Thursday, October 30
Niagara Falls, NY
12:30 PM
Liberty University Club Sports
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Niagara University
Liberty junior forwards Tristan Craig (17) and Ellie Sarauer (8) battle Purple Eagles players for the puck in their first-ever meeting last December. (Photo by Ryan Anderson)
DI Lady Flames move up to No. 2 in rankings, skate past No. 10 Purple Eagles late
10/30/2025 6:05:00 PM | Women's D1 Hockey
After falling down 1-0 in the first period, Liberty netted the equalizer in the second period and go-ahead and insurance goals in the third of a 3-1 series-opening win.
The fourth meeting between Liberty University's No. 2-ranked ACHA Division I women's hockey team and Niagara University on Thursday afternoon in Dwyer Arena in Niagara, N.Y., was just as competitive as their first two last November at the LaHaye Ice Center.
The seven-time national champion Lady Flames (13-0) trailed the Purple Eagles (2-3-2) after the first period before netting the equalizer in the second and scoring the game-winning and insurance goals in the third period of a 3-1 victory.
"We're really happy to get the result we did on the road," Lady Flames Head Coach Chris Lowes said after Liberty squeaked past Niagara twice at home last December, and won their pool play rematch decisively at the national championships near St. Louis. "They won the first period and played good defense, and we couldn't get much going. We were definitely trying to find anything we could, and we did enough to tie it up in the second before we were able to get our offense going in the third. We played a lot stronger, and moved the puck a lot better."
Niagara is in its third season as an ACHA Division I program. The Purple Eagles moved up four spots from No. 14 in this week's national rankings after playing then-No. 2 Minot State to 3-1 and 4-3 shootout losses at home on Oct. 18-19.
Liberty outshot Niagara by a 33-13 margin, but the Purple Eagles were opportunistic with their best chance in the first period, with forward Holly Lesage capping on a one-on-one opportunity by beating Lady Flames sophomore goalie Brooklyn Adams at the 5:00 mark.
"We gave up a breakaway and a point-blank chance, but Adams settled in after that," Lowes said. "She got more comfortable as the game went on."
Senior forward Brookelyn Beauchamp gave Adams a confidence boost with 6:10 remaining in the second period by tipping in a sharp-angled shot by senior forward Isobel Pettem-Shand to tie the contest at 1.
Then in the third, the Lady Flames added two goals in a span of 56 seconds to take control. Junior forward Tristan Craig netted the go-ahead goal on an odd-man rush, finishing a feed from graduate defenseman Allison Shaw with 15:58 to play in the third period.
Junior defenseman Sophia Adamek then received a fast-break assist from graduate forward and head captain Brielle Fussy and finished top shelf for the final score at the 15:02 mark.
Liberty was held scoreless on two power-play opportunities but its defense killed off all four of its penalties for the game.
Freshman goalie Emma McDonald will get the start between the pipes when the two teams face off again on Friday at 1:30 p.m., streamed live on Niagara's YouTube channel.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
The seven-time national champion Lady Flames (13-0) trailed the Purple Eagles (2-3-2) after the first period before netting the equalizer in the second and scoring the game-winning and insurance goals in the third period of a 3-1 victory.
"We're really happy to get the result we did on the road," Lady Flames Head Coach Chris Lowes said after Liberty squeaked past Niagara twice at home last December, and won their pool play rematch decisively at the national championships near St. Louis. "They won the first period and played good defense, and we couldn't get much going. We were definitely trying to find anything we could, and we did enough to tie it up in the second before we were able to get our offense going in the third. We played a lot stronger, and moved the puck a lot better."
Niagara is in its third season as an ACHA Division I program. The Purple Eagles moved up four spots from No. 14 in this week's national rankings after playing then-No. 2 Minot State to 3-1 and 4-3 shootout losses at home on Oct. 18-19.
Liberty outshot Niagara by a 33-13 margin, but the Purple Eagles were opportunistic with their best chance in the first period, with forward Holly Lesage capping on a one-on-one opportunity by beating Lady Flames sophomore goalie Brooklyn Adams at the 5:00 mark.
"We gave up a breakaway and a point-blank chance, but Adams settled in after that," Lowes said. "She got more comfortable as the game went on."
Senior forward Brookelyn Beauchamp gave Adams a confidence boost with 6:10 remaining in the second period by tipping in a sharp-angled shot by senior forward Isobel Pettem-Shand to tie the contest at 1.
Then in the third, the Lady Flames added two goals in a span of 56 seconds to take control. Junior forward Tristan Craig netted the go-ahead goal on an odd-man rush, finishing a feed from graduate defenseman Allison Shaw with 15:58 to play in the third period.
Junior defenseman Sophia Adamek then received a fast-break assist from graduate forward and head captain Brielle Fussy and finished top shelf for the final score at the 15:02 mark.
Liberty was held scoreless on two power-play opportunities but its defense killed off all four of its penalties for the game.
Freshman goalie Emma McDonald will get the start between the pipes when the two teams face off again on Friday at 1:30 p.m., streamed live on Niagara's YouTube channel.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
Players Mentioned
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