Lady Flames open ACHA DI play with gritty, come-from-behind win over Bearcats

Friday, October 6

Lynchburg, Va.

1:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

McKendree University

Lady Flames forward Yannick Truter skates between two McKendree players during a Jan. 31, 2020, showdown with the Bearcats at the LaHaye Ice Center. (Photo by Jenna McKenney)

Lady Flames open ACHA DI play with gritty, come-from-behind win over Bearcats

10/6/2023 5:30:00 PM | Women's D1 Hockey

Graduate forward Yannick Truter scored the game-tying goal in the second period and the game winner in the third.

Liberty University's five-time defending national champion ACHA Division I women's hockey team overcame an early deficit to tie its long-awaited rematch with McKendree (Ill.) University in the second period before emerging with a 3-2 triumph in the third, Friday afternoon at the LaHaye Ice Center (LIC).

McKendree, which snapped the Lady Flames' 57-game unbeaten streak with a 4-3 victory over Liberty in overtime on Jan. 20, 2023, in O'Fallon, Ill., opened a 2-1 lead after the first period before graduate forward Yannick Truter showed flashes of the performances that earned her ACHA Player of the Year in 2021-22.

"We had to come from behind twice, but we came back," Truter said. "They're a tough team. They work really hard. They battle really hard. We'll probably see them at nationals and we're excited to see them there and battle it out. Our girls stepped up to the plate today. We know what we can do. We know what our girls are capable of, and it can come from any one player (in any game)."

Liberty Head Coach Chris Lowes was pleased to see the Lady Flames withstand opposing challengers' pressure, as they did so many times last season en route to their sixth national title since 2015.

"It's good to compete … and, especially early in the season, it's cool to see that your team is finding ways to get wins," Lowes said. "That's a good team over there. We were 0-1 against them last year. They're a top-10 team and … it's getting crowded at the top. They played with speed. They had more odd-man rushes than us, quite possibly, and both power plays looked a little bit stale, but it's early in the year so that doesn't really surprise me."

The Bearcats struck first when Isobelle Hobbs skated the puck out from along the right boards and threaded an open shot in the crease past Lady Flames senior goalie Amanda Storey for a 1-0 lead with 10:41 left in the period.

Less than a minute and a half later, Liberty junior forward Zosia Adamek controlled the puck along the left boards and received a return feed from senior forward Brityn Fussy in the left circle before turning and firing a laser from a sharp angle into the top-right corner of the cage, tying the score at the 9:13 mark.

"What a great shot," Lowes said. "Brit (Fussy) got a nice touch through to her and I loved to see her recognizing she had a chance to attack. She just picked her shot from the short side."
McKendree reclaimed the lead late in the first when Kiley Hasenfratz snuck a loose puck in the right crease over the pad of Storey into the left side of the net for a 2-1 advantage 2:23 before the first intermission.

Liberty graduate forward Yannick Truter netted the equalizer with 10:29 to play in the second period by tucking a putback in the right crease past McKendree goalie Rachel Staresinic after junior defenseman Madison Glynn received a pass from junior forward Brielle Fussy and launched a shot from near the blue line through traffic, off a deflection by sophomore forward Brookelyn Beauchamp.

Truter later put away the game-winner with a top-shelf finish off a breakaway down the right wing with 14:41 remaining in regulation.

"I had Brookelyn coming off my wing and she was a great option, but I knew I had my right-hand shot, so I decided to shoot and it worked out," Truter said.

"Yan came up big today," Lowes added. "Her first goal was prototypically Yan, out front in the greasy areas, found a rebound and got a stick on it. But her second goal was very her, too, open ice with speed."

He said others demonstrated their offensive abilities on the ice, though they didn't have anything to show for it in the box score.

"Brit Fussy looked dangerous in the open ice and we couldn't find that last touch," Lowes said. "We did a lot of good things in the offensive zone, had a lot of point shots. Obviously, we want to clean that up, clean up the screen and the rebounds."

Liberty outshot the Bearcats, 39-23 for the game, and Storey shut out McKendree in the second and third periods, making some clutch saves in the third.

"Amanda did good," Lowes said. "We looked a little broken in our D zone at times and she made some good plays, and she had a lot of dirty plays where they were getting second and third shots and she had to be disciplined."

He was happy, but not surprised, to see her rebound from a rough first period.

"I never worry about Amanda staying focused," Lowes said. "We don't need to pep-talk her. She's a vet and knows how to get it done."

Sophomore goalie Alexis Keith will make her first start of the young season in Saturday's second game, when the puck will again drop at 1:30 p.m. in the LIC.

"We're going to have to execute more on our chances (because) we really had them on the ropes for most of today's game," Truter said. "And we need to come down on our defensive side and make sure we're between the net and the puck and picking up those sticks and really playing hard defensively."

Lowes agreed and noted the team's potential for continued improvement.

"This is the time of year when you're learning the most, and that's certainly true for us," he said. "There's so many things we're doing differently this year, so those systems take time to become (polished). Early in the year, everything feels forced and it's not smooth and as we get comfortable … Our girls have to stop (overthinking) the game and just reacting and we'll get there. There was a lot to like. There are six, seven, to eight girls in our locker room that left it all out there, and you could see that. We've a lot of vets and girls that understand and it will be fun to watch that continue."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Patrick Strawn/Club Sports Director of Video & Media