How the Fussy sisters bond on the ice

This season’s Liberty women’s D1 Hockey team is historic. They have won 48 games straight, which spans over the past three seasons. 

This year, they’ve started 8-0, stringing together blowout after blowout in their quest for their fifth ACHA title in a row. 

The latest of those blowouts came in an 11-0 win over Chatham University (Pittsburg). Leading the charge for the Lady Flames is a host of incredible athletes, two of whom share the same last name. 

Brityn and Brielle Fussy grew up in Ham Lake, Minnesota, where they both found their love for the sport of hockey. 

“Brielle started before me, so I watched her first year, and I was like, ‘Oh, I want to do that,’” Brityn, the elder of the two, said. “I remember watching her practice and realizing how fun that would be, so I kind of joined after she did.” 

While they may have grown up under the same roof, the Fussy sisters didn’t play together much on the ice. 

“I don’t think we ever really played with each other since we were apart in youth, but once we hit maybe last year of youth, sort of in high school, that’s when we started playing with each other,” Brityn said.

That changed quickly when they came to Liberty and both sisters were skating next to each other for the Flames. 

“Every good memory you have now with the sport, you also share with your sibling,” Brielle said. “Like, (we) scored an overtime goal in Adrian, and we were ecstatic because you get to share that with your sibling now. It’s something you carry with you for a lifetime.”

In their latest game against Chatham, three of the team’s 11 goals were thanks to the two of them, two scored by Brielle and one by Brityn. 

Their goal-scoring ability on the ice is far from the only exceptional thing about the Fussys. Their fire for the Lord off the ice translates into everything they put on it.

“It’s still fun being on the team that is setting the standard, especially when you’re doing it in … Christ’s name,” Brielle said. “You want to be the best in his name. So yes, you do want those close games and stuff, but you also want to be a team that shows that you can win and win with class and win with being Christ-like.” 

Their relationship with each other and God is a major priority for the sisters. 

“We’ve been best friends since we were little,” Brityn said. “Like, no one has separated us, not even college. Just that one year  (we were separated, with) me coming in before her, that was the hardest. But I feel like the thing that keeps us so close is God … We bond over that and (keep) each other accountable again through Christ, especially on the ice.” 

Palsgrove  is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter