DIII men’s hockey team returns from Austria, starts semester with sweep of ACHA power MTSU

Friday, January 16

Lynchburg, VA

4:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Middle Tennessee

Freshman forward Parker Smith helps out in the defensive zone in Friday's opener against Middle Tennessee State University at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photo by Simon Barbre)

DIII men’s hockey team returns from Austria, starts semester with sweep of ACHA power MTSU

1/22/2026 9:53:00 AM | Men's D3 Hockey

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Liberty (13-2), ranked No. 1 in AAU Division III, is looking to defend its ACCHL tournament title from Feb. 27-March 1 at the LaHaye Ice Center.

Gallery: (1-21-2026) DIII men's hockey vs. Middle Tennessee

Less than a week after eight of its players returned from Austria, where they represented the ACCHL on an All-Star team coached by Flames Head Coach Josh Wagner, Liberty University's Division III men's hockey team opened its spring semester by sweeping Middle Tennessee State University on Friday and Saturday afternoons in offensive-oriented battles at the LaHaye Ice Center.

The series pitted the reigning ACCHL conference champion Flames — the No. 1-ranked team in AAU Division III — against the Blue Raiders (16-4), one of the top teams in ACHA Division DIII. Liberty rallied from deficits to record game-winning and empty-net insurance goals late in the third period of both games, snapping MTSU's 16-game winning streak.

The Flames (13-2) allowed four straight goals at the start of the third period to fall behind 7-6 before scoring three unanswered goals in the final 3:30 of regulation, including an empty-netter by sophomore forward Aiden Hannegan that completed his hat trick with 29 seconds remaining. Graduate forward Roman Lamoureux assisted that goal 15 seconds after senior defenseman Ethan Locklear's unassisted score proved to be the game-winner.

"It was pretty crazy," Wagner said. "They beat us twice when we played them last year, when we had a bunch of injuries, so this year, it was good to come back and sweep them."

MTSU started the scoring with a power-play goal 1:46 into the first period before back-to-back goals by sophomore forward Josiah Martinez and Lamoureux in a span of 19 seconds lifted the Flames to a 2-1 lead with 16:07 remaining.

Hannegan gave the Flames a 3-2 lead with his first goal with 16:26 to play in the second period before Martinez made it 4-2 with his second score, assisted by junior defenseman MacGuire Graham, at the 12:55 mark.

The Blue Raiders' Yuli Lima trimmed the deficit to 4-3 with an unassisted goal at the 7:28 mark of the second period before Liberty scored twice in the final 1:38 of the frame — by Hannegan off assists from Lamoureux and freshman forward Luke Kim and Kelly Stroik unassisted — to stretch the edge to 6-3.

In Saturday's rematch, Liberty trailed 3-1 early in the third period before erupting for four unanswered goals down the stretch. Flames freshman forward Jace Nakamura started the scoring midway through the first period off an assist from freshman forward Parker Smith before MTSU outscored its hosts 3-0 over the next 23:05.

Senior forward Zach Lemons assisted goals by Ethan Barber, Aiden Dixon on a power play (the game-winner), and Stroik on an empty netter down the stretch, with Lamoureux netting the tying score unassisted.

After matching the Blue Raiders' total with 41 shots in the opener, Liberty outshot its guests, 39-33, in the rematch, with junior goalie Trey Tompkins making 30 saves.

Wagner said returning to the United States after playing overseas — where the ACCHL All-Stars lost four competitive games against Austrian and Slovakian U20 teams and won one against a Canadian U20 academy team — helped reset the Flames' attack.

"They played a very different game over there," Wagner said. "It was a lot less physical but a lot faster, and all the games were played on Olympic-sized ice. It made the game here slow down, and we can be a very dominant offensive team."

Flames players — Locklear, Lemons, Martinez, Stroik, Tompkins, junior defenseman Jared Meyer, and senior forward Thomas Mougin — scored nine of the ACCHL All-Star team's 12 goals. The rest of the team made up of players from the University of Alabama, Catholic (D.C.) University, the College of Charleston (S.C.), the University of Georgia, Stevenson (Md.) University, and York (Pa.) University.

This weekend, Liberty's scheduled series at Wake Forest (N.C.) University was canceled by the impending snowstorm that is expected to blanket North Carolina and Virginia. The Flames will host UNC Charlotte (Jan. 30-31) and Virginia Tech (Feb. 7-8) before traveling to Coastal Carolina (Feb. 14-15) and hosting the ACCHL Tournament from Feb. 27-March 1.
"It will be a hard fight, but we have the potential to win out this semester," Wagner said.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer