DIII Flames sweep Coastal Carolina; set to host High Point in last series before ACCHL playoffs

Saturday, February 8

Lynchburg, VA

7:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Coastal Carolina University

Flames junior forward Thomas Mougin skates past a Coastal Carolina player in Saturday night's series opener at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photos by Ethan Smith)

DIII Flames sweep Coastal Carolina; set to host High Point in last series before ACCHL playoffs

2/11/2025 5:19:00 PM | Men's D3 Hockey

Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

Liberty outshot the Chanticleers in the opener, a 1-0 shootout win, before being outshot in the rematch, a 6-1 blowout.

Gallery: (2-11-2025) DIII men's hockey vs. Coastal Carolina

Playing on a short night's sleep after needing a shootout to clinch a 1-0 win late Saturday night, Liberty University's AAU Division III men's hockey team's offense was revitalized on Sunday afternoon, when the Flames completed a sweep of ACCHL rival Coastal Carolina with a 6-1 triumph at the LaHaye Ice Center.

Despite being outshot, 47-38, Liberty (11-5) stretched its winning streak to four games by netting three goals in the first period before adding one in the second and two in the third as senior goalie Kyle Wesbury made 46 saves to contain the Chanticleers (5-4).

Flames senior forward Luke Bessire started the scoring by finishing feeds from freshman defenseman Colin Bowman and sophomore forward Zach Lemons at the 10:23 mark.

Just 5:15 later, with Liberty on a power play, defenseman Ethan Locklear — a junior transfer from Appalachian State — netted his first goal for the Flames. His game winner came on a secondary putback of a shot by Bessire from the high slot, after sophomore forward Caleb Burchette rebounded the first in the right crease.

Then, with 37 seconds left in the period, senior forward Ethan Dunn finished another putback in the slot, this time after an initial shot by graduate forward Michael Williams in the right circle bounced off the pads of Coastal Carolina goalie Jack Shapiro.

Williams distributed his 16th assist on the season with the Flames back on a power play at the 11:36 mark of the second period, setting up sophomore defenseman Jared Meyer for a rocket of a wrist shot from near the blue line that jetted into the upper netting for a 4-0 Liberty lead.

Chanticleers forward Liam Walsh ended the shutout by stealing an outlet pass in the high slot and going in for a wrist shot over Wesbury's blocker, trimming the deficit to 4-1 with 5:22 left in the second period.

The Flames' defense kept Coastal at bay for the rest of the day while adding two unanswered goals in the third period — on a slap shot by senior defenseman Aaron Spuhler from the right point off a pass across the blue line from Bessire and a deflection in front by Locklear off Burchette's shot from the top of the right circle at the start of a power play.

On Saturday night, Liberty outshot the Chanticleers by a 47-28 margin only to be shut out through three periods and a five-minute overtime, as Flames sophomore goalie Trey Tompkins did to Coastal Carolina.

Connor Pacheco put the Chanticleers up 1-0 in the shootout before Lemons tied it up for Liberty, deking the puck in front before lifting a quick wrist shot inside the lower right post. After Coastal's Owen O'Brien hit the left post with his attempt that caromed across the cage behind Wesbury, Flames freshman forward Josiah Martinez netted the game winner past Shapiro inside the right post.
Liberty, ranked No. 4 in the ACCHL, drops the Chanticleers to No. 8 behind High Point, which it hosts in a regular-season-ending series Friday and Saturday at 10:15 p.m. at the LIC.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Videos edited by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media