Women's Ice Hockey | 9/20/2016 1:48:00 PM

The Mercyhurst women's hockey program is excited to announce the hiring of its new assistant coach, Lyndsay Barch, who is a 2004 alum of the University.

Barch, a native of Burlington, Ont., had a successful career as a Laker. In 134 games, she totaled 40 goals and 36 assists for 76 total pints. She led the team in points as a freshman, finishing with 22 (11-11) during the 2000-01 season.

Barch is no stranger the success surrounding the Mercyhurst program as a whole, having displayed leadership abilities to become one of the program's proud captains. The Lakers were the Great Lakes Women's Hockey Association Tournament runner-up during Barch's freshman year before they rattled off three consecutive conference tournament championships. Mercyhurst won the GLWHA Tournament in 2001-02 before claiming back-to-back College Hockey America Tournament championships in 2002-03 and 2003-04.

"We have accomplished many great achievements as we begin our 18th season of hockey here at Mercyhurst," head coach Michael Sisti said. "We have done it with plenty of great players and coaches striving for excellence. It is a pleasure to welcome Lyndsay to our staff. She knows the key building blocks that helped shape our program and brings great enthusiasm and insight to our staff. It is awesome to have two Mercyhurst alums come back and coach at the place they thrived as student-athletes.  We can't wait to start the season and Lyndsay will be a wonderful addition." 

The Lakers hope the infusion of an alum like Barch will help sustain the success that has resulted in 16 consecutive regular-season championships, 13 conference tournament titles, 11 NCAA Tournament bids and three Frozen Four appearances.

Not only was Barch a hard-working athlete but strong in the classroom as well, graduating from Mercyhurst in 2004 with a Marketing degree -- a field in which she led a progressive career for the past nine years. While working as a marketing manager for various big brand companies, Barch continued to play Senior AA hockey and has spent time leading others as a hockey instructor, yoga teacher and personal trainer. Although Barch has been successful in her career, her passion remains in hockey.

Barch is excited to be returning to Mercyhurst as a mentor and leader for a new generation of Lakers. Her insight into the sport, understanding of work-life balance, life experience and leadership style will effectively support the team in achieving higher performance levels on and off the ice. 

"I'm excited about returning to Mercyhurst as a leader once again -- this time in the shoes of a coach," she said. "Believing in a program and understanding our players' potential will allow me to guide them to believe in themselves and what playing at a Division I level is all about. These years are some of the most inspiring -- yet challenging -- years an elite female student-athlete will go through and I'm looking forward to having a positive influence on their individual growth and working with Coach Sisti and Coach Goulet."

Coach Sisti added, "One of the things my job entails is helping young coaches learn the game and profession before moving forward with opportunities in the sport. Over the years, we have placed many of our players and coaches in various hockey positions. Our volunteer coaches have found full-time employment in coaching and our assistant coaches have moved forward to be head coaches. We have been fortunate that Lou has turned down some opportunities to continue his work here as our Associate Head Coach. We are looking forward to helping our players accomplish their goals on and off the ice. I looking forward to working with Lou and Lyndsay this season."