Lady Flames regain WMCH title from Midland on home ice, build momentum for nationals

Saturday, February 24

Lynchburg, Va.

2:30pm

Liberty University Club Sports

Midland University

Liberty players celebrate their fourth Women's Midwest College Hockey (WMCH) tournament championship on Saturday at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photos by Jacob Summersgill)

Lady Flames regain WMCH title from Midland on home ice, build momentum for nationals

2/24/2024 10:43:00 PM | Women's D1 Hockey

Liberty won the tournament for the fourth time in five years, solidifying its No. 1 ranking going into the March 13-17 ACHA DI National Championships near St. Louis, where it will seek its seventh crown.

Brielle-Fussy-Zosia-Adamek — Junior forward Brielle Fussy skates the puck alongside linemate Zosia Adamek in Liberty's 3-2 triumph over Midland on Saturday.

In a rematch of last season's Women's Midwest College Hockey (WMCH) Tournament final, Liberty University's ACHA Division I women's hockey team turned the tables on Midland (Neb.) University, dealing the Warriors their first loss of the season to claim its fourth championship in five seasons by a 3-2 count.

"They're a very tough team to play, so the girls battled very hard and they brought their 100 percent today and we were rewarded for it," said Lady Flames graduate forward Yannick Truter, who hopes the matchup was a preview of next month's ACHA DI National Championships final. "I think that is definitely a possibility and when it comes to nationals, we'll take it one step at a time, but if it does get there, I believe that the girls will play just as hard."

It was the first time Liberty had hosted the tournament at the LaHaye Ice Center, after it had been played in the St. Louis area in the first four years.

"I was really proud of the composure and calm showed by our girls, in a high-intensity game," Liberty Head Coach Chris Lowes said. "Midland has been the class of the league this year and I liked how our girls prepared and performed this weekend."

The top-ranked the Lady Flames (21-4-2) will be contending for their sixth consecutive ACHA DI national title from March 13-17 near St. Louis, where the No. 2-ranked Warriors (29-1-2) will be vying for their first.

Head-Coach-Chris-Lowes — Lady Flames Head Coach Chris Lowes shouts from the bench beside Josh Graham.

On Saturday, Midland started the scoring just 3:13 after the opening faceoff when Darbi Poole pivoted with the puck along the left boards and threaded a pass through the left circle into Kaeleigh Kachmarski for a one-timed finish from the right crease into the upper netting, putting an early end to Liberty sophomore goalie Alex Keith's bid for her sixth shutout.

Liberty netted the tying and go-ahead goals in the first five minutes of the seconds period on backhanded finishes by Truter at the 17:37 mark and junior forward Haley Battles with 15:54 to play in the period.

On the equalizer, junior forward Zosia Adamek forced a turnover near the blue line along the right boards before flipping the puck to Truter who skated through the right circle before cutting across the slot and lifting a backhanded wrist shot over the shoulder of Midland goalie Hannah Stone.

"What a big moment for Truter, tying the game at 1," Lowes said. "It's just like her to make a big play in a big game."

"It was very exciting," Truter said. "It was a great chip from Adamek and some muscle memory stuff kicked in and there we went off and it went in, so all glory to God for that."

Less than a minute and a half later, Battles, Liberty's leading scorer, finished an entry feed from Adamek as she skated into the slot by tucking her backhand around Ston and inside the lower-right post.

DI-women-WMCH-trophy — The Lady Flames celebrate their fourth WMCH trophy, presented by Kirk Handy (left).

With the Lady Flames on the penalty kill a third of the way through the third period, graduate defenseman Aislyn Stretch nearly scored shorthanded on a breakaway, but Stone shut down both of her shots from right out in front.

But with the Warriors back on the power play moments later, they converted the tying score on a shot by Grace Page from the top of the right circle that sneaked through traffic in front of Keith assisted by 16 with 11:20 remaining in regulation.

Back at even strength, Keith fended off a couple quality Midland scoring chances before Liberty junior defenseman Madison Glynn capitalized on a Liberty power play, trapping Battles' pass across the high slot and uncorking an uncontested shot in the right circle that glanced off the pads of Stone and into the back of the net with 3:38 to go.

The Warriors remained on the power play for much of the final three minutes and pulled Stone for a two-player advantage, but Keith stood tall in net making a couple clutch saves down the stretch to preserve the one-goal win.

"Alex played a great 60 minutes for us and had to be great right up until the buzzer," Lowes said.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media