Lady Flames sophomore forward Abby Rogers leads a celebration line after scoring her team's second goal, the game winner, against Northeastern on Monday. (Photos by Emely Gomez)
DII Lady Flames denied first Final Four bid by St. Thomas
3/17/2026 6:17:00 PM | Women's D2 Hockey
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Liberty defeated Jamestown (N.D.) and Northeastern (Mass.) before being shut out, 3-0, by the Tommies on Tuesday near St. Louis.
Making its third consecutive trip to the National Championships near St. Louis, Liberty University's ACHA Division II women's hockey team was one win away from reaching its first Final Four after winning its first two games of pool play on Sunday and Monday.
However, the Lady Flames (23-3), who outscored opponents by a 150-34 margin going into Tuesday's final round of pool play, met their match in the University of St. Thomas (Minn.), which punched its ticket to the semifinals for the first time with a 3-0 victory at the Centene Community Ice Center.
"The girls battled hard but unfortunately fell short," Liberty Assistant Coach Justin Forth said. "We are proud of our season and thankful to the seniors, and we are excited about our future."Â
Liberty, seeded first in its pool after winning the DVCHC tournament for the first time and finishing ranked No. 1 in the Southeast Region, outshot the Tommies, 36-22, but freshman goalie Sydney Ries locked down the cage on the Lady Flames, posting her third shutout of the season.
"St. Thomas is a good team and did the little things well today," Forth said. "They have a good goaltender, and we didn't do a good enough job getting in her way today."
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Sophomore forward Calissa Klein (33) and freshman forward Sabrina Honeycutt battle against Northeastern.
With 7:42 left in the first period, Olivia Hinnenthal lifted St. Thomas (16-4) to a 1-0 lead with a backhanded finish past Liberty graduate goalie Kylie Mebs (19 saves) from deep in the left crease. Then, just over a minute later, the Tommies doubled their advantage when Josie VanKuyk controlled the puck off a right circle faceoff win and sneaked a shot through the five-hole from point-blank range.
As it did in the first period, Liberty came out with plenty of offensive energy to start the third, generating a few quality scoring chances saved by the sprawling Ries.. However, once again, St. Thomas made the most of its limited chances, with VanKuyk intercepting a pass and threading a shot past Mebs from close range near the right post to give it a commanding 3-0 advantage with 15:24 remaining in regulation.
On Monday, Liberty improved to 2-0 in pool play after a 2-1 triumph over Northeastern, with sophomore forward Abby Rogers and freshman forward Sabrina Honeycutt scoring both goals in the final 6:23 of the first period off assists from sophomore forward Calissa Klein and graduate defenseman Madison Natter, respectively.
The Lady Huskies pulled within one goal by scoring with 3:02 remaining in the second period, but both teams were held scoreless the rest of the way. Northeastern outshot Liberty, 40-24, including 14-5 in the third period, and Mebs made 39 saves in the narrow victory.
