The life of a student-athlete is already taxing as is, but the balancing act that junior goaltender Elizabeth McLane puts on is at another level.
McLane is a member of two University club hockey teams and an Army ROTC cadet while pursuing degrees in sociology and psychology.
“I feel like I definitely sacrifice sleep, of course, as we all do as college students,” McLane said.
The junior plays for two different teams — the more advanced American Collegiate Hockey Association team and the beginner Women’s Central Hockey League team — and plays two completely different positions.
McLane is a goaltender for the ACHA team and a forward for the WCHL team. She said it’s already a tough transition equipment-wise, but the mental change required is even more challenging.
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“As a player, I’m not stressed going into games,” McLane said. “I’m sure people are, but as a goalie, I’m always like, ‘Got to lock in.’ As a player, I’m like ‘La la la la la.’”
WCHL team president and senior Irene Bogusz agreed that the mental transition is one of the most important and difficult parts of the positional change.
“Changing your style so much from completely defense to fully offense — that takes a lot of brain,” Bogusz said. “She’s been getting, for over 10 years now, ‘Stop pucks.’ ‘Don’t leave the goal.’ Now, she’s a forward, one of our best scorers and throwing herself into the game.”
ACHA team head coach Kim Nelczyk said she’s impressed by McLane’s ability to commit to both hockey teams and ROTC.
“I think it’s very impressive,” Nelczyk said. “I think she’s very disciplined in order to do all of those things and give 100% while she’s here.”
The fact that McLane suits up for two teams also means she participates in double the practices.
The two teams have less-than-ideal practice times, with some days at the rink not ending until nearly midnight.
“We have practice that goes until 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday nights, and then practice that goes until 9:30 (p.m.) on Mondays, which is way better,” McLane said. “That 11:45 practice time … Every Thursday, I have to be awake at 5:30 a.m., so yeah, that’s just what that is.”
As busy as McLane is, she might be even busier next year. Her teammates recently voted her in as the next president of the ACHA team after she had served as the vice president this season.
Bogusz said McLane’s approachability is one of the main reasons the team selected her as its next president.
“She really gets to know everybody and has good communication with them,” Bogusz said. “She has a good relationship with everyone. It’s very calm conversation with her always.”
On the ice, McLane plays center for the WCHL team, a position that naturally requires strong communication skills.
“You have to be a leader for that,” Bogusz said. “You have to be able to direct people in the right direction.”
McLane said her leadership experience, both on and off the ice, helps her in ROTC, while ROTC keeps her well-conditioned for the rigors of hockey.
“I think hockey helps me in ROTC for leadership because, this year as VP, I had to do a bunch of stuff both behind the scenes and in front of people,” McLane said. “I was not that confident in my leadership before, and now, that leadership from hockey is reflecting into ROTC, whereas my fitness from ROTC reflects into hockey.”
One change McLane hopes to see going forward in her new role is to enhance the program’s reputation. The current ACHA team had spent last season in the WCHL playing “old women teams,” as McLane described them.
“Being non-ACHA in the past, the team is almost like a beer league team, minus the fact that, obviously, we don’t drink or anything,” McLane said. “But now we’re trying to be a more competitive team and take it more seriously.”
That more serious style was immediately apparent in the team’s opponents.
Instead of playing against teams like the Beverly Bombshells and Mother Puckers — both opponents of the current WCHL team — Illinois defeated teams from Miami and Notre Dame this season.
The program will see a significant chunk of its members graduate this year. As frantic as her schedule is, McLane is already looking for more players for next season.
“She really wants (the program) to get better,” Nelczyk said. “Having that drive in order to do so will motivate her to continue to work hard to get as many followers as she can, as far as people who believe in her and believe in her mission, and just continue to promote the team and continue to grow it.”
