Flames defenseman Nate Pomerleau gets between a Purple Eagles player and Flames goalie Konrad Kausch in last season's series at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photos by Simon Barbre)
No. 5-ranked Flames travel to Niagara to challenge pesky No. 8 Purple Eagles
10/29/2025 7:20:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
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Liberty lost back-to-back shootouts the last time it played in Dwyer Arena in 2024.
Off to its best start in program history, Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team remained at No. 5 in this week's ACHA DI rankings even after outscoring Stony Brook by 10 goals in a series sweep last weekend at the LaHaye Ice Center.Â
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For Thursday's and Friday's afternoon showdowns with former ESCHL and current independent rival Niagara University, the Flames will be shorthanded, playing without injured senior forward Ryan Finch, sophomore forward Mac Ratzlaff, and freshman defenseman Michael Fischer. Thankfully, they will return sophomore defenseman Joe Feamster off injured reserve. They also called up sophomore forward Cooper Fredericks from Liberty's Division II team that is idle the next two weekends.
Flames junior defenseman and alternate captain Nick Pomerleau said the team has been all business on this trip to upstate New York.
"We had a shorter week of practice, and the game days and times are definitely different, being earlier, so it's something we're going to adjust to and we'll see how it goes," he said. "Ultimately, our game day routine will just move back four hours or so to get a routine going earlier. Playing at 3 p.m., that is the time we usually practice, so it's not like we're not used to it."
Liberty knows the Purple Eagles are a dangerous team, as they proved by sweeping the Flames in shootouts last Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 in Dwyer Arena in Niagara, N.Y.
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Pomerleau skates past a Purple Eagles player in last January's home series.
"It's going to be a good test to play against a top team on the road, especially," Pomerleau said. "They're going to be a tough team to play against. We're going to have to continue to do what we're doing and keep improving on how we want to play. It's more on what we do and how we want to play. We want to keep improving each and every game and hopefully, we'll come out with two wins."
Pomerleau said a key to the Flames' recent success has been the performances of their penalty kill and power play units.
"Special teams have been doing well, especially as of late," he said. "Our whole back end has been doing well defensively, and we're all getting time on the penalty kill. What has been working is we've been really bought-in. We just want to keep getting better each day in practice and improving on the little things, ultimately, leading up to (the ACHA National Championships near St. Louis in) March. That is the goal."
As the Flames' top distributor for the second season in a row, Pomerleau said the offense is progressing even faster, as it demonstrated in scoring five goals in the second period of Saturday's second game against the Seawolves, when he totaled four assists in an 8-3 victory.
"We've been able to find scoring from a lot of places throughout our lineup, so everyone's really contributing to the success we've had," Pomerleau said. "No matter who's out there, we're finding a lot of good opportunities. Everyone's buying into the process of how we want to play, and when we do that, the results will come."
He said many of his assists have been secondary, triggering plays that result in high-percentage scoring chances.
"My job is to keep it simple and make the easy first-look pass from wherever I'm at, and guys have kind of been takinge it and putting them away," Pomerleau said. "We're just moving the puck very well, especially on the power play. We've been able to find guys in open areas and they've been able to put the puck in the back of the net."
As the only alternate captain serving in his first season in that capacity under senior forward and second-year head captain Sam Feamster, Pomerleau has filled a leadership role on and off the ice.
"There's a lot of leaders within the team that don't necessarily have letters on the jerseys," he said. "Ultimately, we all want to hold each other accountable within the room. Sam's just continuing to do so with all the guys this year, and I'm glad I've been able to help in doing that with him."
Scouting Preview, Games 13-14:Â No. 5 Liberty (11-1) at No. 11 Niagara (7-1), Thursday and Friday and 3 p.m. at Dwyer Arena, also home to the Purple Eagles' NCAA Division I program. Both games will be streamed live on FloHockey.
All-time series:Â Liberty still holds an 8-1-2 lead, even after being swept at Niagara last year at this time.
Liberty Scouting Report:Â Senior forward Michael DeBrito (6 goals, 9 assists) and Pomerleau (1G, 14A) lead the team in scoring, followed closely by senior forward Ryan Finch (9G, 5A) and junior forward Luke Munroe (8G, 6A).
The Flames have had five times more special teams opportunities than Niagara, which has only been on the power play and penalty kill eight times each, converting three goals and allowing one, respectively. Liberty, meanwhile, has improved both its power-play (13 out of 45, 28.9) and penalty kill (33 out of 40, 82.5) percentages in recent series.Â
In goal, Liberty senior Nick Bernstein (5-0, 1.80 goals-against average, 92.3 save percentage) has earned his share of starts from junior standout Konrad Kausch (5-1, 2.44 GAA, 88.7 SP, 1 shutout).
Niagara Scouting Report:  The Purple Eagles' attack is paced by forward Charlie Belanger (7G, including 2 game-winning goals, 5A), and three defensemen — Alex Little (2G, 7A), Dean Taylor (1G, 6A), and Seth Coulter (7A).
In net, Niagara has successfully platooned Jacob Dubinsky (4-0, 0.50 GAA, 97.1 SP, 2 SO) and Jackson Pundyk (2-0, 1.49 GAA, 94.9 SP, 1 SO).
Coaches:Â Handy is in his 26th season as head coach for the Flames, sporting a career record of 572-229-38. Tom Mooradian is in his sixth season at the Purple Eagles' helm and boasts an 88-33-6 mark.
