CHS alum shines in pro hockey debut

Canton native Brittany Lyons recently returned home after a banner first season playing professional hockey overseas as a member of the Neuberg Highlanders of Austria.

A former three-sport standout athlete at Canton High School who went on to star at Quinnipiac University, Lyons led the Highlanders in scoring and finished second overall in the Elite Women’s Hockey League (EWHL). Including playoffs, she finished with 30 goals and 12 assists and was named her team’s Most Valuable Player.

“The hockey was great,” Lyons said of her first pro season. “There was tough competition and it was a much more physical style of play, which I really loved.”

The Highlanders took home the silver medal in the EWHL playoffs after beating the undefeated Vienna Sabres, which featured two of Lyons’ ex-teammates from Quinnipiac. Lyons also helped lead her team to a bronze medal in the national tournament, scoring four goals in the third place match.

Lyons said she thoroughly enjoyed her time in Europe but is currently undecided on whether to sign for a second season.

“I had the most amazing time when my family came to visit,” she said. “We went to Venice and Rome, Paris, and Budapest. We were able to see so many places that I had only dreamed of seeing.”

“My manager Margret was wonderful,” she added. “Anything we ever needed we had. I really appreciated everything I was given.”

A 2008 graduate of CHS, Lyons still holds every major scoring record in both ice hockey and lacrosse, including single-game, single-season, and career records for goals and total points. She also won five state championships and one national championship with the Assabet Valley Girls Ice Hockey program and completed a post-graduate year at The Winchendon School.

A lifelong Canton resident, she is the daughter of Wendy and Gene Lyons. She has two older brothers, Gene and Brandon, and a younger sister, Brianna.

Lyons said playing professional hockey had always been a dream of hers. “I’m so happy I was able to do it,” she said.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on May 8 2014. Filed under Beyond CHS, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.