DII Flames honor seniors before besting Rowan, clinching autobid to March 14-18 nationals

Saturday, February 8

Lynchburg, VA

4:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Rowan University

Flames senior forward and head captain Josh Harrell arrives back on the bench during the Flames sweep of MSU-Denver Feb. 1 at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photo by Kendall Tidwell)

DII Flames honor seniors before besting Rowan, clinching autobid to March 14-18 nationals

2/12/2025 6:05:00 PM | Men's D2 Hockey

Liberty stayed at No. 2 in the final Southeast Region rankings to secure a free pass to St. Louis.

In its final regular-season contest, Liberty University's ACHA Division II men's hockey team outshot Rowan (N.J.) University by more than a 2-to-1 advantage (56-25) in a 4-1 victory on Saturday, Senior Night at the LaHaye Ice Center.

Before the game, the Flames (19-10-3) honored their nine seniors — forwards Eric Abbate, head captain Josh Harrell, Roman Lamoureux, Jared Matley, Corey Owens, and Luke Tucker, defensemen Logan Johnson and Dylan Kent, a graduate student, and goalie Lane Skon, who proceeded to make 24 saves to secure his 12th win of the season.

Junior forward and leading scorer Mark Padgett started the scoring midway through the first period with a fast-break short-side finish of assists from Matley, the Flames' second-leading scorer, and freshman forward Anthony Emme.

David Cutler netted the equalizer for the Profs (12-13-2) just over a minute into the second period before Kent scored the game winner by lifting a wrist shot from the left circle into the upper netting on a power play off assists from Johnson and Lamoureux at the 3:14 mark.

Finally in the third, Harrell added an insurance goal on a right-circle shot through the five hole with 11:56 remaining in regulation off assists from Lamoureux and junior forward Josh Martin before Lamoureux capped the scoring with a backhanded finish on a penalty shot after drawing a penalty from a Rowan defenseman on a breakaway with 9:03 to play.

Liberty found out this week that for the sixth season in a row it will receive one of two autobids as the No. 2-ranked team out of the Southeast Region to the March 14-18 ACHA DII National Championships near St. Louis. Florida Gulf Coast (22-7) secured the No. 1 seed.

First-round matchups for the Southeast Region tournament pit No. 10 Louisville against No. 11 North Carolina Chapel Hill; No. 9 reigning ACHA DII national champion Indiana against No. 12 Michigan; No. 8 Ohio against No. 13 Cincinnati; and No. 7 Miami (Ohio) University against No. 14 Rider. No. 3 Kentucky, No. 4 Penn State, No. 5 Virginia Tech, and No. 6 North Carolina State receive first-round byes, needing to win two games to secure a nationals bid, with the other teams needing three victories to advance.

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