No. 2 Minot State Sweeps No. 3 Liberty Ice Hockey In ‘Star Wars’ Weekend Games

Liberty men’s Division I hockey faced a tough opponent in No. 2 Minot State Feb. 5-6 during the weekend’s “Star Wars” themed battles, dropping both games as the Beavers crushed the No. 3 Flames’ attempt at an upset with a 3-2 overtime win Saturday night. 

When the puck dropped to open the game, neither team seemed to be able to get into the swing of things. The first period was sloppy from both sides with both teams tallying three penalties. Junior goalie Hunter Virostek made four incredible saves during the first period, but the lackluster support from his team’s defense allowed Minot State to get a puck past him and take the lead at 1-0.

Right from the second period’s opening, it was apparent that the Flames had a different level of energy. They came out of the tunnel with a fury, but the Beaver’s defense quickly extinguished their fire. The Beavers swarmed to the puck, moving nonstop in a beautiful but practical defensive formation, and the Flames were unable to counter. The Beavers took advantage of their defensive play, pushing their lead to 2-0 with another well-timed shot past Virostek. 

The Flames faced a do-or-die situation late in the second period, and they chose to fight back. After a centering pass from senior defenseman Colin Baird and the tip-in by sophomore forward DJ Schwenke, Liberty notched its first point of the game. The assist from Baird added to his total on the year, and he now stands at 20 for the season. Baird is No. 40 in the nation in assists and ranks second for the Flames behind sophomore Jason Foltz, who ranks No. 15 in the nation with 24 assists. 

At the start of the third period, the Flames were down 2-1. The fans in the LaHaye Ice Center tried to cheer on their squad as the Flames repeatedly failed to maintain an offensive possession. Liberty sophomore Kam Ottenbreit finally powered the puck into the back of Minot State’s net, tying the game at 2-2. Both teams went on the defensive for the remaining time in regulation and pushed the game into overtime.

The Flames started overtime down a man due to penalties, and all seemed to be lining up for the Beavers. The Flames managed to kill the penalty once again, keeping their PK unit perfect on the evening. The Beavers stayed aggressive, however, and dealt the fatal blow to the Flames when they scored the game-winning goal with only 1:20 left to play in overtime. 

The Beavers outshot the Flames 35-23 on the game, which has been the Achilles heel for the Flames of late. Head Coach Kirk Handy acknowledged his team’s lackluster offensive play.

“We have to find a way to generate some more shots,” Handy said. “That was a big thing. We’re generating under 25 shots a game for the last couple games, and we need to get that number up.”

The Flames will look to get back on the winning side of the column when they travel to Ohio University Feb. 11-12 to take on the Bobcats. 

Palsgrove is a sports reporter. Follow him on Twitter