No. 2 Warriors Fall to Top-Seeded Liberty in WMCH Title Game

LYNCHBURG, Va. – It was a battle of the top two ranked teams in the country for the 2024 Women's Midwest College Hockey (WMCH) Championship as No. 2 Midland University took the ice against No. 1 Liberty University on Saturday afternoon. After scoring an early goal, the Warriors were unable to fight back the Flames on their home ice as they fell 3-2 in the conference title game.

Just past three minutes in, a shot off the stick of Darbi Poole from the right of the goalie made its way through the defense to the backside. Waiting there with her stick angled to direct the puck into the net was Kaeleigh Kachmarski for the game's initial goal.

Hannah Stone and the Warriors' defense held onto the lead through the remainder of the first period as Liberty threatened to tie things back up.

Following the first intermission, the Flames caught fire as they not only found the equalizer but went ahead on the scoreboard in the first five minutes of action. Midland battled back with an aggressive attack but was held in check as Liberty saved all nine of the shots on target in the period.

Heading into the final period, the Warriors remained aggressive. After a tripping penalty by the Flames with seven minutes gone by, Grace Page found the back of the net on the power play. As the defense shifted toward the middle, expecting a pass to the slot, Page fired in a low-altitude shot that found the inside edge of the post for the game-tying goal. Rylee Martin was credited with the assist on the goal with 11:20 remaining in the period.

Liberty would get a powerplay chance of its own later in the period as Midland was sent to the box for a high-sticking call at the 15:19 mark. Just over a minute later, the Flames scored as the shot to the left of the goalie made its way through traffic and into the back of the net.

As time ticked down, Liberty was sent to the box after an interference call with 2:49 left in regulation. However, the advantage was short as 33 seconds later Midland had a player sent off for a holding call.

Playing four-on-four with just over two minutes to go, the Flames were called for hooking with 1:06 left to give the Warriors one final chance. During the final minute, Midland got a handful of shots up but were held in check by Liberty who held on for the 3-2 win.

For the game, the Warriors had a 29 to 25 advantage and a 6 to 3 edge in powerplay chances. Stone finished with 22 saves, playing just under 59 minutes in goal.

Up next, Midland (XXXX) will begin preparing for the 2024 ACHA Women's Division 1 National Tournament. The Warriors will be one of 10 teams invited to battle for the national title the third weekend of March in St. Louis, Missouri. Matchups and game times will be announced in the coming week by the ACHA with play getting underway on March 13 at the Centene Community Ice Center.