No. 2 Warriors’ Conference Title Hopes Fall Short to Top-Ranked Liberty

FREMONT, Neb. – It was a matchup of the top two teams in the nation Saturday as No. 2 Midland faced top-ranked Liberty University in the Women's Midwest College Hockey (WMCH) Conference Championship. Playing on home ice for the final time this season, the Warriors took an early lead before the Flames battled back to secure their sixth title in the league's seven-year existence with a 4-2 victory. Midland remains the only other program to win the championship cup, hoisting it at the end of the 2022-23 season.

With just over half of the opening period gone, the Warriors went on the power play following an interference call on the Flames. Less than a minute into the advantage, Darbi Poole found the back of the net off assists from Callie Maguire and Kiara McGregor. The score remained 1-0 after one period as both defenses held firm over the final seven-plus minutes.

In the second period, Maguire appeared to score in the opening minutes as her shot deflected off the goalkeeper's glove toward the net. While the crowd and bench erupted, no signal was given, and play continued. As Liberty transitioned the other way, the Warriors were called for tripping.

Before the Flames went on the power play, the officials conferred in front of the penalty boxes. After an extended discussion, the no-goal call stood, and Liberty went on the advantage.

Twenty seconds into the power play, the Flames found the equalizer, shifting momentum away from the packed rink filled mostly with Midland supporters. The teams each killed another penalty and skated into the second intermission tied 1-1.

Less than two minutes into the final period, Liberty took control with a go-ahead goal at the 1:38 mark. Four minutes later, the Flames added another to put Midland's title hopes in jeopardy.

The crowd rallied behind the orange and blue with chants echoing throughout the rink. Just over nine minutes into the period, Ashlyn Kuffler connected with Jaden Greenlee for a goal that pulled the Warriors within one.

Midland intensified its attack from there, peppering the Liberty netminder with shots. The veteran goalkeeper finished with 31 saves, including 20 in the final frame.

With time winding down, the Warriors pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. After a near miss on an empty net, the Flames sealed the championship with an empty-net goal with 18 seconds remaining.

"Liberty is a very skilled team and is well coached," head coach Jason White said. "They don't make many mistakes, and their defense was solid today. Our team worked hard this week, and it was great for our fans to see some great hockey inside our home rink. We'll take what we can from today's game and work to be better when we get our next chance. We've got some time before Nationals, so we'll look to get healthy and make a run in St. Louis next month."

Midland (27-5-3) will receive an at-large berth to the ACHA National Championship in St. Louis. The 12-team tournament begins March 18 at Centene Community Ice Center and runs through the national championship game on March 22.