Lady Flames hockey player named Player of the Year

Liberty University ACHA Division I women’s hockey player Yannick Truter became the Lady Flames’ third player in the past four seasons to receive the Zoe Harris Award, which recognizes the ACHA’s regular-season Player of the Year.

“It was a huge honor, and I am very thankful and blessed to be able to have gotten it,” Truter said. “The support I got from my teammates was just incredible, and so many of them could have won it as well. You can’t succeed if you don’t have people around you that are great hockey players, great friends, great teammates. It’s an honor to be able to wear a letter on this team and to play with girls of such high caliber. I am grateful for the privilege of being able to play with them.”

Truter, a junior forward, follows graduate defenseman Dana McLeod who won the award last season and joined her on this year’s ACHA first team, and former forward Lauren McDonald, who became the Lady Flames’ first recipient in 2019.

“Yannick is just a top-level athlete,” Liberty Head Coach Chris Lowes said. “She’s one of the elite skaters, stick handlers, and goal scorers and has been a dynamic player in the league for the past three years. She does everything for us, plays in all situations as a two-way centerman and works hard without the puck. Obviously, as a captain, she’s a big part of the leadership and setting the standards and culture of our team. We are super excited for her and she is very deserving.”

The team has its sights set on a fifth National Championship this weekend. Liberty (22-0), the No. 1-ranked team in the league since the start of the season, takes a 37-game winning streak into the ACHA DI National Championships at the Centene Community Ice Center and will meet No. 9 Maryville University in a quarterfinal contest today, Friday, March 18, at 7 p.m. (EST).

“It’s going to take a lot of focus, mental and emotional preparation for us to be ready to give it our all and give 100 percent on the ice,” Truter said. “Even though we are undefeated on the season, taking a shift off is definitely not an option, because you never know what is going to happen at nationals. It’s make-or-break time.”

>> Follow the Lady Flames on Liberty’s Club Sports team page.