Wolverines complete sweep of Lady Flames with 4-1 win despite being outshot nearly 2-1

Saturday, October 17

Lynchburg, VA

1:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

University of Michigan

Liberty Michigan Dearborn pileup around goal

Lady Flames graduate forward Allison Greene (right) plows into a pack of Wolverines around the Michigan-Dearborn goal in the third period of Saturday's rematch at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photos by Ted Allen)

Wolverines complete sweep of Lady Flames with 4-1 win despite being outshot nearly 2-1

10/17/2026 9:36:00 PM | Women's D1 Hockey

It marks the first time in more than nine years that an opposing team has won back-to-back games at the LaHaye Ice Center.

DI women's hockey defenseman Kendra Garlock — Liberty freshman forward Evie McGonagle (right) pursues the puck while being chased by two Wolverines in Saturday afternoon's rematch.

For the first time since Dec. 1, 2023 (a span of 87 games), Liberty University's ACHA Division I women's hockey team was swept in a series, Saturday afternoon, by the University of Michigan Dearborn in a National Championship semifinal rematch from last March.

The last time an opponent accomplished that feat in the LaHaye Ice Center was Sept. 23-24, 2017 — 128 home games ago, in Head Coach Chris Lowes' first season at the helm.

After shutting the Lady Flames (5-2) out in Friday night's opener, the Wolverines (5-0) opened a 2-0 lead on Liberty late in the second period before adding an insurance goal and an empty-netter in the third period of a 4-1 triumph.

"It was a tough weekend against a good team," Lowes said. "We did a lot of things good today and looked better than we did (Friday night). The game of hockey comes down to a few moments, it seems. They created theirs and made some special moments, and we didn't. We've got to watch some video and figure out how we're going to be more dangerous offensively."

Despite outshooting Michigan Dearborn by a 40-22 margin, the Lady Flames were limited to one goal.

"We had a lot of possession, we had some shots on net, but we weren't very good at finding that last touch and making the most of our opportunities," Lowes said. "Shots are shots. You don't get any credit for them, and we put a lot of soft ones on them, shots that we weren't going to score on. A ton of credit goes to Dearborn. They're a good team, and they're going to be a really tough one for everyone this year."

After a scoreless first period, Wolverines forwards Grace Taylor and McKenna Petti, both pointless through their first four games, scored back-to-back goals 2 minutes, 18 seconds apart on Liberty junior goalie Emma McDonald to put Michigan Dearborn up 2-0 with 2:08 to play in the second period.

Liberty-Michigan-Dearborn-action — Liberty defenseman Brooklyn Voortman (15) and McGonagle (center) hover around Michigan Dearborn goalie Kenna Borso (39 saves).

"Both (McDonald and graduate goalie and alternate captain Alex Keith, who started Friday night) had decent games, but we needed a little more out of both of them," Lowes said after McDonald made 18 saves in defeat. "We didn't provide enough offensive support, so we've got to be better defensively. It's not just our goalies. We gave up some breakaways, and we gave up some chances that we want to clean up."

Lady Flames freshman forward Evie McGonagle cut the deficit in half by scoring off an assist from junior forward Presley Ellis at the 1:43 mark, providing Liberty some momentum going into the third period.

"Evie scored such a nice goal today," Lady Flames graduate center and alternate captain Tristan Craig said. "She put in that second effort, so that was awesome to see."

However, Petti netted her second goal of the game and the season just 1:27 into the final stanza, putting Liberty in a desperate 3-1 hole.

"The second goal was a breakdown on my part," Craig said. "I should have gone right back to the post, and unfortunately, I didn't grab my girl, which was totally my fault."

"There's a lot of accountability going on right now, when we have a game like that," Lowes added. "But it's a long season. It's a busy time of year, where we're communicating and we're teaching, and we're trying to get better, and we're also trying to win games."

"It's only October," he added. "We've got a lot to do. I still like our chances (against the Wolverines). I think they're a good matchup for us. We just didn't do enough to get wins this weekend."

Liberty players off bench — The Lady Flames come off the bench following a time out after pulling goalie Emma McDonals for the final few minutes of the third period.

Lowes pulled McDonald for the final three minutes to give Liberty a 6-on-5 advantage, but the decision proved unfruitful when Wolverines forward Grace Adriaanse iced the win with an empty-netter with 44 seconds to go.

"Those were two rough games," Craig said. "Those are tough losses. They were beating us to 50-50 pucks. They were just putting their body into us. It was all fair play. We do the same. They had more effort today. They really gave it to us. We needed to come back hard after that."

"They just wanted it more than us, which is hard to say," she added. "We've just got to come back and bring that back and want it more than any other team that's in our league."

Craig said the Lady Flames need to play to their strengths and utilize their offensive skills more effectively for future games.

"We've definitely got to improve our physical battle," she said. "We've got to start using each other more, too. We're really good at passing and have really big speed, so we just have to use that to our advantage for the next game."

Liberty Michigan Dearborn handshake line — The Lady Flames and Wolverines shake hands at the end of Saturday afternoon's game before gathering in a prayer huddle (below).

Liberty invited Michigan Dearborn into its post-game huddle for prayer, and the Wolverines accepted.

"That's the point," Craig said. "We've got to glorify God through everything we do, to continue to be a witness to them. This game's not about us; it's about God. That's the end goal for everyone. We want to see eternal life, and we want to be able to talk to the other teams and witness to them through everything we do."

She said her team is more motivated to build from their first back-to-back losses in three seasons and be prepared to play Michigan Dearborn again at nationals.

"You learn a lot more from a loss than from a win," Craig said. "This is how we build character and how we see our breakdowns. We all have each other's back. We're very united, which is awesome to see in the captaincy group. We've just got to keep encouraging the girls, especially after games like that. We want a rematch. We've got a lot of time to improve before nationals."

Liberty will embark on its second road trip of the semester on Thursday before playing at Adrian (Mich.) College streamed live on YouTube by Adrian College TV on Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Arrington Ice Arena.

"We'll be excited for next weekend, to get back after it at Adrian," Lowes said. "I don't know much about them this season. It's always a tough barn to go in and play, but we'll look forward to another road trip."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
Liberty Michigan Dearborn huddle