!