The Liberty University Women’s Division I Hockey team swept the Maryville University Lady Saints in a weekend series, winning 2-1 Nov. 8 and 5-3 Nov. 9 to continue its undefeated streak against a top-five opponent.
The Lady Flames hit the ice after dark, playing in their second-ever Midnight Mayhem game while the stands were packed out with a College for a Weekend crowd.
Assistant captain and senior forward Haley Battles opened the scoring five minutes into the game, burying a rebound off a shot from captain and graduate student forward Brielle Fussy to give the Lady Flames a 1-0 lead. The goal marked Battles’ ninth goal of the season, making her Liberty’s leading scorer.
“They’re both leaders on our team, and it was really good for them to set the tone and to contribute tonight,” Head Coach Chris Lowes said.
Both teams struggled to establish momentum through the second period, which featured a combined five penalties. Liberty was called for a bench minor for too many players, a checking penalty on Battles and a roughing infraction later in the frame.
Maryville committed two penalties of its own, including a roughing call as time expired.
Despite the penalties, neither team managed to capitalize on their power-play opportunities. The Lady Flames’ penalty unit strengthened, turning away multiple opportunities from the Lady Saints to keep a 1-0 lead heading into the third period.
“My only real complaint was taking the penalties that we took tonight, which could have easily costed us,” Lowes said.
Liberty senior goalie Alexandra Keith stood tall, blocking all 19 shots fired at her through the first two periods.
“Our penalty kill was good, and it must start with our goalie, and that was the key to the game,” Lowes said, “We shut them down, and I was really happy about that.”
Liberty struck again later in the period, when graduate forward Zosia Adamek knocked in her seventh goal of the season off a feed in from graduate forward Isobel Pettem-Shand, who recorded her eighth assist of the season.
“We both think the game really well. We’re good passers. We both like to make things happen on the ice, … and they make it super easy to play with,” Pettem-Shand said.
Maryville, however, was not going to back down without a fight. The Lady Saints broke through late in the period when Colleen O’Leary scored her third goal of the season with four minutes to go.
With less than two minutes remaining, Maryville pulled goalie Hannah Tresek for an extra attacker in search of the equalizer. While the Lady Saints took a chance, the Lady Flames defense remained intact to secure the win.
“We looked like a veteran team, and we responded well after that goal. I think when we hit the reset, we settled in well,” Lowes said.
Keith finished the game with 32 saves on 33 shots, improving to 8-0 between the pipes this season. Tresek turned aside 24-of-26 Liberty attempts in a solid effort from Maryville.
“We’ve been looking forward to this game, and we all came prepared, and I think we all got up for a good match,” Pettem-Shand said.
The Lady Flames defeated the Lady Saints again Nov. 9 5-3 to complete the series sweep.
These wins lift the Lady Flames to a perfect 16-0 start on the season as they look to continue that momentum down the stretch.
“I know how good and how prepared and confident this team is, and no team has the skill and the ability that we do, and I’m proud of us so far,” Pettem-Shand said.
The Lady Flames also gained a huge energy boost from the crowd with a rare late-night turnaround that brought excitement to the arena.
“It was great, and as women’s hockey players, we don’t normally get a huge crowd. Maybe brought some nerves, but once we settled in, the crowd was great,” Pettem-Shand said. The Lady Flames will be back in action at home in a two-game series Nov. 14-15 against the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Shepard is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.