Lady Flames Hockey Reigning Champions Start their season with a win

The reigning four-time D1 Women’s ACHA National Champions entered the LaHaye Ice Center Sept. 24 with lofty expectations. 

After posting an undefeated season last year, the Lady Flames hockey team began its quest against the Washington Pride for a fifth straight championship and its 41st consecutive win.

“This is the first time for this team to compete, so the girls were itching to do that,” Head Coach Chris Lowes told media postgame. “It’s really important for the freshmen to get their first touches and get a sense of what our team is like in games …  We had a bunch of lines that did some good things, so that was encouraging. We had some good moments. We looked fast at times and did some things we wanted to do.”

 Despite the firepower on the Lady Flames roster, it took a while to get things going on the ice. It wasn’t until the 5:28 mark that Shelby Bradofrd, the team’s head captain, would put the puck in the net, giving Liberty a 1-0 edge.

“We weren’t happy with our energy in the first (period),” Lowes said. “The ice was a little rough, and we didn’t really have a lot of positive momentum going our way.”

In the second period, the team came out firing and blew the door down, scoring five goals. Sophomore center Zosia Adamek came up huge for the Lady Flames with two goals in the period. Sophomore defenseman Peyton Carle also joined in on the fun, scoring a goal and distributing two assists in the period.

Goalie Amanda Storey had an impressive performance, stopping all nine shots that came her way in the first and continuing the shutout by stopping all six shots in the second period. 

“We have so many girls that are dangerous,” Lowes said about this season’s roster. “Zosia went off tonight, and maybe another night it might be someone else.” 

Liberty’s momentum carried over into the third period, as Shelby Bradford netted her second goal shorthanded at the 19:06 mark. While the physicality amped up in the third, that didn’t stop Adamek from scoring her third goal, as she tipped a beautiful shot by Peyton Carle to achieve the hat trick. 

Shortly after the Pride’s second goal, Haley Battles went down and scored a snip, stopping any momentum the Washington Pride had. 

Adamek’s hat trick was the first of her career, notching her a player of the game accolade. 

 “She was super excited to get back on the ice with the girls,” Lowes said of Adamek. “The first period was kind of slow, but in the second period, we started clicking as a whole team.” 

The Lady Flames will look to keep things rolling as they host the Hockey Training Institute for a two-game series Sept. 30-Oct. 1. 

“(Hockey Training Institute) is going to give us a good battle, but we know what to expect now having a game under our belt,” Carle told media. “We know what to work on and will have good film to watch to be ready … Our biggest competition is ourselves, so as long as we just keep our energy up in practices, we’ll be great against any other team. It’s going to be a great year.”

Cote is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion