Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Wednesday, March 18
St. Louis, MO
9:00 PM EST
Liberty University Club Sports
4
vs
0
Grand Canyon University
Graduate forward and alternate captain Zosia Adamek starts a breakout against Grand Canyon in Wednesday night's ACHA Division I National Championships opener. (Photos by Isabella Schlösser)
Lady Flames leave Antelopes out on range in ACHA DI National Championships opener
3/19/2026 9:39:00 AM | Women's D1 Hockey
Liberty outshot Grand Canyon by a 92-20 margin in a 4-0 win near St. Louis, senior goalie Alex Keith’s league-high 11th shutout of the year.
Unleashing a barrage of shots on goal, Liberty University's No. 1-ranked ACHA Division I women's hockey team started its National Championships title defense by showing little rust after a 25-day layoff and plenty of firepower in a 4-0 triumph over Grand Canyon University late Wednesday night at the Centene Community Ice Center.
"We got the No. 1 seed, but that wasn't an easy game," Liberty Head Coach Chris Lowes said, noting Grand Canyon (19-11-2) earned an auto-bid to nationals as the champion of the WWCHL Tournament while the Lady Flames won their sixth WMCH Tournament in seven years. "We had a good start. We were moving, and we looked fast. Pucks were bouncing around the net so we couldn't find that final touch."
Despite holding a 29-7 shot advantage in the first period, Liberty (31-0-1) was shut down by the Antelopes freshman goalie Annika Olson, who made some spectacular saves to preserve a scoreless tie.
"They have a good goalie, and sometimes against goalies that are hot, you've got to find a way," Lady Flames graduate forward and head captain Brielle Fussy said. "We've experienced that in the past against Arizona State University (a 3-2 overtime win in 2024). "I'm proud of the girls. They never really stopped putting shots on net, and the shots just kept getting better and better. It was a good game to test all areas of our game, on 4-on-4, 5-on-5, 5-on-4, and penalty kill. Every goal was scored in a different way."
The Lady Flames broke through Grand Canyon's cage in a three-goal second period. The spurt was sparked by junior forward Tristan Craig's sharp-angled putback from the left side just 1:21 after the opening faceoff, after junior defenseman Julie LeFaive's shot from the top of the right circle bounced off the back boards.
"These boards are really bouncy behind the goal, and the kick played it right to her, and she had a wide-open net," Fussy said. "We know one was bound to go in, and as soon as someone opens it up, that's when the floodgates open for our team, so we just need one person to be that girl who puts the first one away and leads the way for the rest of us."
Then, at 13:22 mark, graduate forward and alternate captain Zosia Adamek, skating in the left crease, deflected sophomore forward Brooklyn Voortman's high-speed slapshot from the high slot past Olson for a 2-0 advantage.
"Obviously, we got a little more traffic around the goal in the second, and things started opening up for us," Lowes said.
With the Lady Flames on a power play, graduate forward and alternate captain Haley Battles picked up the rebound of her own blocked shot and skated the puck out from behind the cage before launching a wrist shot into the upper netting.
"That was a really good second period," Lowes said. "To get a 3-0 period, that put us in control and allowed us to kind of skate through the third."
With 10:33 to play in the final period, sophomore defenseman Jules Lefaive received a cross-ice pass from Adamek and capped the scoring by beating Olson top shelf with a laser wrist shot.
"Me and (graduate forward) Iso (Pettem-Shand) were standing there for a screen, and she picked a corner and got it," Fussy said.
According to the ACHA stat sheet, Liberty outshot Grand Canyon, 92-20, and senior goalie Alex Keith made 20 saves to improve to 20-0-1 with her 11th shutout of the season.
"Overall, we controlled the pace, but we still left Alex on an island," Lowes said. "We gave up a couple partial breakaways, and she made a couple big saves."
Liberty can clinch its 13th consecutive bid to the Final Four by defeating No. 8 Niagara for the fifth time this season, Thursday at 9 p.m. EST.
"(Thursday) is going to be a really interesting day, with some really tough matchups," Lowes said, referring to pool play finals between No. 4 McKendree and No. 4 Maryville; No. 3 Minot State and No. 6 University of Michigan-Dearborn; and No. 7 Adrian against No. 2 Midland.
All games are being streamed live by FloHockey.
The Lady Flames swept Niagara (11-11-2) twice at home and twice on the road this season.
"They're a more penalized team than us, so we just want to stay disciplined, and hopefully execute on some more of our shots," Fussy said, particularly on the power play.
"Niagara's going to be tough," Lowes added of the Purple Eagles. "They're a little bigger, a little more physical (than Grand Canyon). We know them, and they know us. They have good goaltending, and they've got some girls that can make plays. We're going to have to be on our toes. We've got lots of film on them. We've just got to go out and do our thing."
Fussy says the seven-time national champion Lady Flames have the advantage of a deep and talented class of graduate students and team captains: Fussy, Battles, Keith, and junior defenseman Emerson Oakes
"That's been super helpful because we've been here (at nationals), we know how it feels to win and how it feels to lose, and we know how to get a job done," Fussy said.
She said the Lady Flames, who have won 11 in a row in the spring semester and 41 out of 42 since last season, are always on guard against an upset that could derail their run toward a seventh crown in Lowes' nine seasons at the helm.
"Even though it's pool play, it's mostly like do-or-die situations," Fussy said. "Knowing that our season's going to end (with a loss), our team works really well under that pressure of treating every game like it's the national championship game."
"I love this team," she added. "There are so many good girls here. We're trying to go out on a good note and on a high note, and win it for the girls even for those that just came in."
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterGallery: (3-19-2026) DI women's hockey vs. Grand Canyon
"We got the No. 1 seed, but that wasn't an easy game," Liberty Head Coach Chris Lowes said, noting Grand Canyon (19-11-2) earned an auto-bid to nationals as the champion of the WWCHL Tournament while the Lady Flames won their sixth WMCH Tournament in seven years. "We had a good start. We were moving, and we looked fast. Pucks were bouncing around the net so we couldn't find that final touch."
Despite holding a 29-7 shot advantage in the first period, Liberty (31-0-1) was shut down by the Antelopes freshman goalie Annika Olson, who made some spectacular saves to preserve a scoreless tie.
"They have a good goalie, and sometimes against goalies that are hot, you've got to find a way," Lady Flames graduate forward and head captain Brielle Fussy said. "We've experienced that in the past against Arizona State University (a 3-2 overtime win in 2024). "I'm proud of the girls. They never really stopped putting shots on net, and the shots just kept getting better and better. It was a good game to test all areas of our game, on 4-on-4, 5-on-5, 5-on-4, and penalty kill. Every goal was scored in a different way."
The Lady Flames broke through Grand Canyon's cage in a three-goal second period. The spurt was sparked by junior forward Tristan Craig's sharp-angled putback from the left side just 1:21 after the opening faceoff, after junior defenseman Julie LeFaive's shot from the top of the right circle bounced off the back boards.
"These boards are really bouncy behind the goal, and the kick played it right to her, and she had a wide-open net," Fussy said. "We know one was bound to go in, and as soon as someone opens it up, that's when the floodgates open for our team, so we just need one person to be that girl who puts the first one away and leads the way for the rest of us."
Then, at 13:22 mark, graduate forward and alternate captain Zosia Adamek, skating in the left crease, deflected sophomore forward Brooklyn Voortman's high-speed slapshot from the high slot past Olson for a 2-0 advantage.
"Obviously, we got a little more traffic around the goal in the second, and things started opening up for us," Lowes said.
With the Lady Flames on a power play, graduate forward and alternate captain Haley Battles picked up the rebound of her own blocked shot and skated the puck out from behind the cage before launching a wrist shot into the upper netting.
"That was a really good second period," Lowes said. "To get a 3-0 period, that put us in control and allowed us to kind of skate through the third."
With 10:33 to play in the final period, sophomore defenseman Jules Lefaive received a cross-ice pass from Adamek and capped the scoring by beating Olson top shelf with a laser wrist shot.
"Me and (graduate forward) Iso (Pettem-Shand) were standing there for a screen, and she picked a corner and got it," Fussy said.
According to the ACHA stat sheet, Liberty outshot Grand Canyon, 92-20, and senior goalie Alex Keith made 20 saves to improve to 20-0-1 with her 11th shutout of the season.
"Overall, we controlled the pace, but we still left Alex on an island," Lowes said. "We gave up a couple partial breakaways, and she made a couple big saves."
Liberty can clinch its 13th consecutive bid to the Final Four by defeating No. 8 Niagara for the fifth time this season, Thursday at 9 p.m. EST.
"(Thursday) is going to be a really interesting day, with some really tough matchups," Lowes said, referring to pool play finals between No. 4 McKendree and No. 4 Maryville; No. 3 Minot State and No. 6 University of Michigan-Dearborn; and No. 7 Adrian against No. 2 Midland.
All games are being streamed live by FloHockey.
The Lady Flames swept Niagara (11-11-2) twice at home and twice on the road this season.
"They're a more penalized team than us, so we just want to stay disciplined, and hopefully execute on some more of our shots," Fussy said, particularly on the power play.
"Niagara's going to be tough," Lowes added of the Purple Eagles. "They're a little bigger, a little more physical (than Grand Canyon). We know them, and they know us. They have good goaltending, and they've got some girls that can make plays. We're going to have to be on our toes. We've got lots of film on them. We've just got to go out and do our thing."
Fussy says the seven-time national champion Lady Flames have the advantage of a deep and talented class of graduate students and team captains: Fussy, Battles, Keith, and junior defenseman Emerson Oakes
"That's been super helpful because we've been here (at nationals), we know how it feels to win and how it feels to lose, and we know how to get a job done," Fussy said.
She said the Lady Flames, who have won 11 in a row in the spring semester and 41 out of 42 since last season, are always on guard against an upset that could derail their run toward a seventh crown in Lowes' nine seasons at the helm.
"Even though it's pool play, it's mostly like do-or-die situations," Fussy said. "Knowing that our season's going to end (with a loss), our team works really well under that pressure of treating every game like it's the national championship game."
"I love this team," she added. "There are so many good girls here. We're trying to go out on a good note and on a high note, and win it for the girls even for those that just came in."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
Players Mentioned
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