Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
(Graphics by Andy Lewis)
DI men’s hockey schedule will test Flames’ mettle against ACHA’s best
6/8/2026 3:30:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey
Liberty will play four games against both national finalists and Niagara, three Midnight Mayhem contests, and its first-ever outdoor game, Jan. 8 vs. NC State in Charlotte.
Overall, the Flames, who finished 20-13 and ranked No. 5 in the ACHA DI ranks last season, will play 22 of their 34 games in the friendly confines of the LaHaye Ice Center as they seek to return to the Centene Community Ice Center near St. Louis for the March 11-16, 2027, National Championships for the 11th time in a row.
"We are super excited for next year," said Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy, who is entering his 27th season at the helm. "It is an awesome schedule and gives our guys a chance to compete night-in and night-out. Every year we want to have one of the best schedules in the country and to give our guys the chance to be the best they can be. It is a fantastic schedule, and it gives us the opportunity to compete with the nation's best."
Starting with eight straight home games, Liberty will open its season on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, facing the West Chester (Pa.) Wolves' NCDC team that it defeated 4-1 to start the 2025-26 season. It will then face reigning ACHA Division II national champion Florida Gulf Coast University on Sept. 18 before playing a home and home series at North Carolina State on Sept. 25 and against the Icepack in the LIC on Sept. 26. The Flames will meet NC State for a third time in a unique setting, opening the new year with an outdoor classic on Jan. 8, 2027, at Truist Stadium, home of the Charlotte (N.C.) Knights AAA minor league baseball team.
"That's huge, massive for us," Handy said. "It's a great opportunity where we're going to work with our alumni association" to build the regional fan base.
Liberty will play eight opponents and a total of 23 of its 34 games against teams that finished the 2025-26 season ranked in the ACHA DI Top 25, starting with hosting No. 15 Arizona on Oct. 2-3.
Liberty's first road trip of the season won't be until Fall Break, Oct. 15-16, when it travels to Adrian, which lost its bid for a fourth national title in nine years by falling in the final to Ohio. The Bobcats tied Penn State University for the ACHA DI record with their fifth national title, their first in 22 years.
The Flames will return to the LIC to host Drury — which ranked one spot behind them at No. 6 in the final ACHA DI poll — for the first Midnight Mayhem matchup on Oct. 23, followed by a 7 p.m. rematch on Oct. 24 and a single-game showdown with ACHA Division II Virginia Tech on Oct. 30. The Hokies defeated the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill — which like NC State moved up to the ACHA DI level last season — in an outdoor game at Truist Stadium, 6-0, on Jan. 4, 2025.
Liberty will conclude 2026 with three consecutive series against former ESCHL rivals, hosting Stony Brook on Nov. 6-7, traveling to face Niagara before Thanksgiving Break on Nov. 19-20, and returning to the LIC for a fall semester-ending series against Syracuse on Dec. 4-5, starting with the season's second Midnight Mayhem matchup.
The series at Maryville will be the first since the Saints moved up to the NCAA Division I ranks. Handy noted that Maryville will become the only program in the nation to offer an NCAA Division I men's hockey team as well as ACHA DI, II, and III men's and ACHA DI and DII women's teams. The Saints will be adding at least 20 new players to form the NCAA squad. Construction on an expanded Maryville University Community Ice Center will begin this year and is projected to be completed before the start of the 2027-28 season.
"Maryville is an NCAA Division I transition team, and we had the choice to play one or the other (the ACHA DI or NCAA DI team) but not both, and we chose the NCAA DI team," Handy said. "We've had such a great relationship with Maryville over the years, and we are grateful they are giving our guys those games this year, and that we will play them again in 2027-28."
A newcomer on the schedule this season is Kentucky, which also moved up to the ACHA DI ranks last season and finished ranked No. 23. The Wildcats will visit Lynchburg on Feb. 12-13, starting with the third and final Midnight Mayhem game.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
Division I men's hockey 2026-27 schedule
Sept. 11 West Chester, 7 p.m.
Sept. 18 Florida Gulf Coast University, 7 p.m.
Sept. 25 at North Carolina State, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 26 North Carolina State, 7 p.m.
Oct. 2 Arizona, 7 p.m.
Oct. 3 Arizona, 7 p.m.
Oct 9 Delaware, 7 p.m.
Oct. 10 Delaware, 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 at Adrian, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 17 at Adrian, 7 p.m.
Oct. 23 Drury, 11:59 p.m.
Oct. 24 Drury, 7 p.m.
Oct. 30 Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.
Nov. 6 Stony Brook, 7 p.m.
Nov 7. Stony Brook, 7 p.m.
Nov. 19 at Niagara, 2 p.m.
Nov. 20 at Niagara, 2 p.m.
Dec. 4 Syracuse, 11:59 p.m.
Dec. 5 Syracuse, 7 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. North Carolina State (in Charlotte), 7 p.m.
Jan. 13 at Illinois State, 7:15 p.m.
Jan. 14 at Drury, 7:15 p.m.
Jan. 15 at Maryville, 6 p.m.
Jan. 16 at Maryville, 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 22 Niagara, 7 p.m.
Jan. 23 Niagara, 3 p.m.
Jan. 29 at Ohio, 7 p.m.
Jan. 30 at Ohio, 5 p.m.
Feb. 5 Adrian, 7 p.m.
Feb. 6 Adrian, 1 p.m.
Feb. 12 Kentucky, 11:59 p.m.
Feb. 13 Kentucky, 7 p.m.
Feb. 19 Ohio, 7 p.m.
Feb. 20 Ohio, 7 p.m.
March 11-16 ACHA National Championships near St. Louis
(Bold denotes home games at the LaHaye Ice Center)
Friday, May 29
Friday, May 22
Friday, May 22
Monday, May 11