The Flames have eight new players on their 25-man 2025-26 roster. (Photo by Simon Barbre)
Flames fired up to skate with NCDC Wolves in Friday night’s exhibition opener
9/4/2025 9:53:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
Liberty will get a first gauge on its 2025-26 season when it opens its challenging schedule against the college developmental program from West Chester, Pa.
Practices have heated up for Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team this week as the Flames intensify preparations for Friday's 7 p.m. exhibition opener in the LaHaye Ice Center against the West Chester (Pa.) Wolves' NCDC team.
"It's been great so far," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "We've got a really hungry group, and they're competing hard in practice. Right now, it's all about us as a group getting better, and trying to compete and be at our potential. That's our driving force right now: How can we continue to push every day to be all that God wants us to be?"
Liberty is coming off its third ACHA Division I National Championship Final Four appearance in five seasons last March near St. Louis, where the Flames led UNLV early in the third period of their semifinal showdown before being eliminated by the eventual national champion Rebels.
The Flames returned the nucleus of that team and have added eight recruits to the roster, which is at least as deep and talented as last season's squad.
"You start to have a good core group of guys who are able to find out what it's going to take at the end of the year to be successful," Handy said. "A lot of those guys have come back with a renewed sense of enthusiasm for what the road map has to look like moving forward and where we have to be at the end of the year. Our guys are focused on whatever it's going to take to get the job done."
The team returns 17 players, including 10 back from breakout first seasons with the program — sophomore forwards Brad Barker, Kal Essenmacher, Tucker Shields, and Liam Cox-Smith and defenseman Michael Adamek and Joe Feamster, junior forwards Hayden DeMars and Mac Ratzlaff and goalie Konrad Kausch, and senior forward Michael DeBrito.
Returning junior forward and head captain Sam Feamster will be complemented by junior defenseman and alternate captain Nick Pomerleau, who also serves as one of the team's five Disciple Makers along with Ratzlaff, Shields, junior defenseman Luke Anderson, and senior forward Ryan Finch.
"Our captains have done a great job, along with our five spiritual leaders, and it's been a great start to the year," said Handy, who took his team to Stone Ridge mansion in nearby Appomattox County for a retreat last Thursday. "We're building relationships with one another and trying to be really intentional with the time we're spending together."
Mason Smith returns looking to build on a breakout season alongside fellow junior forward Luke Monroe, a transfer from NCAA Division III SUNY-Geneseo, and Aidan Carney, a senior transfer from NCAA Division I Maine.
"We added to our forward group up front with the guys we brought in, added some more depth up there and interchangeable parts, and on the back end, we added three left-handed defensemen," Handy said, referring to Michael Fischer, a freshman recruit from Ontario; Connor Diem, a senior call-up from the Flames' DII team; and Jentzen Kaebel, the younger cousin of former defenseman Laz Kaebel, who is now playing in the ECHL.
Kausch (15-3-2, 2.12 goals-against average, 94.0 save percentage, 3 shutouts in 2024-25) will again platoon with senior goalie Nick Bernstein (7-3-3, 2.75 GAA, 92.1 SP, 2 SO) with additional defensive support from graduate defenseman Reid Bogenholm.
"The one thing I love about our team is we have a lot of depth, and no matter who's in the lineup, we expect them to play the way that we want to play and compete to compete to the level that we want to compete," Handy said. "Because of that, top to bottom we are a lot stronger, and I think we're going to see a whole lot better push from our guys."
Following Friday night's opener, which will be broadcast by student-run Liberty Broadcast Experience (LBX) and streamed live on ESPN+, the Flames will start ACHA Division I play with three games against former Division II programs North Carolina State (in Raleigh, N.C., on Sept. 12 and Lynchburg on Sept. 13) and UNC Chapel Hill (at the LIC on Sept. 19).
"Growing hockey in the South has been important to us and we'd love to see it continue to grow," Handy said. "West Chester will give us a good test from the get-go and then having a home-and-home against NC State will get us on the road together as a group, which is a positive thing and will allow us to launch out the season well. The close proximity of NC State and UNC will be awesome."
The Flames' fall slate features a first-ever series against Utah and the first of two series this season against Adrian in October, a home series against Jamestown (N.D.) and showcase at Maryville in November, and a home series against Minot State in December.
"We've got a really strong schedule, and that's the way we like it," Handy said. "Our focus is on starting with the end of the year in mind and working together every day to make sure that our process is being executed each day to get us an opportunity to compete at the end of the year. That's where our focus is on every day."
As deep as the Flames now are among the D corps and in net, Handy believes the strength of the team currently lies in its forward lines, which are still a work in progress.
"We'll play around with them a bit, (but) we're going to keep Tucker (Shields') line with DeMars, and Cox-Smith together," Handy said. "Those guys were a big driving force for us offensively last year."
"I feel really good about all four of our four lines," he added. "We've got some really unique abilities with them to do a lot of different things. We've picked up some nice size, some guys on the back end that can really help us out. We've also picked up some more speed. Overall, our speed up front has continued to increase the last couple years."
