Saturday, October 25
Lynchburg, VA
7:00 PM
Liberty University Club Sports
8
vs
3
Stony Brook University
Speed skaters: Flames sprint past Seawolves to Victory Lane on ‘NASCAR Night,’ 8-3
10/25/2025 11:50:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
Liberty is off to its fastest start in its Division I history, improving to 11-1 with the series sweep.
Saturday was "NASCAR Night" at the LaHaye Ice Center, but at times, the showdown between former ESCHL rivals Liberty University's No. 5-ranked ACHA Division I men's hockey team and Stony Brook (N.Y.) University looked more like a demolition derby than a Cup Series race.
With the fast and furious 8-3 victory, the Flames (11-1) are off to their best start since moving up to the Division I level. They also stretched their winning streak against the Seawolves (3-3-1) to 11 games.
"We won by five goals last night, and five goals again tonight," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "Our team's learning and growing, and I love this group we've got in there. They're guys who want to be here and want to represent what Liberty's all about. We had contributions up and down the lineup, which was awesome to see. It doesn't matter who we have in there. All the guys worked hard, and they contributed for us."
The Flames rode a five-goal second period and used two goals from junior forward Luke Munroe and two from sophomore forward Tucker Shields as well as four assists from junior defenseman and alternate captain Nick Pomerleau to cruise to the victory.
"Munroe's battling out there for us, and he's been a welcome addition to our program," Handy said of the transfer from NCAA Division III SUNY-Geneseo, who is tied with senior forward Ryan Finch for third on the team in scoring, with both leading the Flames with two game winners.
Pomerleau moved into a tie with senior forward Michael DeBrito for the team scoring lead with 15 points (1 goal, 14 assists).
"Nick's a great player for us," Handy said. "He's under the radar a lot of times, but he's real valuable to us on and off the ice."
After surviving back-to-back penalties unscathed at the outset of the second period, the Flames turned the momentum completely in their favor by outshooting the Seawolves 26-5 and scoring five times to turn a 1-1 drag race into a runaway 6-1 lead.
"We had some penalty trouble tonight and kind of worked our way through it," Handy said. "Maybe we, coaches included, weren't as composed at we should have been. The second period, we were pretty dominant. Our guys transitioned well, and our power play was excellent again tonight."
The Flames, who capitalized on four of their five power-play opportunities of the night, fired up their engines and their offense quickly in the first period, with Finch putting away an open-net shot in the left crease after taking a pass across the slot from junior forward Aidan Carney off a secondary assist from Pomerleau for a 1-0 lead at the 15:28 mark.
With Liberty seeking to kill off a 5-on-3 penalty late in the first period, junior goalie Konrad Kausch made a couple clutch saves before Charles Poirier threaded a shot from the high slot through traffic in front into the left side of the net, evening the score a split second after the first penalty expired. That negated the final 53 seconds of the second penalty, and the teams went into the first intermission tied at 1.
Finch has his one-on-one opportunity at the go-ahead score in the left crease glove-saved by Seawolves goalie Steven Reganato before Flames senior forward and head captain Sam Feamster mishandled the puck and failed to capitalize on a point-blank chance in front.
Early in the second period, Finch and Feamster nearly cashed in on a shorthanded opportunity, but Reganato blocked the backhanded shot and putback.
Kausch inadvertently knocked the goal off its moorings three times on a second power-play opportunity, nearly paying for putting it back in place himself the last one, but he managed to reposition himself in time to save a shot from the high point.
With the Flames on a power play, DeBrito struck the crossbar with his shot from the right circle before Shields received a pass from Pomerleau and worked a quick give-and-go pass sequence to Finch in the left corner and finished with authority in the left circle for a 2-1 Liberty lead at the 10:27 mark of the second stanza.
Given the green light, the Flames proceeded to break the game open with three goals over a span of three and a half minutes before adding their fifth of the period in the final 10 seconds.
Junior forward Mason Smith started the flurry with a shot from the high slot off an assist from sophomore forward Kal Essenmacher with 7:13 to play in the period before Shields struck again at the 6:02 mark, finishing feeds from sophomore forward Liam Cox-Smith and graduate defenseman Nathan Cox.
Senior defenseman Connor Diem fired a rocket from the left point that whizzed past replacement goalie Michael Foglia into the top-left corner of the cage at the 3:43 mark. Then, with the Flames back on the power play, Munroe netted the first of his two power-play goals.
Stony Brook nearly got one goal back late in the second but was called for interference when a Seawolves player crashed into Kausch after he blocked his breakaway shot, and his teammate put away the putback in the left crease.
The Flames didn't take their foot off the gas pedal, capitalizing on back-to-back power plays early in the third period, with sophomore defenseman Michael Adamek taking a pass from Feamster at the top of the left circle and firing a shot past Foglio into the top-right corner. Then, after Finch was checked face-first into the boards, Debrito set up another 5-on-4 score by finding Munroe in the slot for a quick redirected shot that stretched the advantage to 8-2.
"Our special teams the last few games have been great," Handy said after Liberty killed off three of its four penalties.
The Flames, whose defense has been depleted by injuries, outshot Stony Brook 59-25 on the night, and Kausch made 23 saves in net.
"Hopefully, we get healthy," Handy said. "We've got a lot of banged-up bodies. We believe in every guy in that locker room. We believe in their abilities and what they can do for us. It's part of the grind of the season right now."
He commended Cox, a four-year veteran on the DI squad who started his final season of eligibility on the DII team.
"Cox played four games this weekend," Handy said. "He played two at Division II and two with us. He played fantastic. He scored three points in two games and was a good solid defenseman for us."
The Flames will look to extend their three-game winning streak when they travel to Niagara (N.Y.) University for games on Thursday and Friday at 3 p.m.
