Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Liberty graduate goalie Chantal Kerr skates out of the cage during introductions at the 2018 ACHA Division I National Championships in Columbus, Ohio. (Photos by Joel Coleman)
Hall of Fame inductee Chantal Kerr guarded cage during Lady Flames’ first two ACHA DI national championships
1/30/2025 1:18:00 PM | Women's D1 Hockey
The native of Manitoba, Canada, earned Tournament MVP honors in leading Liberty to its first title in 2015 under Paul Bloomfield before making a surprise comeback in Chris Lowes' first season in 2018.
A starter in net for Liberty University's first two ACHA Division I women's hockey National Championship teams as a senior in 2015 and as a graduate student in 2018, Chantal (Lischynski) Kerr will be the sixth player and seventh representative of that program to be inducted into the Club Sports Hall of Fame during Friday afternoon's ceremony in the Hancock Welcome Center.
Former Head Coach Paul Bloomfield, who was enshrined in last year's Hall of Fame class after coaching the Lady Flames to the first national title in 2015, will serve as her presenter.
Bloomfield recruited Kerr off Team Manitoba's U-18 squad in 2011 and she quickly emerged as an anchor of the Lady Flames' defense throughout a stellar undergraduate career that culminated with a 4-1 victory over defending national champion Miami (Ohio) University senior season in York, Pa.
"We had a lot of chances, getting to go to nationals all four years, and we got close a couple times and it was really exciting to be able to take home the national championship in my senior year," said Kerr, who posted five shutouts and boasted a 0.99 goals-against average and 95.4 save percentage that season, leading the Lady Flames to a 31-4-1 record. "It felt like something we were working toward all four years and then we finally got to take home the national championship title at what I thought was the end of my career."
As much as she improved in her physical abilities as a goalie, especially working with Club Sports Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Performance Chris Kerr as the team's strength coach her senior season, Chantal Kerr matured as a leader throughout her Lady Flames career.
"My senior year, I was never a captain, but I feel like I played that role a lot, just being able to communicate with my defense pairs and … just being more vocal on the ice," she said. "I wouldn't say skill-wise I got significantly better over the years, but I think my game improved overall because of how I grew spiritually, honestly, over the four years at Liberty. It just took my game to the next level of having the correct mindset going into games and really working as a team. My ability to communicate well with my teammates improved and I grew in my maturity as well, being more patient and level-headed on the ice and just learning the game more."
She said the senior class in 2015 was a special group that bonded throughout their careers and welcomed and nurtured the newcomers under their wings.
"Our team was like a unit that year," Kerr said, noting that Chris Kerr played a big part in the team's success. "We all worked really well together. We all respected each other and communicated really well to make sure everyone's needs were met and that we were using everyone's unique strengths to their full advantage … to come together as a team and that really helped us to be able to win."
"Making a comeback in 2018, that was a little bit of a surprise, but I'm glad I could keep my winning record," said Chantal Kerr, who only joined the team for the spring semester while completing her M.Ed. in Education after earning her B.S. in Mathematics in 2015. "I was also teaching mathematics and French full-time at a high school 45 minutes from Lynchburg, so that was interesting. I had to take a week off of work to go to nationals, but it was fun, and my work thankfully let me do that."
She didn't expect to be used except for in the event of an emergency, but she was ready to answer the call when Lowes opted to start her in the final.
"I hadn't played on the ice at all since I graduated, (but) I offered to go on the roster if they needed me because I still had a year of eligibility and I was a student," Chantal Kerr said. "I thought it was just like a backup situation, like 'If you need me,' and then ended up playing quite a bit, so it that was kind of funny."
The team referred to her as the grandma on the team.
"It was kind of special," she said. "I was obviously much older than a lot of the girls, but I guess with that brought a lot of wisdom. A lot of the girls looked up to me and my success in the past."
For the past six years, while Chris Kerr has served as Club Sports' assistant athletic director for sports performance, Chantal Kerr has worked in Liberty's Information Technology department as a software developer.
"My first year of teaching, up in Canada, I actually taught computer programming, so that sort of spiked my interest in programming and I was offered a job at Liberty and decided to make the career switch," she said. "It's really cool to kind of pour back and Liberty has made such an impact on my life, so it's nice to be able to help in some way the school's model of Training Champions for Christ. We all play a small part in that, so it's exciting to be able to be a part of that."
The Kerrs welcomed their first child, Cameron, to their family in June 2023.
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