Lady Flames Hockey Has Sights Set on National Title Defense

Hungry for a chance to defend its 2019 national title, the Liberty University club Division I women’s hockey team patiently awaits a new season of competition.

As was the case with all sports, the COVID-19 pandemic eliminated the end of the women’s hockey team’s schedule in the spring of 2020, robbing the team of the opportunity to defend its title as the top team in the country after two consecutive national titles. 

One week before the team planned to attend the national tournament in Dallas, the competition was cancelled. 

“It was a blow,” Head Coach Chris Lowes said. “It was a tough thing to go through as a team and everything builds toward that. It felt like a lot of unfinished business and we had a special group. Especially for the seniors and fifth years, it was unfortunate.”

Senior forward and team captain Shannon Fehr emphasized that the end to last season was frustrating. 

“It was pretty heartbreaking because we had been in first place all year and we were in our first conference championship because we hadn’t been in a conference before,” Fehr said. “Winning that was amazing. Our team had just come together for something so big, and I’m glad that was at the end of the year. But it really was the worst way to end our season not going to nationals.” 

Even though a season is currently planned for the team, the pandemic has altered many logistical elements moving forward.  

One of the main changes is that everyone cannot be doing the same activities at once in practice. 

“It’s been difficult scheduling-wise,” Fehr said. “We’ve had our workouts separated. Our team cannot be in the weight room at once, so we’ve had separate days which puts a strain on some of the school schedules and we get dressed at separate times in the dressing rooms. But, once we’re on the ice it’s back to business as usual.”

Lowes said those changes mean that flexibility is crucial.  

“Not being in the locker room as a team every day and not being able to do the team meeting, or video sessions – that’s been tough to try and find new and creative ways to keep doing those things,” Lowes said. “We’re in October and still waiting to have our kickoff meeting and go over some things. But we’re making the most of it. There’s a lot of teams that aren’t skating and we’ve got to be fortunate that we are in a position that we can still start working as a team and building some momentum.”

Additionally, the regular season was postponed, shaking up the original schedule.  Due to COVID-19, the season has shifted from the fall to the spring with exhibition and non-ACHA (American Collegiate Hockey Association) games sprinkled around the fall. 

“It’s going to be interesting because in the spring we have a lot in a little period, (which) we’re not used to, but it’s going to be exciting, and I think by that point we’re going to be itching to get going,” Lowes said. One of the team captains and leaders on the team, Fehr returns this season after suffering a season-ending injury last year. 

“It’s been a long time coming back, a little slower than I anticipated, but it’s been great,” Fehr said. “The players have been great. The coaches have been great. And we really wish we had more this semester but we’re working hard, and we’re excited to get back into it.

Lowes also highly respects his team’s talent, which is evident in the schedule he created for this season. 

“I think we’ve built probably the toughest schedule in the country, so we want to be challenged every week and we want to play the best teams and that’s been something we’ve tried to do,” Lowes said.

Fehr echoed the coach’s optimistic outlook.

“We’re so excited,” Fehr said. “It’s going to be a big game for us because we’ve been anticipating it for so long and our season got cut short last year and we’re just ready to defend (it).”

Lowes believes the frustration from last year’s cancellation will fuel his team’s title defense moving forward.

“I think that’s going to spark the fire even more this year – kind of a chance to make up for a missed opportunity,” Lowes said. “I like the team we’re going to put on the ice.”

The Lady Flames started off their slate of games with two wins at home over the Washington Pride this weekend, winning 7-0 and 10-2.

Christian Shields is a Sports Reporter.