"We just continue to build," Handy said. "We're in the heart of the season now, and we're going to have to continue to get better. We have two practices this week and head to Buffalo on Wednesday."
The specialty jerseys the Flames sported for Saturday night's race against the Seahorses, complete with checkered flag stripes and official NASCAR logos, will be auctioned off through Friday.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
With the fast and furious 8-3 victory, the Flames (11-1) are off to their best start since moving up to the Division I level. They also stretched their winning streak against the Seawolves (3-3-1) to 11 games.
"We won by five goals last night, and five goals again tonight," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "Our team's learning and growing, and I love this group we've got in there. They're guys who want to be here and want to represent what Liberty's all about. We had contributions up and down the lineup, which was awesome to see. It doesn't matter who we have in there. All the guys worked hard, and they contributed for us."
The Flames rode a five-goal second period and used two goals from junior forward Luke Munroe and two from sophomore forward Tucker Shields as well as four assists from junior defenseman and alternate captain Nick Pomerleau to cruise to the victory.
"Munroe's battling out there for us, and he's been a welcome addition to our program," Handy said of the transfer from NCAA Division III SUNY-Geneseo, who is tied with senior forward Ryan Finch for third on the team in scoring, with both leading the Flames with two game winners.
Pomerleau moved into a tie with senior forward Michael DeBrito for the team scoring lead with 15 points (1 goal, 14 assists).
"Nick's a great player for us," Handy said. "He's under the radar a lot of times, but he's real valuable to us on and off the ice."
After surviving back-to-back penalties unscathed at the outset of the second period, the Flames turned the momentum completely in their favor by outshooting the Seawolves 26-5 and scoring five times to turn a 1-1 drag race into a runaway 6-1 lead.
"We had some penalty trouble tonight and kind of worked our way through it," Handy said. "Maybe we, coaches included, weren't as composed at we should have been. The second period, we were pretty dominant. Our guys transitioned well, and our power play was excellent again tonight."
The Flames, who capitalized on four of their five power-play opportunities of the night, fired up their engines and their offense quickly in the first period, with Finch putting away an open-net shot in the left crease after taking a pass across the slot from junior forward Aidan Carney off a secondary assist from Pomerleau for a 1-0 lead at the 15:28 mark.
With Liberty seeking to kill off a 5-on-3 penalty late in the first period, junior goalie Konrad Kausch made a couple clutch saves before Charles Poirier threaded a shot from the high slot through traffic in front into the left side of the net, evening the score a split second after the first penalty expired. That negated the final 53 seconds of the second penalty, and the teams went into the first intermission tied at 1.
Finch has his one-on-one opportunity at the go-ahead score in the left crease glove-saved by Seawolves goalie Steven Reganato before Flames senior forward and head captain Sam Feamster mishandled the puck and failed to capitalize on a point-blank chance in front.
Early in the second period, Finch and Feamster nearly cashed in on a shorthanded opportunity, but Reganato blocked the backhanded shot and putback.
Kausch inadvertently knocked the goal off its moorings three times on a second power-play opportunity, nearly paying for putting it back in place himself the last one, but he managed to reposition himself in time to save a shot from the high point.
With the Flames on a power play, DeBrito struck the crossbar with his shot from the right circle before Shields received a pass from Pomerleau and worked a quick give-and-go pass sequence to Finch in the left corner and finished with authority in the left circle for a 2-1 Liberty lead at the 10:27 mark of the second stanza.
Given the green light, the Flames proceeded to break the game open with three goals over a span of three and a half minutes before adding their fifth of the period in the final 10 seconds.
Junior forward Mason Smith started the flurry with a shot from the high slot off an assist from sophomore forward Kal Essenmacher with 7:13 to play in the period before Shields struck again at the 6:02 mark, finishing feeds from sophomore forward Liam Cox-Smith and graduate defenseman Nathan Cox.
Senior defenseman Connor Diem fired a rocket from the left point that whizzed past replacement goalie Michael Foglia into the top-left corner of the cage at the 3:43 mark. Then, with the Flames back on the power play, Munroe netted the first of his two power-play goals.
Stony Brook nearly got one goal back late in the second but was called for interference when a Seawolves player crashed into Kausch after he blocked his breakaway shot, and his teammate put away the putback in the left crease.
The Flames didn't take their foot off the gas pedal, capitalizing on back-to-back power plays early in the third period, with sophomore defenseman Michael Adamek taking a pass from Feamster at the top of the left circle and firing a shot past Foglio into the top-right corner. Then, after Finch was checked face-first into the boards, Debrito set up another 5-on-4 score by finding Munroe in the slot for a quick redirected shot that stretched the advantage to 8-2.
"Our special teams the last few games have been great," Handy said after Liberty killed off three of its four penalties.
The Flames, whose defense has been depleted by injuries, outshot Stony Brook 59-25 on the night, and Kausch made 23 saves in net.
"Hopefully, we get healthy," Handy said. "We've got a lot of banged-up bodies. We believe in every guy in that locker room. We believe in their abilities and what they can do for us. It's part of the grind of the season right now."
He commended Cox, a four-year veteran on the DI squad who started his final season of eligibility on the DII team.
"Cox played four games this weekend," Handy said. "He played two at Division II and two with us. He played fantastic. He scored three points in two games and was a good solid defenseman for us."
The Flames will look to extend their three-game winning streak when they travel to Niagara (N.Y.) University for games on Thursday and Friday at 3 p.m.
"We just continue to build," Handy said. "We're in the heart of the season now, and we're going to have to continue to get better. We have two practices this week and head to Buffalo on Wednesday."
The specialty jerseys the Flames sported for Saturday night's race against the Seahorses, complete with checkered flag stripes and official NASCAR logos, will be auctioned off through Friday.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
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