DI, DII men’s hockey Head Coaches Handy, Garland join Rock the Rink podcast

Liberty University ACHA Division I and II men's hockey Head Coaches Kirk Handy and Christian Garland discussed offseason recruiting and the state of the two teams after graduating large classes of seniors on Rock the Rink's final podcast of the 2024-25 season.

The episode was streamed last week with interviews and commentary from co-hosts Rett McGibbon, Annie Cory, and Patrick Strawn, as well as analysis from ACHA Division II women's hockey Assistant Coach Justin Forth.

The four panelists discussed the upcoming DI men's hockey 2025-26 schedule before welcoming Handy to the set to talk about what it is like to coach the team while raising his four sons and how the offseason recruiting process works.

Handy's two oldest sons, Parker and Preston, served as on-ice clinicians during the Liberty Hockey Summer Camps in June.

"It's neat for them to give back and also neat for them to see how hockey can be used as a platform to make a difference," Handy said. "What skills can you learn … that you can apply to life once you're done playing hockey? And when you're playing hockey, how can we use the platform God's given us to honor Him? Sometimes that's serving; sometimes that's the way we play, the way we talk."

He said recruiting has changed dramatically in the past year since the rules changed, allowing Canadian Hockey League players to compete for NCAA Division I programs.

"That has caused a trickle-down effect to ACHA Division I and NCAA Division III," Handy said, noting he, Recruitment Coordinator Brett Berthiaume, and new Assistant Coach Ben Hughes have spent numerous hours on recruiting calls over the summer. "It's opened the possibilities up to us a whole lot more this year."

Former Flames players have made some of the best coaches for Liberty's program over the years, from women's hockey Division I and II Head Coaches Chris Lowes and Rena Leone to Handy, DI Assistant Coaches Jonathan Chung and Hughes, as well as Garland, his successor as DII Head Coach, and DIII Head Coach Josh Wagner.

"Those guys know and breathe and embody what Liberty's all about," Handy said. "When we bring in people who have been at Liberty and Liberty has made a difference in their own lives, it brings a lot of passion, a lot of energy, but it brings stability, and at the end of the day, that's what you look for. How can we continue to grow? One of the keys is not having turnover every year … and one of the key things you look for is 'Can they grow as a coach?'"

Garland, who has broadcast several DI men's hockey games for ESPN+, made his Rock the Rink podcast debut after being promoted from DII assistant to head coach. He talked about the reloading of the roster after graduating the nucleus of the past few seasons' teams.

"We lost so many pieces of what had been our core for the last three to five years, guys like Josh Harrell, Cooper Neal, Thomas Kayner, Lane Skon, Roman Lamoureux, Logan Johnson, and other guys, but after that (Liberty Hockey Select Camp in April), we got a bunch of really good players to come in and fill those voids and bring us up to the 25-man roster that we want to carry," he said. "We feel like a lot of those guys can have a heavy impact early on. Obviously, we've got to mold them the way we want them to play."

He said he will look to lead the program in the same manner Hughes did, especially over the past five seasons.

"We went from a team that kind of valued winning at all costs early on and transformed … to one where the off-ice wins are so much more important," Garland said of the cultural shift he and Hughes implemented. "You're not going to find too many people who are as competitive as we are out there in the world, but so much more matters than just winning on the ice. It's about changing lives and Training Champions for Christ, the mission of the school and pursuing that."

Garland noted the Flames will re-establish a rivalry with Virginia Tech this season, adding home and away series with the Hokies to help take the place of North Carolina State, North Carolina Chapel Hill, and Kentucky, which are moving up to the Division I ranks.

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

DI, DII men’s hockey Head Coaches Handy, Garland join Rock the Rink podcast

Players Mentioned

Logan Johnson

Thomas Kayner

Roman Lamoureux

Cooper Neal

Lane Skon

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