Women’s D-I in general
Last season’s WCHA runner-up Wisconsin has been selected as the 2005-06 favorite in the league’s coaches poll. Sara Bauer, Wisconsin’s leading scorer for the last two seasons, was named the 2005-06 WCHA Preseason Player of the Year. The Badgers received the maximum number of first place votes, since coaches could not vote their own teams, … Read more
Balance is the defining trait of the 2005-06 Preseason All-USCHO teams, released today. While last season’s teams were dominated by WCHA players, Minnesota in particular, this year’s three teams were split more uniformly across the conferences and top contenders. Preseason No. 1 St. Lawrence, No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth, and No. 5 Mercyhurst led the way with … Read more
With its third Frozen Four appearance in the five-year history of the NCAA women’s hockey tournament, St. Lawrence solidified its status as one of the nation’s elite programs. But while the Frozen Four banners have been perennial, the championship banners have not – at either the conference or national level. Could this be the year … Read more
Entering its fourth year, College Hockey America is playing with already its third different four-team configuration. But while conference membership has constantly been in flux, the standing leadership has not. No matter the CHA opponents, Mercyhurst has torn through them. The Lakers are a near-perfect 34-1-1 in CHA competition, including the postseason. With four of … Read more
For the fourth consecutive year, Mercyhurst is the choice of College Hockey America head coaches in the league’s preseason poll. The Lakers, who received all three possible first-place votes (coaches did not vote for their own teams) recorded nine points in the poll. Mercyhurst, which opens the season fifth in the U.S. College Hockey Online … Read more
The WCHA All-Stars doubled their scoring output in their rematch against the U.S. National Team Saturday night at the DECC, but still fell well short in a 5-2 defeat. Bemidji State sophomore Tara Hiscock and North Dakota sophomore Cami Wooster scored goals for the WCHA. Wooster and UNH alum Tricia Dunn-Luoma ’96, who had two … Read more
Team USA took the first strides in the Hilton Family Skate to 2006 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul against a team of WCHA All-Stars. The objectives heading into the game and the reactions after the USA’s 5-1 victory varied greatly, both between the two teams and individual members. The result left national … Read more
For the second year in a row, New Hampshire is the preseason favorite in the Hockey East coaches’ poll. The Wildcats, who have won or shared the last two regular season titles but have never won the postseason title, hope this year’s team’s NCAA aspirations will be realized with only one senior graduated from last … Read more
In the final weekend before the start of the college season, an All-Star team of WCHA Players will face the 2005-06 U.S. Women’s National Team in a two-game series to lead off the Hilton Family Skate to 2006 Tour. The pre-Olympic tour begins Friday Sept. 30 at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. … Read more
St. Lawrence claimed the top spot in the ECACHL’s women’s coaches poll with eight of 11 first place votes to beat out Dartmouth and two-time defending champion Harvard. The Saints also were the only team to place two players on the All-League team announced on Tuesday. Harvard earned top billing in the league’s first ever … Read more
Beginning this October, USCHO will present the second season of the Women’s Game of the Week, the only weekly national Internet broadcast for women’s hockey. Fans can access the live game feeds through the broadcast schedule linked from the USCHO women’s page. For the 2005-06 season, the broadcast schedule has been expanded to include 28 … Read more
For the second year in a row, a third period goal by former Cornell player Dana Antal lifted the Canadian Women’s National Team to a 2-1 victory over the United States at the Four Nations Cup. The Canadian victory avenged a shootout loss to the U.S. from the 2005 World Championships, which Antal had missed … Read more
Laura Halldorson, coach of the two-time defending NCAA champion Minnesota women’s hockey team, signed a three contract on Tuesday. Halldorson, who just completed her eighth season at the helm of the program, is now committed to Minnesota through the 2007-08 season. “We are excited to have Laura signed through the end of the 2008 season,” … Read more
The ECACHL has decided to move it’s women’s championships to an on-campus venue for the 2006 season. The ECACHL has held it’s women’s championships at Messa Rink on the campus of Union College for the past two seasons, but this coming year it will be at the home rink of the highest remaining seed in … Read more
College Hockey America, unique among the six men’s Division I hockey conferences in that it holds its entire championship tournament in one weekend, has gone a step farther. The league and member institution Wayne State announced Tuesday that the [nl]Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Detroit will be the site of both the 2006 men’s and … Read more
Eight current U.S. collegians and seven U.S. college alumni were among the 27 women selected by Hockey Canada for centralization in preparation for the 2006 Olympics. Six of the eight current collegians are underclassmen who will have to postpone their NCAA eligibility in their bid to make the Canadian Olympic team. The six are Ohio … Read more
Mercyhurst College has announced contract extensions for men’s hockey coach Rick Gotkin and women’s hockey coach Mike Sisti. Both coaches’ contracts will extend through the 2008-09 season. Gotkin led the Lakers to their third conference championship this past season and first since the formation of Atlantic Hockey. The championship earned the Lakers their third berth … Read more
For the first time ever, the U.S. is the World Champion of women’s hockey by virtue of a 3-1 shootout victory over Canada after 80 minutes of scoreless hockey. Recent Harvard graduate Angela Ruggiero ’04 and Minnesota junior Krissy Wendell, the past two Patty Kazmaier winners, scored the two decisive shootout goals for the U.S. … Read more
In each of the eight previous World Women’s Championships, Canada has beaten the U.S. in the final. Saturday afternoon in Linkoping, Sweden, Canada will look to make it nine a row. In the semifinal round, Canada beat Finland 3-0 and the U.S. beat Sweden 4-1 to set up the gold medal game rematch. Minnesota junior … Read more
Any signs that Sweden or Finland had narrowed the gap with the U.S. and Canada were few and far between on Wednesday. The U.S. topped Finland 8-1 and Canada beat Sweden 10-0 to each clinch first place in their respective pools. Dartmouth junior Gillian Apps was the Player of the Game for Canada and recent … Read more