DIII men’s hockey reaches AAU Final Four for first time in program history

Thursday, March 12

Jacksonville, FL

3:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

High Point University Club Sports

Flames sophomore forward Aiden Hannegan controls the puck in front of senior forward Zachary Lemons in a game earlier this season at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photo by Ethan Smith)

DIII men’s hockey reaches AAU Final Four for first time in program history

3/13/2026 5:01:00 PM | Men's D3 Hockey

Liberty advanced with back-to-back 5-1 wins over ACCHL rival High Point (N.C.) on Thursday night and Fairfield (Conn.) on Friday afternoon.

Playing without senior forward and second-leading scorer Zachary Lemons in Friday afternoon's AAU National Championships quarterfinal against Fairfield (Conn.) University in Jacksonville, Fla., Liberty University's No. 1-seeded Division III men's hockey team manufactured goals from its defense and off turnovers to eliminate the Stags, 5-1.

The Flames advanced to Saturday's 8 p.m. semifinal against the winner out of the loser's bracket that will be determined after Friday night's and Saturday morning's contests. With a win in that game, they would advance to Sunday's 1 p.m. championship final. All games are being played in the Community First Igloo and streamed live online.

On Friday, freshman defenseman Nolan Scheetz gave Liberty (24-2) a 1-0 lead with 13:33 to play in the first period on a sharp-angled shot from the top of the right circle that ricocheted off the left post and into the back of the net.

Sophomore defenseman James Deubel doubled the advantage at the 9:30 mark with a shot through traffic from in the slot that may have deflected off a Fairfield defenseman.

Seconds after graduate forward Roman Lamoureux was leveled by a powerful check along the backboards, graduate defenseman Brayden Sheen launched a shot from the top of the left circle that freshman forward Luke Kim tipped from deep in the slot past Fairfield goalie Padraig Kirchner for a 3-0 advantage at the 11:13 mark of the second period.

The Stags (17-5) ended junior goalie Trey Thompkins' shutout bid with 2:36 left in the second period on a shot by Ryan Dinicola that sneaked under his blocker.

But Thompkins made several clutch saves in the first half of the third period, and the Flames all but iced the win on a steal by sophomore forward Will Blair deep in Fairfield's defensive zone and diving finish in the left crease by senior forward Kelly Stroik, his fifth goal of the tournament, with 7:58 remaining in regulation.

Then, with 3:51 to go, Lamoureux capitalized on another turnover by beating Kirchner one-on-one with a drive from the left wing before crossing through the slot and pocketing a backhand into the open net for the 5-1 final.

"We haven't faced a really, really solid team like that for a while, so it was good to see them rally and play three solid periods," Flames Head Coach Josh Wagner said. "The plan was to keep the pressure on, and we struggled a couple times in our D-zone. Overall, we gave them a couple chances, but for the most part, we battled through."

Liberty was coming off a 5-1 win over High Point in Thursday night's late second-round matchup, in which Lemons, second only to Lamoureux in scoring, was injured.

In that game, Stroik, who netted a hat trick in a 9-2 first-round rout of Buffalo State University, started the scoring with 9:10 remaining in the first period. Just 40 seconds later, Lamoureux, who scored twice against Buffalo State, doubled the Flames' advantage off an assist from Sheen.

Back-to-back goals by sophomore forward Josiah Martinez in a span of 3:20 off assists from senior forward Thomas Mougin doubled the lead again to 4-0 before the teams traded power-play goals, capped by sophomore forward Aiden Hannegan's shot off an assist from Lamoureux with 14:05 remaining in regulation.

Liberty outshot the Panthers 34-25, and Tompkins made 24 saves to secure the win.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer