Liberty University Club Sports
UMASS
Top-ranked Lady Flames deal No. 8 Minutewomen their first loss in two years
11/13/2021 8:51:00 AM | Women's D1 Hockey
Liberty junior forward Yannick Truter netted a natural hat trick by the end of the second period to spark Liberty University’s ACHA Division I women’s hockey team to a 5-0 victory over the University of Massachusetts in Friday night’s late series opener at the LaHaye Ice Center.
It was the 26th consecutive win for the Lady Flames (11-0), dating back to last season, as they entered the contest as the No. 1 team in the nation with the first ACHA DI rankings released this week.
“It was super exciting to see that,” Liberty sophomore forward Carly Glover said. “It’s a big motivator for us. We’ve got to keep it going.”
UMass (4-1) debuted at No. 8 after not playing last season due to COVID-19.
“We didn’t see UMass last year and I was impressed,” Lady Flames Head Coach Chris Lowes said. “They’re a solid team and I thought it was a good game of hockey. They’re a nationals team, a team we could see again.”
Seconds into a first-period power play, Liberty capitalized when graduate forward Shelby Bradford sent a feed off a faceoff to Truter who finished a backhanded putback past UMass goalie Casey Marshall for a 1-0 lead.
“Yannick had one of those games,” Lowes said. “She can be dangerous in open ice, but then she has games where she gets rewarded for her grittiness and her toughness … making the most of rebounds and battling through.”
Then, with 5:38 left in the first, Truter worked a give-and-go fast-break pass sequence to graduate forward Shannon Fehr, finishing her return feed with a redirect off of her skates from deep in the right crease past Marshall.
Marshall entered the game with a 3-0 record with two shutouts, a 0.34 goals-against average, and a 98.2 save percentage. However, Liberty outshot the Minutewomen, 57-18, and Lady Flames sophomore goalie Amanda Storey made 18 saves for her second shutout of the season.
Truter completed her hat trick with the only goal of the second period, posting up in front of Marshall and tracking a shot from the point by senior defenseman Aislyn Stretch before sticking in the rebound of the loose puck past Marshall for a 3-0 advantage.
“Those are the gritty goals that we want to get and she’s a good example of what we need to keep doing, just crashing the net down low,” Glover said.
With the Lady Flames back on the power play, sophomore forward Brityn Fussy sent a feed to freshman forward Haley Battles in the right corner and cut toward the cage before receiving a return feed in the right crease for a five-hole finish and a 4-0 lead with 11:49 remaining.
“It was good to see both power play units score tonight,” Glover said. “It’s a big deal and we’ve been doing really well. It’s a big focus of ours in practice, making sure it’s successful, and we’ve been able to prove it every game.”
Fussy then made a steal at around the UMass blue line and a phenomenal pass from along the right boards to Glover slicing through the slot for a backhanded finish past Marshall, capping the scoring with 6:12 to play. The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. back at the LIC.
Earlier in the night, the three-time defending ACHA DI National Championship Lady Flames received red-carpet treatment as they were honored at the first intermission of the DI men’s hockey team’s game against Ohio with the presentation of their 2021 championship rings and medallions.
“I am so happy for those girls,” Glover said. “It’s a big deal and they all deserve it. It would be pretty awesome to do that again.”
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media
