DII Lady Flames run out of fuel against Friars; set to battle rival Blue Hens in next round of pool play

Tuesday, March 12

St. Louis, MO

11:00 AM

Liberty University Club Sports

Providence College

Liberty forwards Brylie Beddell (left), Katrina Walhof (center), and Isabel Gracia (right) battle a Providence player in front of their net. (Photos by Ted Allen)

DII Lady Flames run out of fuel against Friars; set to battle rival Blue Hens in next round of pool play

3/12/2024 6:38:00 PM | Women's D2 Hockey

Liberty cut the deficit to 2-1 late in the second period before allowing Providence (R.I.) to score an insurance goal 37 seconds later and an empty-netter before the final buzzer.

Gallery: (3-12-2024) DII women vs. Providence College

Making its first appearance in the National Championships since 2018, Liberty University's ACHA Division II women's hockey team shook off the rust, but could not overcome a 2-0 deficit after the first period in Tuesday morning's pool-play opener against Providence (R.I.) College. The Lady Flames suffered a 4-1 setback at the hands of the Friars at the Maryville University Hockey Center in Chesterfield, Mo., putting their backs against the wall in their bid to advance out of their pool.

"We had never played (Providence) before," Liberty Head Coach Rena Leone said. "We started out a little slow before we kind of got our grasp, and then just couldn't the puck in the net. We all played great with speed, worked together, but just couldn't find the back of the net."

Sophomore goalie Abigail Hogsden made 28 saves to keep Liberty in the game, but the Friars (19-2-2) outshot the Lady Flames by a 32-30 count, including a 14-5 margin in the first period when goals by Ally Pigott early and Meghan Gambino late put the Lady Flames (11-7-3) on their heels.

With 2:27 to play in the second period, Liberty sophomore forward Isabel Crossman cut the deficit in half on a beautiful backhand into the upper netting, capitalizing off of an assist from sophomore forward Guinivere Donovan after skating right to left across the slot.

However, Providence answered 37 seconds later to take momentum back going into the second intermission when leading scorer Brooke Rogers put away a pass from Gambino as she skated through the right circle into the crease, sneaking a shot past Hogsden for a 3-1 advantage.

The third period remained scoreless until Friars defenseman Lindsey Joyce barely beat the buzzer with an empty-netter from behind her own blue line.

Liberty must regroup before challenging DVCHC rival Delaware (16-5-2-1) in Wednesday's second round of pool play back at Maryville. The Blue Hens finished second in the standings, ahead of the fourth-place Lady Flames, who split their series on Delaware's Olympic-sized ice in Newark on Oct. 21-22. Liberty lost the opener 3-0 before bouncing back to win the rematch, 4-1.

"They are a good team," Leone said. "They are fast, but we know we can beat them, so we just need to play our top game in the first period. We need to be ready to play once the puck drops, not take 10 minutes to warm up, and then we just need to put some pucks in the net."

Win or lose, Leone said the Lady Flames are thrilled to be in the tournament and eager to build on their first-game setback.

"We're excited," she said. "The girls are ready. This is our first time here since 2018, so it's a whole new group and we've got to kind of learn how to be competitive after traveling so far. We want to get out of pool play, but even just for the experience, especially for our freshmen and sophomores, to carry this over is definitely going to be a good steppingstone for the program."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer