Past_Present_Future_Banner
Share |

Monday, December 5, 2011

Liberty Looms

The laughing is over after the weekend romps over Rutgers. The Icers were all business at today's practice as they began to get ready for the final weekend of action in the first semester.

Guy Gadowsky will take the team south of the Mason-Dixon Line to take on the eighth-ranked Liberty Flames on Friday and Saturday.

Head coach Kirk Handy has guided the Flames to the ACHA National Tournament seven times, including a second place national finish in 2006, since taking over as the bench boss in 2000. The Ontario native recruits heavily north of the border, with 13 Canadians on this year's roster.

As I always say, they may attend a Christian school, but the Flames don't turn the other cheek on the ice. It's a given that any team that plays Liberty can expect a tough, physical battle for sixty minutes.

The Flames are 13-5-1-2 on the season, including a 4-3 shootout loss to Arizona State at the Showcase, a 3-2 loss at Oklahoma and a pair of wins at Central Oklahoma.

The "seventh man" at the LaHaye Ice Center has helped the Flames to a 9-4-0-1 record, with Liberty outscoring the opposition 76-40. It's safe to say that the student body likes to vent some steam at Liberty games. They are as raucous as Gang Green at the Bird Arena.

I caught up with Coach Guy after today's practice, and also chatted with Tim Carr. Tim notched his second win and first shutout in Saturday's 9-0 win over the Scarlet Knights.

It was good to see Taylor Holstrom in full gear. Taylor has been cleared to practice with no contact. He told me afterwards that he hopes to be ready to return to the lineup in January.

I'd be remiss as a broadcaster if I didn't tip my cap to the Liberty video crew for their outstanding productions. Take a look at the highlight packages produced by their student broadcasters. Excellent work!




1 comment: