The women’s ice hockey team at Lake Forest College got off to a rocky start at the beginning of the season, but has been skating through their competition with hard work and dedication from the players.
The women’s team is currently ranked 2nd in the NCHA with a conference record of 9-3-2 and an overall record of 10-5-3. According to USCHO.com’s Division III Women’s Poll on February 2, 2015, the Lady Foresters are ranked 10th in the nation. The women, who were unranked before the February poll, have created an upward trend for themselves after they battled with St. Scholastica to a 4-4 tie on January 31, 2015.
Melissa Paluch, captain for the women’s team, has high hopes for her girls as they near the end of their regular season. Despite their record, Paluch said “The women couldn’t have done it without the commitment of the upperclassmen and freshman class, who are determined on finishing out the season strong.”
Seven freshmen joined the women’s ice hockey team this season and according to Paluch, “All seven girls have made an impact by stepping up and finding the role on their team.” One of the centers coming to the team this year and making a major impact is Leah Ebdon ’18.
“It’s tough transitioning from being the go-to player on your team in high school to starting all over again in college with a new group of people,” said Ebdon when asked about her experience thus far as a Forester.
The women’s Head Coach, Carisa Zaban Wahlig, described her team to be very “offensive minded” for “never lacking the ability to put the puck in the net when everyone is running on all cylinders.” Paluch commented on how the rest of the season should go, “With playoffs right around the corner, we are determined to achieve our goal of defending the Slaats Cup Championship and qualifying for the NCAA’s.”
When asked about how she thinks the end of the regular season will play out, Coach Zaban said, “I can see us coming out on top at the end of the season if we start playing more consistently as a team with each player accepting their role and doing it to the best of their ability.”
Ebdon sees her teammates as family and has already developed life long friendships. Admiring her team’s commitment, Ebdon said, “We play not for ourselves, but for each other and you can see this coming together better on the ice as we near the end.”
The women’s ice hockey team will finish off their season with two home conference games on Friday, February 20th (Parent’s Day) vs. Concordia (Wis.) at 7pm and Saturday, February 21st (Senior Day) vs. Marian (Wis.) at 2pm.
The team encourages students to attend their final games as they hope to wrap up their season with more wins. 
