DIII Flames end Coastal Carolina curse to capture first ACCHL tournament

Friday, February 28

Winston-Salem, NC

6:00 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

ACCHL Conference Tournament

Flames DIII men's hockey graduate forward Michael Williams controls the puck against Coastal Carolina in a Feb. 8 meeting in the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photo by Ethan Smith)

DIII Flames end Coastal Carolina curse to capture first ACCHL tournament

3/4/2025 1:50:00 PM | Men's D3 Hockey

Liberty finished 3-0, dominating Appalachian State and York College before breaking open a 1-1 tie by scoring the only two goals of the third period in the final against the Chanticleers.

For the first time at the Division III level, Liberty University's AAU men's hockey team captured the ACCHL Tournament Championship with a 3-1 triumph over longtime rival Coastal Carolina in Sunday's final at the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Fairgrounds Annex.

The Flames had been eliminated by the Chanticleers at the tournament five seasons in a row from 2019-23, twice in Winston-Salem (2021 and 2023).

"We played really well, and pretty much controlled the whole Coastal game, even though we didn't get as many shots as we anticipated," Flames second-year Head Coach Josh Wagner said. "It's my first time going up against them in the finals, so I didn't know much about the bad blood between the teams, but I saw the emotion on a lot of the guys' faces afterward and they knew from the start they were going to get it done."

Despite being outshot in every period of the championship game and 40-26 overall, the Flames broke open a 1-1 tie with two unanswered goals in the third period, the last by senior forward Luke Bessire with 2:21 remaining in regulation, finishing a feed from sophomore forward Zachary Lemons.

Bessire also assisted sophomore forward Benjamin Semark's game-winning goal at the 14:28 mark of the third period, with a secondary assist from junior defenseman Ethan Locklear. Lemons netted the game's first goal unassisted with 11:12 remaining in the first period before Coastal Carolina answered with the equalizer by Owen O'Brien 1:42 later.

Flames senior goalie Kyle Wesbury made 39 saves to secure the victory.

"That senior group, including Luke Bessire and Kyle Wesbury, were all freshmen when I came in, so for all of those guys to finally be rewarded is super special," said former Flames DIII Head Coach Josh Graham, a Club Sports Holistic Development Coordinator who is now working as a video assistant coach with the DII men's team and watched Sunday's game. "I am super happy for the guys and pumped for Josh (Wagner) that they were able to get the job done, and to finally vanquish the demon of Coastal. Being ranked No. 1 in the nation after winning the conference tournament will give them added momentum and they should be juiced for nationals."

Liberty opened the tournament by shutting out Appalachian State, 6-0 on Friday, scoring four times on the power play, including three in the final five minutes of the first period. Freshman forward Josiah Martinez netted the first two goals, unassisted at the 4:36 mark and off assists from graduate forward Michael Williams and Locklear on the second with 2:01 to go.

Locklear converted the third off a feed from Williams before Lemons and sophomore forward Caleb Burchette scored with the teams at full strength in the second period. Williams capped the scoring on a power play off assists from Williams and Burchette midway through the third.
Liberty outshot the Mountaineers 52-34 and Wesbury made 34 saves to post his third shutout of the season.

Then, in Saturday's semifinal, the Flames dominated York (Pa.) College, 9-1, netting two goals in the first period, three in the second, and four in the third while sophomore goalie Trey Tompkins earned the win in net. Senior forward Kelly Stroik scored a hat trick and junior forward Thomas Mougin tallied two goals to spark the offense while Bessire, graduate defenseman Jordan Chamberlain, Burchette, and senior forward Ethan Dunn each added single scores.

Liberty (16-5) will be seeded No. 1 for the 12-team AAU DIII National Championships from March 18-25 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Flames will compete in the same Pool A as No. 6 St. John Fisher (N.Y.) University (17-3-1), No. 7 Rowan (14-4-4), and No. 12 Alvernia (Pa.) University (7-8-2).

"(Winning the ACCHL Championship) gives us a lot of motivation going into (AAU) Nationals," Wagner said. "The next few weeks is going to be about working on the small things. The guys know our systems, so it comes down to fine-tuning."

He realizes the stakes will be much higher than at the ACCHL Championships, and the learning curve will be steeper.

"Playoffs are different than the regular season and no matter what team you're playing, it's going to be a battle," Wagner said. "We're going to be good, and we'll be able to find some success down there."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer