DII men’s hockey paving pathway back to ACHA National Championships

Liberty senior defenseman Nathan Mulder skates the puck across the blue line into the neutral zone in a Jan. 12 game against Penn State at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photo by Aziz Ibrahim)

DII men’s hockey paving pathway back to ACHA National Championships

6/19/2024 2:14:00 PM | Men's D2 Hockey

Graduation took a toll on the Flames, but they are now in the process of reloading rather than rebuilding from year to year.

Though its 21-11 final record was not one of its best in recent years, Liberty University's ACHA Division II men's hockey team experienced a tremendous season of growth in 2023-24.

The Flames started out 4-4 and lost three of four games (to No. 1 Lindenwood and at No. 2 Florida Gulf Coast) before Christmas break to finish the fall semester at 9-8. But they rebounded by going 10-2 in the spring semester, including a third straight victory against defending ACHA DI national champion UMass-Amherst, to earn a fifth consecutive autobid past the Southeast Region playoffs and directly to nationals. That streak started in 2019-20, when Liberty went 31-3-1 before COVID-19 canceled the national tournament.

"We were expecting to start off a little bit hotter than we did," senior defenseman Rece Poulin said. "We dropped a few games early to a few teams we probably shouldn't have, but fast forwarding to the end of the year, I think it helped us to grow a lot closer, and just continue building the culture that we have here. We were able to have a lot of success, especially toward the end of the season."

Seventh-year Head Coach Ben Hughes, complemented by Assistant Coach Christian Garland, credited the players for rallying as a group to turn the season around.

"Our core group of leaders, whether it's captains or spiritual leaders on the team, have been having extreme ownership of the culture, and making it theirs," he said. "It's kind of easy for us sometimes to sit up on a pedestal and tell them what to do or how to do it when they're the ones who have to go through it on a day to day (basis). Credit goes to them 100 percent for building a culture and having a legacy of champions and wanting it to be better than when they came in."

"We came a long way from our first report date in August," added junior forward and head captain Josh Harrell, who sat out the majority of the season after undergoing upper-body surgery in the fall. "Our growth culturally, spiritually, physically, mentally, all aspects of our locker room, to build up and climb the mountain to the national tournament."

Poulin was one of several seniors — including fellow defensemen Dylan Kent, David Hauke, and Nathan Mulder — who played their last games at the ACHA Division II National Championships near St. Louis, where the Flames lost a third and deciding game of pool play to top-ranked host Lindenwood, 4-3 in overtime.

"We're losing some really key parts of our group, but the core group that's still here and that will be returning for next season, we're really looking forward to it," Harrell said. "Everyone's got a bit of a chip on their shoulder with how the season ended."

Since the national tournament, offseason recruiting has been in full swing, with the Flames adding a few players to their projected rosters after the Liberty Select Camps in late April.

"Just praying that God leads the right people here, the right pieces," Hughes said. "We're at a very advantageous time as a team still where there is a great runway of opportunity to win a national championship but also to not have to reset the culture and just continue to reload with the right types of fits in the locker room and … on the ice as well. We need to build off a foundation that's continued to be laid each year. Ultimately, I'm excited to continue to add pieces to the puzzle, but make sure we're honoring those that are moving on and that legacy that they've established."

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