DIII men’s hockey all-stars shone brightly in Florida after postseason skid

Liberty University's Division III men's hockey team, which ended the 2023-24 season ranked ninth in the nation in AAU's Division II, had seven of its players participate in the April 12-14 AAU All-Star Challenge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Representing the Flames on the ACCHL All-Stars were junior defensemen Jake Nole Aaron Spuhler, senior forwards Michael Williams and Trevor Granzow, who eclipsed 100 points for his career this season, junior forward Luke Bessire, sophomore defenseman Connor Diem, and freshman center AJ Beugen. They helped the ACCHL team, which had Liberty Head Coach Josh Wagner serving as assistant coach, place third out of six conferences competing in the event.

Following a 13-8 regular season, Liberty struggled in tournament play as it was eliminated by High Point in the March 1 opening round of the ACCHL Division II Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C., 3-2, before also going quietly at the March 6-13 AAU National Championships in West Chester, Pa.

There, the Flames finished 0-3 in pool play and were eliminated, dropping their opener, 5-2, to Clemson on March 8 before allowing two unanswered goals in the third period of a 5-4 loss to Vanderbilt on March 9 and giving up five goals in the second period of a 6-3 loss to Bishop's University on March 10.

"It was really fruitful for us as a coaching staff in our first year," Wagner said. "We did a lot of learning and a lot of growing. The regular season turned out really well and we had success, but obviously playoffs didn't turn out how we wanted to. It's a growing curve and a learning curve and we're ready to go next year and we have a lot of good building blocks."

The team has some promising recruits incoming, a couple of whom made commitments at the April 25-27 Select Camp at the LaHaye Ice Center.

"Moving forward, we're really excited for next year," Flames Assistant Coach Brennan McDonnell said. "Success was everywhere from the players themselves growing and rookies stepping up into a strong role and our seniors really showing why they belong. All throughout the year, it was everybody pulling their own weight."

Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media

DIII men’s hockey all-stars shone brightly in Florida after postseason skid

Players Mentioned

Luke Bessire

AJ Beugen

Connor Diem

Trevor Granzow

Jake Nole

Aaron Spuhler

Michael Williams

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