Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Top-ranked Lady Flames on to St. Louis to defend WMCH title
3/25/2021 12:00:00 AM | Women's D1 Hockey
The two-time defending national champion Liberty University ACHA Division I women's hockey team will be the top seed and favorite to win its second consecutive Women's Midwest College Hockey (WMCH) Championship tournament this weekend at the Centene Community Ice Center, the practice facility for the NHL's St. Louis Blues.
The Lady Flames, who defeated Minot State in last year's inaugural conference tournament final, will use this weekend's five-team tournament to prepare for the April 15-20 ACHA DI National Championships in Minot, N.D.
"It's been good," Liberty Head Coach Chris Lowes said of competing in the second-year WMCH. "We've developed some good rivalries and relationships and having a year-end tournament is part of the reason we put this conference together."
Out of the top five teams in the latest ACHA DI national rankings, only No. 4 Adrian — which the Lady Flames defeated four times this month — is not in the WMCH tournament field. No. 6-ranked McKendree, which is also in the WMCH, will not be competing due to a roster limited by injuries.
"The top three-ranked teams in the nation are all there, so it is going to be super competitive and a good tune-up," Lowes said. "We hope to get back to that final game again and get the same result as we did against Minot last year."
The Lady Flames (12-1, 8-1 ACHA) will receive a first-round bye on Friday and face the winner between No. 5-seeded Maryville (Mo.) and No. 4 Midland (Neb.) in Saturday's first semifinal, set for 4:50 p.m. The winner of that will challenge the winner of Saturday's other semifinal between second-seeded tournament host Lindenwood and No. 3 Minot State in Sunday's championship set for 4:10 p.m., with the two semifinal losers squaring off in Sunday's 12:30 p.m. consolation game for third place.
Lowes noted that Lindenwood, which dealt Liberty its only three losses over the past two seasons, was swept this past weekend by Midland after the Lady Flames won their last meeting with the Lady Lions, 8-1 in St. Louis.
"It's been back and forth this season in our league and anything can happen this weekend," Lowes said. "We've been really happy the last few weekends with our results against good competition, and hope that will carry over into the playoffs. We've been training for this the whole season, where we get put to the test. It's single-elimination, so it gets our girls back in pressure situations and gives us a chance to keep developing like we want to."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
