Wednesday Women: Finding confidence

Kassidy Sauve of Ohio State (Tim Brule)

Arlan and Nicole look at teams that had a hit to their confidence, like St. Lawrence and Colgate, and teams that may have gained some confidence from their surprise results, such as Mercyhurst, Providence, and St. Cloud State, as well as some of the favorites and what will happen in the PairWise in the second half.

Santa’s wish list for women’s D-I

It’s the midway point of the season, and all but a few teams are done with their schedule until after the new year. As the students prepare for finals and we all head into the holidays, I’ve prepared a letter to Santa to let him know what I wish for each of the Division I … Read more

Wednesday Women: New records

Grace Harrison (St. Lawrence - 29) made 27 saves and improved to 8-0-1. ((c) Shelley M. Szwast 2016)

Candace and Nicole take a look at Ann-Renee Desbiens setting a new shutout record, the strengths of Wisconsin and Minnesota, what the Boston College-Boston University split portends in Hockey East, St. Lawrence’s continued early success, and the parity in the CHA.

Wednesday Women: Moving on up

Erin Hall of Holy Cross, one of the tri-captains. (Mark Seliger)

Candace and Arlan look at Holy Cross moving up and compare the Crusaders to previous teams that have moved up to D-I, try to make sense of the many contenders in the ECAC, look at whether Boston College is the favorite in Hockey East, ponder whether North Dakota or Minnesota-Duluth has an edge in the at-large bid battle, and also debate the strengths and weaknesses of teams in the CHA.

Wednesday Women: Surprise teams

In the first Wednesday Women column of the year, former USCHO women’s columnist Arlan Marrtila discusses the surprises out West with our new columnist, Nicole Haase. They also look at St. Lawrence, preview this weekend’s big games, and discuss scoring. Arlan will periodically appear going forward, as will women’s editor Candace Horgan.

Women’s WCHA 2016-17 season preview

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The late addition of Amanda Kessel back to Minnesota’s lineup gave the Gophers just the jump they needed heading into the playoffs last season, and they rode that momentum to a sixth NCAA title, defeating Boston College in the final. The Gophers graduated a strong senior class, as in addition to Kessel, they lost scoring … Read more

Wisconsin tabbed as preseason favorite by WCHA women’s coaches

Defending league regular-season and back-to-back playoff champion Wisconsin is the preseason pick of conference coaches to finish atop the women’s WCHA standings in 2016-17. The Badgers edged out defending national champion Minnesota in the poll of the eight WCHA head coaches. In addition, Wisconsin senior goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens was named preseason Player of the Year … Read more

Longtime ORDA executive Million named new WCHA VP, women’s league commissioner

The WCHA on Thursday named longtime New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority executive Katie Million as its next vice president and women’s league commissioner. Million agreed to a three-year contract and will begin her role Sept. 2. She joins the WCHA after a highly-successful 17-year stay in Lake Placid, N.Y., including the last three … Read more

North Dakota reveals new Fighting Hawks logo

North Dakota has unveiled a logo and wordmark for the Fighting Hawks nickname. “This is an outstanding day for the University of North Dakota and UND athletics,” said UND president Ed Schafer in a statement. “We are thrilled to introduce a champion logo and wordmark for North Dakota’s teams, our champion Fighting Hawks athletics program.” … Read more

WCHA awards postgraduate scholarships to Alaska-Anchorage’s Sevalrud, North Dakota’s Amsley-Benzie

A pair of WCHA players who have excelled both on and off the ice – Austin Sevalrud of Alaska-Anchorage and Shelby Amsley-Benzie of North Dakota – are the men’s and women’s WCHA postgraduate scholarship recipients for 2016. Now in its 13th year, the WCHA Postgraduate Scholarship Program awards grants of $7,500 each for postgraduate studies. … Read more

Wednesday Women: Frozen Four

Sarah Potomak of Minnesota (Minnesota Athletics)

Candace and Arlan look at the results from the NCAA quarterfinals, preview the Frozen Four semifinal matchups and what each team needs to do to win, and give their best guess on who might be the Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player, depending on which team wins.