Seven men’s D3 hockey players represent Liberty at AAU All-Star Challenge in Fort Lauderdale

Liberty University’s men’s D3 hockey team had seven players participate in the AAU All-Star Challenge April 12-14 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Flames showed out for the AAU All-Star Challenge, and it served as a great opportunity for Liberty’s top seven players to showcase their talent against the best in an exciting environment. The team was rewarded as the rest of the country recognized its hard work.

The top hockey players from all over the AAU gathered together in South Florida to take part in a weekend of competitions. The series consisted of each player (all from different colleges) being assigned into evenly matched teams. This made for a highly intense weekend of competition and gave the Flames’ top athletes a chance to represent their school.

Liberty players were placed on an All-Star team comprised of players from the ACCHL. The ACCHL All-Stars finished third out of six different conferences. Liberty had the opportunity to play alongside and get acquainted with other talented hockey players, and it performed well.

The players who represented the Flames and were recognized as All-Stars included junior defenseman Jake Nole, junior defenseman Aaron Spuhler, senior left wing Trevor Granzow, freshman center AJ Beugen, senior forward Michael Williams, sophomore defenseman Connor Diem and junior forward Luke Bessire.

The Flames are coming off a successful season and finished the year with a 13-8 winning record. This was the team’s first season under its new head coach, Josh Wagner. Wagner is extremely pleased with how his first year went and is looking forward to continuing the momentum in the fall.

“We had an awesome time getting to know some of the other coaches and players that we play against on a regular basis during the year,” Wagner said.

While in Florida, Liberty’s team explored some of what South Florida had to offer. This made for a fun trip, creating valuable team memories and allowing for quality bonding between the players that they hope to carry into next season.

Hendricks is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion