Lady Flames Ice Hockey team shuts out Penn State 13-0

• Lady Flames D1 hockey team played two strong games against Penn State on Homecoming weekend to win two double digit shut outs.
• Both upperclassmen and sophomores contributed to scoring for the Lady Flames.

 

While most people attended­­­­ the Liberty University homecoming football game, the true ice hockey fans were at the rink watching the Division I women’s hockey team defeat Penn State Saturday night with a score of 13-0.

 

The Lady Flames (5-2, 5-0 ACHA) showed no mercy for the winless Ice Lions, with each player on the depth chart contributing.

 

“We have a lot of depth,” assistant coach Leah Carlson said. “We are running all of our players so it is not like we have one line running every other shift. One of our strengths is for sure the depth we have within our team.”

 

Junior Lauren McDonald had a hat trick with a goal in each period bringing her goal total on the season to five in just six games. She scored the first and the last goals for the game.

 

Senior defenseman C.J. Tipping added two back-to-back goals in the second period. Her first slid in under the goalie’s pads. Her second goal, just 15 seconds later, was a long slap shot from the left side.

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Tipping missed the first four games of the season due to an injury, but she is now fully recovered.

 

“It feels really good to be back,” Tipping said. “Honestly, I was not too sure how this year was going to go just because we have so much talent up on forwards, but they have come a long way even from the beginning of the season.”

 

While a few upperclassmen were able to score more than one goal, sophomore Vanessa DeMerchant also added two goals in the third period.

 

The Lady Flames remained in control for the entire game, never fazed by the Ice Lions. Neither Penn State’s offense nor its defense caused problems for the Lady Flames.

 

The Lady Flames outshot Penn State 45-8, demonstrating their offensive dominance and attacking of the net.

 

In easier games such as these, Carlson said it is important to remember to continue to do the little things right and not create bad habits. During the third period, they tried out a new system where they set up players behind the net.

 

“We worked on our control breakout,” Carlson said. “In a game like this, sometimes you can step back and look at what you need to work on as a team even though it kind of slows it down a bit.”

 

Coming into the season, a big fear was whether or not the Lady Flames would be able to maintain a strong offensive unit after two of their major scorers graduated last year. First Team All-American Carrie Jickling and Catherine Burrell were the two forwards who seemed to drive the Lady Flames in previous years.

 

But after tonight’s strong offensive unit, their depth in forwards has solidified.

 

“Our forwards are so talented,” Tipping said. “I know we lost Cat and Carrie, but I think that void has been filled already. Our girls have been stepping up. Even our freshmen have been making their place be known.”

 

Freshmen Shannon Fehr and Shelby Bradford made debut goals in Liberty uniforms during Saturday’s game.

 

Among the others to score were sophomores Deena Birney, Aly Morris, Emily John and Rachel.

 

Sophomores make up the bulk of the team this year, with a total of 13.

 

In the second game of the series, the Flames went on to beat Penn State Sunday morning with another double digit shutout, 10-0.

 

They face Stevenson University in an away game Oct. 21.