He said the combination of size and speed will make the Flames a formidable opponent.
"We want to get pucks up to our forwards," Handy said. "We have a great goaltender on the back end, and we want our D to be able to move the puck up there and let our forwards do their thing."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
"It's been great so far," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "We've got a really hungry group, and they're competing hard in practice. Right now, it's all about us as a group getting better, and trying to compete and be at our potential. That's our driving force right now: How can we continue to push every day to be all that God wants us to be?"
Liberty is coming off its third ACHA Division I National Championship Final Four appearance in five seasons last March near St. Louis, where the Flames led UNLV early in the third period of their semifinal showdown before being eliminated by the eventual national champion Rebels.
The Flames returned the nucleus of that team and have added eight recruits to the roster, which is at least as deep and talented as last season's squad.
"You start to have a good core group of guys who are able to find out what it's going to take at the end of the year to be successful," Handy said. "A lot of those guys have come back with a renewed sense of enthusiasm for what the road map has to look like moving forward and where we have to be at the end of the year. Our guys are focused on whatever it's going to take to get the job done."
The team returns 17 players, including 10 back from breakout first seasons with the program — sophomore forwards Brad Barker, Kal Essenmacher, Tucker Shields, and Liam Cox-Smith and defenseman Michael Adamek and Joe Feamster, junior forwards Hayden DeMars and Mac Ratzlaff and goalie Konrad Kausch, and senior forward Michael DeBrito.
Returning junior forward and head captain Sam Feamster will be complemented by junior defenseman and alternate captain Nick Pomerleau, who also serves as one of the team's five Disciple Makers along with Ratzlaff, Shields, junior defenseman Luke Anderson, and senior forward Ryan Finch.
"Our captains have done a great job, along with our five spiritual leaders, and it's been a great start to the year," said Handy, who took his team to Stone Ridge mansion in nearby Appomattox County for a retreat last Thursday. "We're building relationships with one another and trying to be really intentional with the time we're spending together."
Mason Smith returns looking to build on a breakout season alongside fellow junior forward Luke Monroe, a transfer from NCAA Division III SUNY-Geneseo, and Aidan Carney, a senior transfer from NCAA Division I Maine.
"We added to our forward group up front with the guys we brought in, added some more depth up there and interchangeable parts, and on the back end, we added three left-handed defensemen," Handy said, referring to Michael Fischer, a freshman recruit from Ontario; Connor Diem, a senior call-up from the Flames' DII team; and Jentzen Kaebel, the younger cousin of former defenseman Laz Kaebel, who is now playing in the ECHL.
Kausch (15-3-2, 2.12 goals-against average, 94.0 save percentage, 3 shutouts in 2024-25) will again platoon with senior goalie Nick Bernstein (7-3-3, 2.75 GAA, 92.1 SP, 2 SO) with additional defensive support from graduate defenseman Reid Bogenholm.
"The one thing I love about our team is we have a lot of depth, and no matter who's in the lineup, we expect them to play the way that we want to play and compete to compete to the level that we want to compete," Handy said. "Because of that, top to bottom we are a lot stronger, and I think we're going to see a whole lot better push from our guys."
Following Friday night's opener, which will be broadcast by student-run Liberty Broadcast Experience (LBX) and streamed live on ESPN+, the Flames will start ACHA Division I play with three games against former Division II programs North Carolina State (in Raleigh, N.C., on Sept. 12 and Lynchburg on Sept. 13) and UNC Chapel Hill (at the LIC on Sept. 19).
"Growing hockey in the South has been important to us and we'd love to see it continue to grow," Handy said. "West Chester will give us a good test from the get-go and then having a home-and-home against NC State will get us on the road together as a group, which is a positive thing and will allow us to launch out the season well. The close proximity of NC State and UNC will be awesome."
The Flames' fall slate features a first-ever series against Utah and the first of two series this season against Adrian in October, a home series against Jamestown (N.D.) and showcase at Maryville in November, and a home series against Minot State in December.
"We've got a really strong schedule, and that's the way we like it," Handy said. "Our focus is on starting with the end of the year in mind and working together every day to make sure that our process is being executed each day to get us an opportunity to compete at the end of the year. That's where our focus is on every day."
As deep as the Flames now are among the D corps and in net, Handy believes the strength of the team currently lies in its forward lines, which are still a work in progress.
"We'll play around with them a bit, (but) we're going to keep Tucker (Shields') line with DeMars, and Cox-Smith together," Handy said. "Those guys were a big driving force for us offensively last year."
"I feel really good about all four of our four lines," he added. "We've got some really unique abilities with them to do a lot of different things. We've picked up some nice size, some guys on the back end that can really help us out. We've also picked up some more speed. Overall, our speed up front has continued to increase the last couple years."
He said the combination of size and speed will make the Flames a formidable opponent.
"We want to get pucks up to our forwards," Handy said. "We have a great goaltender on the back end, and we want our D to be able to move the puck up there and let our forwards do their thing."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
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