DIII men’s hockey ousted by Coastal for fifth year in row in ACCHL tournament
3/7/2023 5:58:00 PM | Men's D3 Hockey
For the fifth year in a row, Liberty University's Division III men's hockey team was edged by longtime rival Coastal Carolina in the ACCHL Championship final, Sunday afternoon in the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Fairgrounds Annex, falling 5-4 in overtime in a back-and-forth contest.
"We traded goals pretty much the whole game," Flames Head Coach Josh Graham said, noting that Liberty scored first 20 seconds into the game before allowing the Chanticleers to tie it twice by the end of the first period despite outshooting them, 17-7.
Then in the second period, the Flames got outshot, 22-8, but scored the only goal 10 minutes in to seize a 3-2 lead. Coastal tied it for the third and fourth times in the third period, the last with just over six minutes remaining in regulation, to force overtime. Midway through the 5:00 sudden-death extra period, Liberty was called for having too many men on the ice and the Chanticleers capitalized on the power play.
The Flames (18-7) lost to the Chanticleers, 3-2, in 2021 back in Winston-Salem and 3-1 last year at the LaHaye Ice Center after being ousted in the semifinals the previous two seasons. This season, Liberty swept Coastal in their regular-season series at the LIC and finished 10-0 in ACCHL play but lost the game that mattered most as the tournament crown eluded them.
Liberty had advanced to the final by defeating High Point, 5-2, in Saturday's semifinals. Graham noted that there were some bright spots for the Flames, with junior Dominik Jordan being selected as the ACCHL Goalie of the Year and he received conference Coach of the Year honors.
"It was pretty disappointing as this is the year we should have won it all," Graham said, noting Liberty was the top seed in the tournament for the second year in a row. "We need to take lessons from it and apply it to nationals."
The Flames will open CHF tournament pool play on Friday at 4:15 p.m. against No. 26 Fordham before facing No. 18 Alabama on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. and No. 10 South Carolina on Sunday at 5:15 p.m.
"It's a tough draw," Graham said. "We will be playing three competitive teams that we have never played before. Whoever gets out of there, they're going to have to be warriors."
Only the top team in each of the eight four-team pools advances to Monday's quarterfinal round, with the winners advancing to Tuesday's semifinals and then to Wednesday championship game. Complete tournament pools are available on the CHF Nationals website.
"Overall, the CHF is very competitive with the ACHA," Graham said, noting both leagues now have more than 100 Division III teams. "There are not any favorites, and there are anywhere between five and eight teams that could legitimately win the tournament. Last year, the first four seeds were all knocked out in pool play and this year, a few of those top seeds will probably get knocked out again. That is good for our tournament because that means it's ultra-competitive. What it boils down to is who makes the least amount of mistakes. Those are going to be the teams that move on."
All CHF National Championship games will be streamed live by Black Dog Hockey, a pay-per-view service.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
