Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Wednesday, March 11
Jacksonville, FL
Liberty University Club Sports
at
AAU Nationals
Flames senior forward Kelly Stroik, shown skating against Middle Tennessee State at the LaHaye Ice Center, netted a hat trick against Buffalo State University in Wednesday night's first round of the AAU National Championships in Jacksonville, Fla. (Photo by Simon Barbre)
DIII Flames dominate Buffalo State in AAU National Championships opener in Florida
3/12/2026 9:44:00 AM | Men's D3 Hockey
Liberty will meet High Point in Thursday night’s second round of the 17-team, double-elimination tournament.
Seeded No. 1 for the second year in a row at the AAU National Championships, Liberty University's Division III men's hockey team scored three goals in all three periods of a 9-2 victory over Buffalo State (N.Y.) University in Wednesday night's late game at the Community First Igloo in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Bengals were playing their second game in less than 12 hours after netting five goals in the third period to upend No. 16 Alvernia (Pa.) University, 9-6, on Wednesday morning.
The Flames (22-2) advance to face High Point (N.C.) University, a 13-7 winner over Columbia (N.Y.) University, on Thursday at 8 p.m. In the regular season, Liberty won two out of three games against the Panthers from Nov. 20-22, dropping the opener 5-4 before winning the second game 6-2 and the third 8-0.
The Flames opened a 3-0 lead on Buffalo State in the first period before allowing the Bengals to score twice in the final 5:35 to draw within 3-2. Liberty responded with three more goals in the second period to put the game away.
Kelly Stroik netted a hat trick, scoring a goal in each period, and fellow senior forward Zach Lemons and graduate forward Roman Lamoureux both scored twice for the Flames. Lemons scored once in the first and second periods and Lamoureux sandwiched two power-play goals around Stroik's third score at even strength in the third. Freshman forward Luke Kim netted the second goal in the first period and sophomore forward William Blair the third in the second.
Liberty outshot the Bengals 44-25 and sophomore goalie Hunter Chubb made 23 saves to earn the win in net.
Livestreams of all games in the AAU National Championships are available online.
The Bengals were playing their second game in less than 12 hours after netting five goals in the third period to upend No. 16 Alvernia (Pa.) University, 9-6, on Wednesday morning.
The Flames (22-2) advance to face High Point (N.C.) University, a 13-7 winner over Columbia (N.Y.) University, on Thursday at 8 p.m. In the regular season, Liberty won two out of three games against the Panthers from Nov. 20-22, dropping the opener 5-4 before winning the second game 6-2 and the third 8-0.
The Flames opened a 3-0 lead on Buffalo State in the first period before allowing the Bengals to score twice in the final 5:35 to draw within 3-2. Liberty responded with three more goals in the second period to put the game away.
Kelly Stroik netted a hat trick, scoring a goal in each period, and fellow senior forward Zach Lemons and graduate forward Roman Lamoureux both scored twice for the Flames. Lemons scored once in the first and second periods and Lamoureux sandwiched two power-play goals around Stroik's third score at even strength in the third. Freshman forward Luke Kim netted the second goal in the first period and sophomore forward William Blair the third in the second.
Liberty outshot the Bengals 44-25 and sophomore goalie Hunter Chubb made 23 saves to earn the win in net.
Livestreams of all games in the AAU National Championships are available online.
Players Mentioned
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