Senior forward and head captain Sam Feamster lives for the Midnight Mayhem atmosphere in the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photos by Ryan Anderson)
Flames prepared to battle Blue Hens in clash of unbeaten former ESCHL foes
9/24/2025 4:33:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
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Liberty (4-0) anticipates another sell-out crowd for Friday night’s first of two Midnight Mayhem contest this semester in the series opener against Delaware (3-0).
Experiencing Midnight Mayhem for the first time can be a transformative moment in the career of a Liberty University ACHA Division I men's hockey freshman or transfer, with the fervid, late-night-approved fan base stoking the Flames to higher levels of intensity with every shift on the ice at the LaHaye Ice Center.
"I am so excited for the first Midnight game," Liberty senior forward and head captain Sam Feamster said of Friday's 11:59 p.m. series-opening showdown against the University of Delaware. "That's always a fun first game for the new guys, and even for the returners. The energy is always great there. For those freshmen coming in, and for (juniors Aidan) Karney and (Luke) Munroe, the transfer guys, that will be an interesting experience."
He said he and his returning teammates as well as the coaching staff will have the Flames fully focused for the midnight faceoff and make sure they stay vigilant through the early morning hours until the final buzzer sounds. They can expect a boost of adrenaline from playing the game they love at a time they would normally be dreaming of NHL stardom.
"We'll talk about how to prepare this week because it does change your pregame routine quite a bit with the five-hour time difference," Feamster said. "We'll give those guys the run-down and be ready to go come Midnight on Friday."
Against the former ESCHL rival Blue Hens, Feamster expects the Flames to face their best challenge to date after sweeping three games against ACHA Division I newcomers North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina over the past two weekends.
"They were at the national tournament last year and they're a team that always comes to work hard and can surprise you, so we've got to bring our best every shift against them," he said. "It will be our best opponent yet, competitively."
Scouting Preview, Games 5-6:Â University of Delaware (3-0) at No. 4 Liberty (4-0), Friday at 11:59 p.m., Saturday at 7 p.m. in the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Va. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
All-time series:Â Liberty leads 37-19-2, sweeping last season's series at the LIC on Oct. 4-5, 2024, after having its 21-game winning streak against the Blue Hens snapped in Newark, Del., in October 2023.
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Junior defenseman Nick Pomerleau tied his goal total from last season with his game winner against UNC to go along with his five assists.Liberty Scouting Report:Â Junior defenseman Nick Pomerleau still leads the Flames in scoring after equaling his goal total from last year with the game winner from the point before distributing his fifth assist of the season against UNC. He has some competition at the top of the scoring leader list now with Michael DeBrito, who netted a game-winner in overtime against NC State, adding another goal against the Tar Heels after fellow senior forward Ryan Finch started the scoring with a snipe from the high slot.
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Sophomore forward Liam Cox-Smith and Munroe are also tied for second in scoring as both have a goal and two assists.
Between the pipes, Liberty leans on junior Konrad Kausch (1-0, 0.00 goals-against average, 1.000 save percentage, 1 shutout against NC State), who also won the season-opening exhibition game against the West Chester (Pa.) Wolves' NCDC team, and senior Nick Bernstein (2-0, 1.50 GAA, 92.7 SP), who held UNC to a single goal last Friday.
On special teams, the Flames haven't played up to their normal standards so far this season, converting only 16.7 percent of their power-play opportunities while killing off only 72.7 percent of their penalties.
The Flames anticipate the return of sophomore forward Brad Barker, who missed the last two weekends while traveling with the U23 Canadian National Team to compete in the WBSC Men's Softball Americas Pan American qualifiers from Sept. 13-20 in Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina. There, Barker helped his team to a 5-2 silver medal showing to qualify for the April 25-May 3 World Cup in Sincelejo, Colombia.
"We're rooting on Brad, and he's been killing it out there in Argentina," Feamster said. "We can't wait to get him back on our hockey team, but in the meantime, he's a great softball pitcher."
Liberty lost sophomore forward Hayden DeMars to injury late in last Friday's game against the Tar Heels but is hopeful he will be back in action against the Blue Hens.
"He's tough and I'm sure he'll be ready to go on Friday against Delaware next weekend," Feamster said.
Delaware Scouting Report: As first-year members in the ACCHL, the Blue Hens are off to a fast start having outscored opponents 17-3 through their first three games, a 3-2 win over Penn State in a preseason showdown and 7-0, 7-0 sweep of Temple in a home-and-home series in Newark, Del., and Philadelphia, respectively.
Through three games, Delaware features 11 players who have scored multiple points, paced by forward Leighton Biesiadecki (4G, 3A) and defensemen Thomas Weeks (3G, 4A) and Daniel Burg (1G, 5A).
In net, the Blue Hens have platooned three goalies — Jacob Snellenburg (1-0, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 SP, 1 SO), Timothy Briley (1-0, 0.67 GAA, 96.2 SP, 1 SO), and Tyler Russell (1-0, 3.74 GAA, 86.7 SP) — with similar success.
The Blue Hens have won while showcasing discipline on the ice, accumulating an ACCHL-low 16 penalty minutes through three games.
 Coaches: Handy is in his 26th season as head coach of the Flames, sporting a career record of 565-228-38 and leading Liberty to three ACHA DI Final Four appearances in the past five seasons. Todd Middlemeier was promoted to Delaware's head coach in the middle of the 2018-19 season and has compiled a 118-82-11 record behind the bench in seven seasons since then.
