Liberty AAU Division III men’s hockey team claims first national championship

Liberty University’s AAU Division III men’s hockey team capped a 5-0 run through the AAU National Championships with a 3-0 triumph over St. John Fisher (N.Y.) University, Sunday at the Community First Igloo in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Flames (26-2) outscored their opponents by a 32-4 margin ending the season on a 19-game winning streak to raise the first national championship trophy for any of Liberty’s three men’s hockey teams (Divisions I, II, and III).

“It was awesome,” Liberty third-year Head Coach Josh Wagner said. “The guys deserve it. It was a great season. We showed the year that we were really good, and we wanted to prove it here.”

In a rematch of last season’s pool play final that sent the Cardinals to the semifinals, the Flames received stellar performances from graduate forward and leading scorer Roman Lamoureux and junior goalie Trey Thompkins, the MVP of Sunday’s final. He made 28 saves to improve to 13-2 on the year with his second shutout in as many days.

“You could tell from the vibe inside the locker room, they decided early on that nobody was going to stop us, and they followed through,” Wagner said. “As soon as the puck dropped, everyone on the bench (was) so dialed in, and they gave everything they had. All glory goes to God for blessing us with this team and the chance to be here.”

After completing the shutout, Flames players streamed from the bench at the sound of the final buzzer, tossing sticks and gloves onto the ice before piling up in a corner of the rink to start the post-game festivities and their spring break with a joyful celebration.

Wagner said the Flames will likely move up to AAU Division II next season and look to defend their national title at that level.

“That’s the plan,” he said of the potential promotion from AAU DIII to DII. “If we have a team like we do this year, we’ll do well again.”

Liberty’s ACHA Division I men’s hockey team was eliminated for the third time in the past five seasons by reigning national champion UNLV in Sunday’s quarterfinal matchup in the Centene Community Ice Center near St. Louis.

On Wednesday, the Lady Flames’ No. 1-ranked, seven-time ACHA Division I national champion women’s hockey team begins pool play in its national tournament title defense at 9 p.m. EST in the same arena against Grand Canyon (Ariz.) University. Liberty’s DII women’s hockey team is off to a 2-0 start and can clinch its first national tournament Final Four berth with a win over the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) in today’s final round of pool play at 2:45 p.m. EST. Watch the livestream of the tournament on FloHockey.com.

>> Read the full story and follow the hockey teams in national play on Liberty’s Club Sports page.