Back to the ice
Men’s DI hockey team looks ahead to 2015-16 season
The Liberty Flames men’s Division I hockey team looks to continue previous success on the ice this season and make another run at a National Championship.
Leading — Defenseman Ben Hughes is one of seven seniors for the Flames. Photo credit: Courtney Russo
The Flames finished 10th in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) with 55 points and a 25-win season. The team advanced to the ACHA National Championships ranked No. 11 but ended up falling to No. 6 Ohio 5-2, according to the ACHA website.
The Flames lost their top three scorers from last year. The team graduated seven seniors as well as having sophomore Luke Hannon move on to the Southern Professional Hockey League where he joined the Pensacola Ice Flyers.
“We brought in 10 new players this year,” Head Coach Kirk Handy said. “To have 10 of 26 players as freshmen is a great opportunity. Not only for those guys but for the seniors, juniors and sophomores that are coming back.”
One thing Handy really wanted this year was a bigger team. This year, the team will have 15 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders. The goal was to add depth at every position but not to have too many players because he wanted everyone to play and be able to contribute.
The Flames have already seen regular season action. As of Oct. 16, they have played four games and have split those games with two wins and two losses. Junior forward Grant Garvin has scored four goals throughout the first four games, including a hat trick against Minot State according to the ACHA website.
“Our group is going to be a hardworking group, a group of guys who cannot take a night off,” Handy said. “We’ve seen that guys are willing to work hard and put in the extra effort that it takes to win.”
The Flames schedule is no cakewalk. The Flames face off against current top-ranked Stony Brook four times this season, twice at home and twice on the road. Only three of the ACHA teams the Flames are scheduled to play are not currently ranked in the top 25.
Quite possibly the biggest news of the Flames offseason was the expansion to the LaHaye Ice Center. According to Liberty’s press release, the ice center will allow nearly three times as many fans to watch the games, among other renovations.
“We wanted a huge fan experience opportunity where fans can come and ramp up what we’re doing even more,” Handy said. “The volume in the place is going to be unbelievable.”
The renovated ice center will be on display Oct. 23-24 when the Flames open the stadium with a weekend series against the No. 12 Davenport Panthers. The home opener will be Friday at 7 p.m., followed by an afternoon match Saturday at 3 p.m.
Day is a sports reporter.