Long Island to play ACHA D-I Liberty in two-game men’s hockey series Jan. 22-23 in Lynchburg, Va.

Liberty University’s ACHA Division I men’s team, which had this weekend’s scheduled spring semester-opening series against Maryville canceled by COVID-19 concerns, will instead host Long Island University Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Va.

“We are excited about the opportunity to be able to play them, especially to host them here at Liberty University,” said Liberty coach Kirk Handy in a statement. “It’s our goal every year to have a strong strength of schedule, and this obviously plays into that. Long Island has a brand-new program and that will be a really good game for us. It is a great opportunity for our team to see how we stack up against an NCAA opponent.”

In Long Island, which is off to a 3-5-0 start with wins over Army, Holy Cross and RIT, Liberty will be facing an NCAA Division I opponent for the third time in 10 years.

The Flames faced Penn State in its transitional year from the ACHA Division I ranks in 2011-12 and hosted Arizona State in the Sun Devils’ first year at the NCAA Division I level in 2015-16.