Flames senior forward Ryan Finch battles a Utah player for the puck during the team's first-ever meeting Oct. 3, 2025, at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photos by Emily Cuthrell and Ethan Smith)
Flames oust Utes in ACHA DI National Championships opener near St. Louis
3/14/2026 3:25:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
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No. 5 Liberty opened a 3-0 lead on No. 12 Utah before holding on for a 3-2 triumph to improve to 3-0 this season against the Utes.
Liberty University's No. 5-seeded ACHA Division I men's hockey team opened a three-goal lead on No. 12 University of Utah before holding on for a 3-2 triumph in Saturday's National Championships opener at Centene Community Ice Center's USA Arena in Maryland Heights, Mo.
"It was a little tighter at the end than we wanted, but that's part of the fun of this time of the year," Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "Games are going to go right down to the wire. I didn't think it was our best performance, but we were able to get the job done. There's always going to be a bit of nerves in the first game, with it being a lot of guys' first times here at nationals, but they were able to get through their nerves and work hard." Sophomore forward Liam Cox-Smith scored the Flames' first goal against the Utes in Saturday's ACHA Division I National Championships.
Sophomore forward Kal Essenmacher set up the Flames' first goal with a pass to freshman forward Tanner Hunt along the back boards. Hunt controlled the puck before assisting sophomore forward Liam Cox-Smith with a feed into the right circle for a one-timed finish at the 5:53 mark of the first period.
Then, with 3:15 to play in the period, junior forward Luke Munroe skated the puck along the left boards before sending a crossing pass back to freshman defenseman Shane Burns in the right circle. His shot was blocked by Utah goalie Garrett Fuller, but Flames senior forward Ryan Finch gathered the rebound in the right crease and fired a fadeaway shot into the back of the net for a 2-0 advantage. Liberty senior forward and head captain Sam Feamster scored the third goal for the Flames 4:34 into the second period.
Sophomore forward Tucker Shields sparked a Liberty counterattack with 15:26 left in the second period by intercepting a puck and driving along the right boards. He pivoted and dished the puck to senior forward and head captain Sam Feamster for a one-timed wrist shot from the top of the right circle that ripped into the upper netting, popping the water bottle off the top of the cage for a 3-0 advantage.
"Those were timely goals that helped us," Handy said. "We had nine different players contribute to our three goals. We have had a balanced scoring attack all year."
The Utes ended junior Konrad Kausch's shutout bid in net on a wraparound goal by leading scorer Paul Waldhauser with 10:39 to play in the second period.
In the final 4:30, Kausch made two saves of driving right-circle shots by Waldhauser before Gion Coray capitalized on a power play with a shot from the high slot that sneaked past a screen in front to trim the deficit to 3-2 with 3:25 remaining in regulation. Junior goalie Konrad Kausch made 30 saves in the 3-2 triumph Saturday.
The Utes pulled Fuller for the final 1:03 to gain a man advantage and pressured Liberty's cage, with Kausch and the Flames withstanding a last-second scare when the puck bounced over his stick as he attempted to clear it from along the backboards. A Utah player nearly snuck it past him from near the left post before Kausch smothered it and Feamster cleared it out as time expired. An official's review confirmed that the puck had not crossed the plane of the goal line.
"It was a little tight there at the end," Handy said. "We know it's not always going to be easy, but we've just got to stick with it and get the job done."
The Flames (20-10-2) outshot Utah (16-10-1 by a 37-30 margin, and Kausch made 30 saves. Liberty reached the 20-win mark for the third season in a row.
The win sets up a rematch of last season's Final Four clash with No. 4 UNLV in Sunday's 11:15 a.m. EST quarterfinal contest. Last March, Liberty opened a 2-0 lead on the Rebels early in the second period before allowing them to net five unanswered goals in the final 10 minutes of a 5-2 setback.
"We got the first-game jitters out of our system, and now we're getting ready for a big game tomorrow against UNLV," Handy said. "That's one game down and we're not so much concerned about the other team; we're just focused on being the best version of our team that we can be this year. At the end of the day, we're just focused on playing well, continuing to build through this tournament. We understand what it's going to take, and that we're going to have to be a whole lot better tomorrow than we were today if we're going to get it done."
The entire tournament schedule is available online. All games in the ACHA National Championships are being live streamed through FloHockey.
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterFinch (20), fellow senior forward Michael DeBrito (on ice), and Cox-Smith mix it up with the Utes around their cage during an Oct. 3 game.
