Women’s D-I in general
Findlay opened some eyes with a win over Niagara to start the year; now, Craig Roberts notes, the Oilers hope to build on a strong start to the CHA season. Also: Niagara visits Brown in the season’s first matchup of 2002 Frozen Four participants.
It doesn’t get much tougher than this. In fact, by definition it can’t. One week after hosting No.1 Minnesota-Duluth, Wisconsin ventures to Minneapolis to play second-ranked Minnesota. Craig Roberts reports.
Brown has been selected host of the 2003 ECAC Women’s Hockey League championship. The event will take place at Brown’s recently renovated Meehan Auditorium in [nl]Providence, R.I. Semifinal games will be on Saturday, March 15, with the championship game on Sunday, March 16. “We have a successful working relationship with Brown, having conducted four events … Read more
Minnesota-Duluth’s lead in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll slipped to just five points over No. 2 Minnesota, after the Bulldogs won and tied against No. 6 Wisconsin in a weekend set. Minnesota earned a sweep over Ohio State, and vaulted into first place in the WCHA standings. 10 of the 15 first-place votes … Read more
Minnesota-Duluth has a natural rivalry with in-state opponent Minnesota, but the Bulldogs’ animosity for Wisconsin is not a thing to be missed either. The Badgers square off with the defending NCAA titlists in this weekend’s premier WCHA matchup, Craig Roberts reports.
Thanks to the league’s late formation, each CHA team will play only six conference games this season. The upside to that unique arrangement? Every game really means something. Craig Roberts previews the upcoming action.
Last season’s NCAA champion Elmira earned first place in the preseason edition of the USCHO.com Division III Women’s Poll, nabbing ten of eleven possible votes. Elmira loses no one to graduation from a squad that went 26-1-1 on its way to the championship. The Soaring Eagles will have plenty of competition from within its own … Read more
Providence coach Bob Deraney doesn’t want to look at 2002-03 as a whole new season but rather a continuation of the last one. And who can blame him? Providence closed out last season with a run through the ECAC East tournament that included an upset of eventual Frozen Four participant Niagara, followed by a 1-0 … Read more
Eighteen years after the men’s teams did the same, Hockey East breaks out on its own this season, and ‘parity’ is the buzzword.
Fourteen sophomores and five freshmen make up the bulk of Connecticut’s ever-developing women’s hockey program. There are two juniors as well, and naturally, with no seniors, they’re both captains. Such are the circumstances Heather Linstad faces in her third year as UConn head coach, her second with a full recruiting class. “I wouldn’t have taken … Read more
Of the six coaches in Hockey East, five of them have been with their programs for at least two years. The only new guy in town is New Hampshire’s Brian McCloskey, who steps over from the associate men’s coach position to become just the third coach in the 25-year history of the women’s program. McCloskey … Read more
Boston College may have won just nine games last season, but those nine were the best output in the young program’s history. Now coach Tom Babson is expecting to make it to the next level. The goal of reaching the Hockey East playoffs by finishing in the league’s top four, he feels, is within reach. … Read more
Northeastern coach Joy Woog’s master plan for the inaugural Hockey East season is to emulate the growth of a successful team from the 2001-02 ECAC East season. No, it’s not last year’s Huskies, who started the year with 10 straight wins and finished 27-7-1. Rather, Woog wants to be like last year’s Providence team — … Read more
Just three years ago, Maine was a six-win team. Today, the Black Bears are coming off back-to-back above-.500 campaigns, and coach Rick Filighera thinks his program can compete with anyone this year. “All of sudden, we show up a rink, we can win that game now, but we can also lose that game,” he said, … Read more
After solid performances in nonconference play — led by Mercyhurst’s 4-0 start — the CHA women’s league kicks off its inaugural season of conference action this weekend. Craig Roberts reports.
The University of Minnesota blazes a trail this weekend with the opening of its new women’s hockey facility, the state-of-the-art Ridder Arena. Craig Roberts reports on happenings in the WCHA.
The College Hockey America Women’s league opens play this season with a bang, and instant credibility thanks to a Frozen Four entrant last season in Niagara and another rising power in Mercyhurst. Craig Roberts breaks down the new league’s prospects for 2002-03.
Optimism abounds at Mercyhurst, where preparations are well under way for the program’s fourth season. Head coach Michael Sisti’s first recruiting class comes into its senior season having won 61 games; the group makes up half of the team’s 24-player roster. “It’s been a fun ride,” Sisti said. “It’s been fun watching them grow and … Read more
After a 9-4 exhibition win over Windsor on Sept. 28, Findlay head coach Adam Brinker knew his young team still had some work to do. “We saw a lot of early-season mistakes,” Brinker said. “They were mistakes that are typical of young teams. But we’ve had a couple of weeks to correct those things. I … Read more
North Dakota opened its inaugural season by splitting a pair of exhibition games at Manitoba; the games summed up what head coach Shantel Rivard had said of her team beforehand. “We have a young, inexperienced team,” she said during training camp. “Our fitness level is good and we’re putting in a lot of hard work. … Read more