DII Lady Flames developing chemistry, sharpening skates for another nationals run

Liberty University's ACHA Division II women's hockey team is coming off its strongest showing to date at the March 12-16 National Championships, where it won two out of three games in its pool and narrowly missed advancing to the Final Four.

"Our chemistry on and off the ice is great," rising senior forward Madison Gaddy said. "We came back, we worked hard, we went to lift (weights), and we made it to nationals and that was one of the most exciting times of a bunch of the girls' (lives), including my (own)."

Head Coach Rena Leone was pleasantly surprised by the way the Lady Flames peaked at nationals, leading to her team receiving the Breakthrough Award at last month's Club Sports Choice Awards.
"This season was something that I was not expecting," she said. "It had its ups and downs, but overall, it was an awesome year. Going to nationals … they found that passion, they found that heart, so to end on such a high note, the girls are ready for next year."

After the season ended, Leone continued to hold mandatory practices for returning players twice per week and has emphasized building relationships between teammates to strengthen their bonds on and off the ice.

"Offseason's been a nice breath of fresh air," she said. "We've been doing a skill session on Monday and then just scrimmaging on Thursday, as a good way to stay on the ice and working on those basic skills and … keeping that culture and keeping everyone together and talking and communicating."

"We have a lot of our core group returning, which is great," rising senior defenseman Madison Natter added, noting the team has a few promising recruits to add to the mix. "We have a very big team and faith-based culture and we are really excited to bring those new girls into our team."

The Lady Flames have aspirations of again finishing ranked in the top five of the Southeast Region rankings to secure a return trip to nationals, which are slated to again be held in the Centene Community Ice Center near St. Louis.

"A lot of the girls will be here over the summer, so we can keep that chemistry going," Gaddy said. " We do plan to continue to work out to come in strong for the next season. We're recruiting these girls and just seeing the atmosphere of our team, our chemistry and just the way that we all love each other and love God, and we play for God, it's a big motivator for us. Going into next season, we're set; we're ready to go."

Video edited by Colleen Schaner/Club Sports Video & Media Assistant

DII Lady Flames developing chemistry, sharpening skates for another nationals run

Players Mentioned

Madison Gaddy

Madison Natter

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