Warriors Storm into Title Game with Semifinal Rout

FREMONT, Neb. – It was a matchup of two of the top teams in the nation Friday night as No. 2 Midland University faced No. 3 McKendree University in the semifinal round of the Women's Midwest College Hockey (WMCH) Tournament. Playing in front of an energetic crowd at Sidner Ice Arena, the Warriors scored four first-period goals and punched their ticket to the championship with an 8-1 win over the Bearcats. Midland will face top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Liberty at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Feeding off the home crowd, Midland netted a pair of goals in the first seven minutes. At the 5:48 mark, Ashlyn Kuffler scored an unassisted goal. Just over a minute later, she teamed with Darbi Poole to assist on a goal by Callie Maguire, making it 2-0 at 6:52.

McKendree battled back and earned a breakaway opportunity just after the midway point of the period. A tripping call gave the Bearcats a penalty shot, which they converted to cut the lead in half with 6:10 remaining in the first.

Jordan Bell responded quickly, scoring just 17 seconds later to push Midland's advantage back to two goals. Taylor Bell and Jaden Greenlee were credited with assists.

As the clock wound down in the opening period, Poole added a fourth goal off assists from Maguire and Kiara McGregor, giving Midland a 4-1 lead at the first intermission.

Coming out of the break, both defenses tightened up. McGregor, however, found space and scored the lone goal of the second period, unassisted, at the 4:40 mark.

Even with the lead in hand, Midland maintained its attacking pressure. Twice in the first 10 minutes of the third period, the Warriors capitalized on power-play opportunities. McGregor scored her second goal of the game at 3:29 off assists from Poole and Kuffler. Just before the midpoint of the period, Kuffler added her second goal at 9:47, with McGregor and Katie McNair assisting.

The Warriors' persistent play continued in the final five minutes as Camryn Falloon added the final tally. She battled for possession at the blue line, took control, and scored off an assist from Brooke Barylski.

Meghan Stewart was nearly perfect in goal, stopping 12 shots for the win. Midland held a commanding 41-13 advantage in shots on goal.

Midland (27-4-3) will face Liberty (28-1-0) at 3 p.m. Saturday for the WMCH Championship inside Sidner Ice Arena in Fremont.