Fab Five: DI Flames’ leadership corps expands with three new alternate captains

DI men's hockey captains for 2026-27 season

Flames junior defenseman and alternate captain Nick Pomerleau (left) and senior forward and head captain Sam Feamster (right) will be complemented by junior forwards Mac Ratzlaff (second from left), Luke Munroe, and Tucker Shields as alternate captains next season. (Photo by Brett Berthiaume)

Fab Five: DI Flames’ leadership corps expands with three new alternate captains

5/12/2026 12:01:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey

Rising senior forwards Mac Ratzlaff, Tucker Shields, and Luke Munroe will complement returning head captain Sam Feamster, alternate Nick Pomerleau on the Division I men’s hockey team next season.

Liberty University's ACHA Division I men's hockey team is adding three more alternate captains to its leadership group for the 2026-27 season, complementing senior forward and third-year head captain Sam Feamster and junior defenseman and alternate captain Nick Pomerleau, who was promoted last spring.

Rising senior forwards Mac Ratzlaff, Tucker Shields, and Luke Munroe got the nod from Flames Head Coach Kirk Handy on Friday, bringing the team's total number of captains to five for the first time in recent history.

"At the end of the day, we're just trying to find some more help for Sam and for Nick," Handy said. "All three of these guys deserve it as well as other guys in here who weren't given an 'A' who are still leaders on our team. It puts us in a great spot as we look to next year and look to be the best version of Liberty Hockey that we can be."

Having four seniors to complement Feamster — who will return as a graduate student to start working toward his MBA in the fall — will help even the leadership load.

"It'll be good to expand that group, to have some senior leadership guys who have been on the team for a couple of years," Ratzlaff said. "Having more leaders to address problems will be very beneficial. Things come up throughout the year, good and bad, and it will be nice having a bigger group to help solve those problems."

Feamster is glad to have the three new alternate captains aboard, which will allow him to delegate more responsibility.

"It is definitely the biggest leadership group I've ever had on any team," he said. "It'll definitely be a different dynamic for me."

Molding and shaping new players coming in over the summer will be a key element of the new captains' job descriptions.

"We want to be establishing the culture, what Liberty stands for, from the very beginning, and we have a very senior leadership group that will be equipped to do that," Ratzlaff said.

"I am optimistic that having guys that live it out every day demonstrating it will be a really good group for the younger guys to follow," Feamster added. "It will be nice to have those guys be able to help with different responsibilities, from leading a team Bible study to having a conversation with certain guys. Each guy on the team relates to us differently and may be able to reach guys in a more effective way than we could."

Handy believes every returning team member can contribute to the Flames' collective success.

"All those guys have been here for a while, and they all know what it's going to take to win and to build our program on and off the ice," Handy said. "It just adds more, from a voice in the locker room to a voice off ice."

While Munroe transferred in as a junior last season from NCAA Division III SUNY Geneseo, Ratzlaff and Shields came in together in the same recruiting class before the 2024-25 season.

"Tucker and I see eye to eye, and we are hoping to bring some consistency with that," Ratzlaff said. "At the end of this past season, we finished up being on the same line with Sam, and we found some good chemistry there."

Ratzlaff said the Flames are focused on elevating their game across the board in the upcoming season.

"We have a vision for the team, which is consistent with the current vison and the Liberty mission of Training Champions for Christ, and guys who can establish that," he said. "Every guy on the team is a leader, and we want to be fostering an atmosphere where we are holding each other accountable. We've got our eyes fixed on a national championship. We want to practice so hard that games feel easy, and we want to be praying as a team with the Murdoch Cup at the end of the year."

Feamster is looking forward to one more chance to finish his career as a national champion.

"I am excited to come back for my last season and go out on a high note, hopefully," he said. "The biggest reason I wanted to come back is that I still have fire in me for the game of hockey. I still love the game, love the environment that Liberty provides. Being able to pursue a master's degree at the same time and to be able to play with my brother (sophomore defenseman Joe Feamster) one more year are really cool opportunities that were also big factors in my decision (to come back)."

He is fully supportive of the newcomers, and excited to see how far they can help carry the team next season.

"All three of those guys bring it every single day," Feamster said. "They compete hard in games, work hard in practice, and do the right things, and they've been doing it since they started on our team. They've earned the right to be leaders and are ready to take that role on. All three of those guys bring unique traits to our leadership group that will really help create a bigger momentum push in the direction that we want to go."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer