Lady Flames strike quickly, complete impressive sweep of Purple Eagles

Friday, January 30

Lynchburg, VA

1:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Niagara University

Graduate forward and head captain Brielle Fussy (left), junior defenseman Sophia Adamek, junior forward Jules Lefaive, and graduate forwards Isobel Pettem-Shand and Zosia Adamek celebrate one of 10 goals scored by the Lady Flames in two games against Niagara. (Photos by Travis Clayton)

Lady Flames strike quickly, complete impressive sweep of Purple Eagles

1/30/2026 8:06:00 PM | Women's D1 Hockey

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Liberty scored twice in each period and recorded its 14th shutout of the season, and third by Brooklyn Adams.

Gallery: (1-30-2026) DI women's hockey vs. Niagara Game 2

Stifling defense and precise offensive execution enabled Liberty University's No. 1-ranked ACHA Division I women's hockey team to open the floodgates in Friday afternoon's rematch with No. 9 Niagara University at the LaHaye Ice Center, powering past the Purple Eagles, 6-0, to complete the series and season sweep.

Liberty (26-0-1) only outshot Niagara (7-11-2) by a 30-21 margin but converted 20 percent of its shots into goals, whereas the Purple Eagles were shut out for the second consecutive game. Sophomore goalie Brooklyn Adams (21 saves) posted her third shutout of the season and 14th for the Lady Flames.

Liberty started right where it left off in Thursday night's late 4-0 opening win by capitalizing off a Niagara turnover in the neutral zone just 48 seconds after the opening faceoff for a quick 1-0 advantage.
Graduate forward Isobel Pettem-Shand pounced on the loose puck along the blue line and skated into the left circle before threading a pass back to fellow graduate forward Brielle Fussy. The Lady Flames' head captain rifled a medium-ranged shot in the slot through a screen set by senior defenseman Emerson Oakes and past Purple Eagles goalie Maddison Webster.

Then, exactly 2:00 later, Pettem-Shand picked off a puck from a Purple Eagles defenseman and skated back into the left circle before cutting across the crease and depositing a beautiful backhand finish around Webster to double Liberty's lead to 2-0.

"We started with a lot of fire, to get two in the first five (minutes)," Lady Flames Head Coach Chris Lowes said. "One of our goals today was to execute and find those final touches, and we did that a little bit better."

"It was a great start," Pettem-Shand said. "That's what you want to do against teams like this — take control of the game early. We have skill and are super dangerous up and down the lineup. (Graduate forward and alternate captain) Zosia (Adamek) and Brielle (Fussy) are two of our super special players, so I feel super honored and very blessed to play with them."

Midway through the second period, Zosia Adamek put away a beautiful backdoor pass from junior forward Ellie Sarauer — who emerged from the back boards to steal the puck — by driving along the left endline and lifting a sharp-angled wrist shot into the top-right corner of the cage.

At the 2:00 mark, junior defenseman Sophia Adamek finished a precise sequence of passes around the cage, one-timing a shot from deep in the right crease off assists from her older sister Zosia Adamek and Fussy to boost the Lady Flames' lead to 4-0 going into the second intermission.

"That was the goal today, to finish more five-on-five and not rely on just power plays, and we were able to do that," graduate defenseman Allison Shaw said. "Our defensemen being able to be offensive has been awesome for our team."

"Sophia (Adamek) is on a six-game goal streak so far," Pettem-Shand added. "She's one of my favorite players to watch, same with Allison Shaw, who used to be my opponent, but I respect her game so much and they're both great teammates as well."

Liberty capped the scoring with two goals in the final 4:27 following a five-minute major assessed to Niagara forward and second-leading scorer Layla Rushforth. First, the Lady Flames completed tic-tac-toe passing from Shaw in the high slot to Sophia Adamek in the left circle to Sarauer cutting through the slot for a one-time finish under Webster's left pad into the right side of the cage.

Then, after a faceoff win in the left circle in the offensive zone, and a split second after the Purple Eagles' penalty expired, sophomore defenseman Isabelle Pelletier launched a missile from near the left boards that beat Webster short-side for the final score with 1:05 remaining in regulation.

"It was really encouraging to see the offense come together, and our defense had two goals again today, so they're producing between 30 and 40 percent of our offense," Lowes said.

"We have so much depth, especially on the forward end, that our third line could take on most teams' first line," Pettem-Shand added. "Our (top) line has been executing a lot lately, but even our third line has so much skill. You look at Ellie Sarauer and her shot and (senior forward) Brookeyln Beauchamp and (junior forward) Tristan Craig and even our fourth-line girls are unbelievable. We have so much talent."

Both Shaw and Pettem-Shand transferred into Liberty as graduate students last summer after extremely successful careers at Adrian College and Indiana Tech, respectively.

"Every day, I'm just so thankful I came to Liberty," Pettem-Shand said. "I can't say enough good things about the girls on the team, the coaching staff, our support staff, everyone here. We're really a family, and we just have such a high standard, and we push each other every day. We're all just really here to win, and we really want to win that national championship."
"We're loving it," Shaw added. "It's awesome actually, to just walk in and be a part of that."

The Lady Flames will travel to Chesterfield, Mo., next weekend for a rematch of last season's ACHA DI National Championship final, Liberty's seventh title, clinched on a sudden-death goal by Zosia Adamek in double overtime.

They will then return home to face Adrian on Feb. 13-14 before flying to Midland (Neb.) University for the WMCH Conference Tournament and return to the St. Louis area for the March 18-22 national championships.

"The semester is flying by," Lowes said.

Liberty is excited to face the Saints on their home ice after sweeping them in the LIC in November, starting with a second Midnight Mayhem matchup.

"I think we're really confident, but at the same time we know Maryville can give us a run for our money," Pettem-Shand said. "You can't really take a shift off against those guys, so I love games like that. We have them circled, and they have us circled, and it will be a really fun weekend."

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