Top-ranked Lady Flames salvage split by edging No. 4 McKendree after loss at No. 3 Maryville

Thursday, January 30

St. Louis, MO

9:15 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Maryville University

Lady Flames graduate defenseman Peyton Carle battles a McKendree player for a puck in a game last season at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photo by Jessie Jordan)

Top-ranked Lady Flames salvage split by edging No. 4 McKendree after loss at No. 3 Maryville

1/31/2025 9:04:00 PM | Women's D1 Hockey

Liberty managed only three goals in two games, but junior goalie Alex Keith kept it in both games before freshman forward Chloe Lownsbury netted the game winner on the Bearcats' home ice.

On the second of its four trips to the St. Louis area this season, Liberty University's ACHA Division I women's hockey team, the No. 1 program in this week's national rankings, split its battles with No. 3-ranked Maryville (Mo.) University late Thursday night and No. 4 McKendree (Ill.) University on Friday afternoon. The Lady Flames (16-3) bounced back from a 3-1 setback against the Saints (17-6-5) to pull out a 2-1 triumph over the Bearcats (19-4-1).

"Maryville's and McKendree's goalies both played well," Liberty Head Coach Chris Lowes said. "But we only scored three goals on the weekend, and they were all greasy scramble goals. We are used to seeing better execution and finish on the offensive side."

Against the Saints, in a game played at the Maryville University Hockey Center, Liberty fell behind 2-0 early in the second period before senior forward and alternate captain Haley Battles scored off an assist from junior forward Brookelyn Beauchamp just over a minute later. The third period remained scoreless before Lowes pulled junior goalie Alex Keith to give the Lady Flames a man advantage and Maryville clinched the upset win with an empty-net goal in the final 1:09 of regulation.

"It was a challenging weekend for us," Lowes said. "We didn't feel really comfortable (Thursday night), and a lot of that's a credit to Maryville."

The Saints outshot the Lady Flames 37-33 and Keith made 35 saves.

Liberty scored the only goal of the first period on Friday at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex, with sophomore forward Tristan Craig putting away putbacks after shots from freshman forwards Hayley Lee and Presley Ellis. The Bearcats tied the contest with the only goal of the second period, on a power play, before the Lady Flames netted the only goal in the third when freshman forward Chloe Lownsbury cleaned up the rebound of Battles' driving shot.

"Chloe got the game winner in the third and we really needed it," Lowes said, noting that McKendree outshot Liberty 27-18 and Keith made 26 saves to record the win in net.

"They outplayed us. We were kind of lucky to get out of here with a win. We had a hard time getting the puck out of our zone and gave up too many opportunities."

Liberty lost the special teams battle for the weekend, going 0-for-3 on the power play against Maryville and 0-for-4 against McKendree while allowing the Bearcats to score on its penalty kill unit.

"We were happy to salvage a win," Lowes said. "We didn't create a lot of offense and didn't look especially dangerous when executing on our scoring chances, odd-man rushes, and net drives. We were fighting it a little bit and it was definitely a bit of a wakeup call. Hopefully this will fuel our urgency in practices over the next couple of weeks."

Lowes hopes that the Lady Flames' third and fourth trip to the Gateway to the West — for the Feb. 20-22 WMCH Tournament and for the March 17-21 ACHA DI National Championships — are more successful as they compete for a fourth conference and seventh national title in program history. Before then, after being idle next weekend, Liberty will host No. 2-ranked defending national champion Adrian (Mich.) College on Feb. 14-15 at the LaHaye Ice Center.

"We are running out of time to get ready for nationals," Lowe said. "This is the time of year that you are hoping to start to really look like a well-oiled machine and I'm not sure we felt that way. It is time for us to get focused and dialed and start playing our best hockey. We only have two weeks to get ready for Adrian, which is going to be a big test. We split with them up there in the fall. This weekend was tough for us, but we are heading home with a good win over a very good team."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer