Wearing number seven for the Liberty Lady Flames, Yannick Truter shone brightly for the Liberty Lady Flames. Scoring in the 2022 ACHA D1 National Championship game, a convincing 5-1 triumph versus Nebraska’s Midland Warriors, extending their winning streak to a fantastic 40, it marked a crowning achievement for the highly skilled forward. Attending Liberty’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, Truter also captured the 2021 ACHA Division I women’s hockey national championship Tournament MVP, foreshadowing many more honors to come.
Emerging as the heartbeat of the Lady Flames offense during the championship season, Truter, raised in North Saanich, British Columbia earned number of prestigious accolades, placing her in the pantheon of Liberty hockey heroines. Truter became the third Lady Flame to earn the Zoe Harris Award over the last four seasons, joining Dana McLeod and Lauren McDonald in this distinguished group.
Recognizing the ACHA Player of the Year, along with Lady Flames Team MVP and Most Valuable Forward honors, Truter amassed a 27-point campaign, highlighted by a 10-game scoring streak spanning from November 7 to February 18. Statistically, Truter’s finest performance involved a superlative seven point output (two goals, five assists) in an 11-0 shutout victory on November 19 versus Arizona State. Equally impressive was her disciplined play, spending only two minutes in the penalty box.
Adding to Truter’s haul of hockey hardware by capturing ACHA Playoff MVP honors, the Lady Flames outscored their opponents, Maryville, Lindenwood and Midland, by a cumulative score of 16-3. Through it all, Truter admirably recognized how such achievements were attributed to an overall team effort, a remarkable culture built on mutual respect and encouragement.
“It was an amazing gift from the Lord to receive those awards and it was an honor to receive them with the team of girls that I had standing behind me; they are all truly incredible.
One of the most beautiful things about our team this year is how we have celebrated each others accomplishments (on and off the ice). If a girl scored a goal, the whole team would be on their feet celebrating them; if someone was outstanding in their academics, we noticed and congratulated them.
There was no room for selfishness because we realized that when one person succeeded we all succeeded. This award may only have had room for one recipient, but honestly, this is my team’s award; none one of us would have gotten anywhere on our own.”
Perhaps Truter’s finest hour, a natural hat trick in the ACHA semifinals match versus Lindenwood, set the tone that the dream of an undefeated championship season was truly possible. Heading into Nationals, Lindenwood and Liberty shared the record for most ACHA titles with four each. Undeniably, Truter’s efforts proved essential towards the historic fifth title.
Reflecting on the phenomenal performance, Truter observed how the hat trick, and subsequent win, were part of a bigger story. Although everything meshed for Truter, the conclusion held the most meaningful facet, testament to her team first philosophy.
“It was exciting to be able to get the hatty, but if I am going to be honest, that is probably not the part that I will remember from all of this. The games leading up to the final, and even the final game, all kind of blurs together when I look back.
I cannot necessarily tell you what happened during gametime or the plays that went down, but the part that is clear in my mind is what happened when that final buzzer went and we had won our fourth straight national championship.
My highlight was hugging all my teammates and knowing that all the work we had put into the season had led to this final moment. Everyone played a part and it just hit me how blessed I was with the group of girls we had this year because without them I would not have been standing there.”
The pinnacle of a national championship is not meant for Truter to compare herself or her team to others. Instead, observing the bigger picture reflects a highly commendable humility, her faith admirably prevalent.
Finding inspiration in “The Parable of the Talents”, Truter shows a strong appreciation and gratitude for team and teammates alike. Among the inspiring themes of the Parable include how one uses their gifts, emphasizing using them wisely, and how growth can be achieved from them, all with the greater good in mind.
“Throughout this championship, one story kept replaying in my mind. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells this parable about a master who left his house and left some of his money (called talents) with each of his servants. They all received a different amount of money and each chose to do different things with their talents.
Two of the servants went and invested the money, so when the master returned they gave it back to him with a return on his investment. The third servant buried his talents in the ground and when the master returned he simply gave him back what he had given him, but with no return.
This is how I see our team. We are the servants of the Lord, and He entrusted us with these talents. Throughout the year we have worked hard and have seen a return on our investment with our undefeated season, our conference title and our national championship win.
Ultimately, this is not our reward to keep. We give all glory to God because this team is his, our talents are his, and ultimately our success and the return on what He has given us is His. I am so proud of our girls for how hard we worked – “well done”!”
“All quotes obtained first hand unless otherwise indicated”
Featured image obtained from: https://www.liberty.edu/club-sports/news/lady-flames-eager-to-open-season-at-home-against-washington/
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