Flames doused by reigning DI national champion Rebels in quarterfinals, 7-3

Sunday, March 15

St. Louis, MO

11:15 AM EST

Liberty University Club Sports

UNLV

Flames head captain Sam Feamster and fellow senior forward Tucker Shields (11) are involved in a scrum in front of UNLV's cage that also took out two officials. (Photos by Noah Seidlitz)

Flames doused by reigning DI national champion Rebels in quarterfinals, 7-3

3/15/2026 8:03:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

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Liberty battled from a 5-1 deficit to pull within 5-3 early in the third period but couldn’t complete its bid to reach its fourth Final Four in the past six seasons.

For the third time in the past five seasons, Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team was eliminated by No. 4 University of Nevada-Las Vegas near St. Louis, falling 7-3 in Sunday's quarterfinals in the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.

The fifth-ranked Flames (20-11-2) were denied by the reigning ACHA DI national champion Rebels (29-6-2) an opportunity to advance to their fourth Final Four in the past six seasons.

"Those guys played well," Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy said. "We have to give them credit. I believe in our team and what we're doing, but in a one-game series, they were ultimately the better team today, and they move on and we don't."

UNLV was playing without defenseman and head captain Joe Carollo, who was injured in Friday's 3-2 overtime win over Grand Canyon University, but other defensemen accounted for three of its first four goals.

With the Flames and Rebels skating 4-on-4, freshman forward Bronson Hunt made two steals in the defensive zone that led to quality scoring chances by freshmen defensemen Shane Burns and Jentzen Kaebel on fast breaks, stopped by UNLV goalie Douglas Wakelyn (33 saves).

After a reset and fast break, Rebels' defenseman Mario DiMaggio gave UNLV an early 1-0 lead by skating the puck into the left circle and slipping a shot through the five-hole of Flames junior goalie Konrad Kausch at the 13:04 mark.

Liberty nearly capitalized on a power play when sophomore forward Kal Essenmacher struck the crossbar with a slapshot from the top of the left circle and lifted another shot just high from deep in the slot.

Back at full strength, UNLV struck again when DiMaggio cleared the puck out of the defensive corner up to Caleb Strong along the left boards. His crossing pass deflected off the stick of Charlie Masek to freshman forward and second-leading scorer Luke Backel as he skated through the right circle. Backel cruised into the right crease before finishing inside the right post, doubling the Rebels' advantage to 2-0 with 7:19 left in the first period.

Wakelyn stopped quality power-play shots by senior forward Tucker Shields and Burns in the right circle and a wraparound follow by senior forward and head captain Sam Feamster wide of the left post before senior forward Aidan Carney put away the putback off a shot by Finch near the left post, cutting the deficit to 2-1 at the 4:55 mark.

Kausch made a clutch save of Masek's fast-break shot in the right crease off a crossing pass from forward Justin Stathopoulos. Then, early in the second period, senior forward Hayden DeMars launched a laser from the high slot that glanced off the crossbar.

Given the reprieve, the Rebels capitalized when DiMaggio skated down the left wing and scored on a wraparound putback of his own blocked shot at the 16:05 mark, stretching the lead to 3-1.

Moments later, Kausch made a cartwheel-like save of a 2-on-1 opportunity by the Rebels, who quickly regrouped and went back on attack with freshman defenseman Asher Wites taking a pass from forward Dylan Jensen and ripping a wide-open slapshot from the left circle past Kausch into the top-left corner of the cage for a 4-1 advantage.

With UNLV on a power play midway through the period, Backel hit the crossbar with a shot before Kausch gambled as the penalty was winding down, losing the puck to DiMaggio while trying to clear it from behind the cage. That allowed forward Tristan Rand to finish a wraparound past Shields at the left post for a commanding 5-1 lead with 8:54 to play in the period.

This prompted Liberty to replace Kausch (23 saves, 5 goals allowed) with senior goalie Nick Bernstein (17S, 1GA), who repelled a series of shots after a successful penalty kill.

As the teams skating 4-on-4 following a reset by junior defenseman and alternate captain Nick Pomerleau, Burns blasted a slapshot past Wakelyn off assists from Finch and Munroe with 28.5 seconds to play in the period, trimming the deficit to 5-2 going into the second intermission.

UNLV outshot the Flames 23-11 in the second period and 47-39 for the game, but Liberty carried a bit of momentum going into the final stanza. It got right back into the game when Munroe took outlet passes from Finch and Burns and ripped a wrist shot from the top of the left circle past Wakelyn just 13 seconds after the third-period faceoff.

"I was proud of our guys," Handy said. "They didn't give up at all. When it looked like it was over, down 5-1, they battled through adversity. At a moment when most people would give up and see no chance of winning, our guys continued to dig in and give the effort that God requires us to give."

"When we score that goal to make it 5-2 with 28 seconds to go in the second period and score again 13 seconds into the third to make it 5-3, we're thinking, 'We're back in this thing,'" he added. "We had some good opportunities."

However, moments after a successful penalty kill by the Flames, the Rebels answered on a quick counterattack triggered by Brady Estabrook. He skated past a Liberty defenseman and set up Jensen for a point-blank finish past Bernstein as he crashed into the right crease, padding the advantage to 6-3 with 13:27 remaining in regulation.

Just over 10 minutes later, after Liberty pulled Bernstein for the man advantage, Strong iced the victory with an empty netter off a long outlet pass from DiMaggio with 3:20 to go.

Handy said even in defeat, Liberty's effort would have pleased founding Chancellor Dr. Jerry Falwell, who was known for saying, "Never, never quit."

"It is so easy to give up when things aren't going your way, but we want to establish a pattern for our lives, to use opportunities to not give up and continue to persevere," he said.

Handy said the Flames are knocking on the door of competing for their first national championship in program history, and they will be rewarded if they are not derailed by disappointments and setbacks.

"We're real close," he said, noting with several players eligible to graduate early, he is not yet sure who from this year's roster will return for another year. "We've got to go back and reevaluate things, to figure out what players it's going to take to push us over the top, and what we need to improve. There are positives we can take out of this year as we get our game plan here for next year."
Though they didn't advance as far as they would have liked in the national tournament, Handy said their season was still a resounding success.

"Our goal is to win a national championship every year, and when you don't, it stings," he said. "But our bigger purpose is to train up Champions for Christ, future husbands and leaders and fathers who will make a difference in the world. That's our passion, and our mission. God has blessed us with opportunities to take another trip to Finland and play top-level teams to develop character within our team. We can do that and win the national championship. It didn't happen this year, but it will one day."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer

Gallery: (3-15-2026) Liberty DI men's hockey vs. UNLV