Women’s D-I in general
Robert Morris announced Friday at a press conference at the RMU Island Sports Center that it will reinstate its NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey programs for the 2023-24 season. “Given the passion and enthusiasm of the hockey community, we wanted to give the fans of RMU hockey every opportunity to bring the programs … Read more
The NCAA formally approved the expansion of the the women’s hockey tournament to 11 teams for the 2021-22 season yesterday. But two big changes to the women’s bracket selection process were also quietly made. The women’s hockey pre-championship manual has always included a stipulation to prioritize cost reduction and fewer flights when setting up the … Read more
The NCAA announced Thursday it has approved an immediate expansion of the women’s ice hockey championship bracket from eight teams to 11 teams. The expansion will take place for the 2022 tournament. The 2022 Frozen Four is being hosted at Penn State March 18-20, 2022. Per the release: “The 2022 National Collegiate Women’s Ice Hockey Championship will … Read more
(5) Minnesota at (1) Wisconsin The Gophers snapped an eight-game winless streak against the Badgers with a 3-2 win on Friday night. It was Wisconsin’s first loss of the season. Taylor Heise put Minnesota on the board just 27 seconds into the game. It looked like the Badgers might escape a sloppy first down just … Read more
The Hockey Commissioners Association announced Thursday its three women’s college hockey players of the month for November. Minnesota senior forward Taylor Heise is the player of the month, while Long Island freshman goaltender Tindra Holm is the rookie of the month and Northeastern graduate student Aerin Frankel and Mercyhurst junior goalie Jenna Silvonen are the … Read more
The RMU Celebrity Hockey Faceoff, the recent charity hockey game that featured RMU hockey alums facing off against Pittsburgh Penguins alums and Pittsburgh celebrities on November 7, was a great success. The game featured a sold-out crowd at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, practice rink of the Penguins. The RMU alums won 12-11 in a … Read more
The WCHA has agreed to a three-year contract extension with commissioner Jennifer Flowers that will keep Flowers with the league through the 2024-25 season. “I am grateful for the support of our membership. Leading this league is an opportunity that means so much to me,” said Flowers in a statement. “The foundation of this league … Read more
Four women’s hockey players have earned Hockey Commissioners Association monthly honors for October. Wisconsin sophomore forward Makenna Webster is player of the month, followed by Mercyhurst freshman forward Vanessa Upson as rookie of the month, and co-goaltenders of the month in Northeastern graduate student Aerin Frankel and Franklin Pierce sophomore Suzette Faucher. Webster led the … Read more
The Division III Presidents Council supported three membership-sponsored legislative proposals late last month in preparation for the 2022 NCAA convention in Indianapolis. The council voted to support legislation that allows all Division III schools with Division I programs to provide financial aid, i.e. athletic scholarships, supporting the proposal that would provide consistent framework to the … Read more
When the NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee approved expanding the women’s hockey tournament field from eight to 11 teams on Wednesday, they showed they are more interested in manufacturing the appearance of equality than in actually achieving it and ruined any illusions I may have had that fundamental, structural changes would take place in … Read more
The NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee on Wednesday approved expanding the national women’s hockey brackets for the NCAA tournament. The bracket will expand from eight to 11 teams, but the Women’s Ice Hockey Committee has yet to decide whether the new bracket format will be implemented in 2022 or 2023. Once the committee makes … Read more
The Hockey Humanitarian Award is presented annually to college hockey’s “finest citizen” and seeks to recognize college hockey players, male or female, who contribute to local and/or global communities in a true humanitarian spirit. Each year, the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation receives many submissions from sports information directors and hockey coaches across men’s and women’s … Read more
The NCAA Championship Oversight Committee will convene November 10th to immediately reconsider the petition to expand the women’s hockey tournament from 8 to 12 teams for this season. According to UMD coach Maura Crowell, this comes as a response to the findings from the report published by Kaplan, Hecker and Fink (KHF) law offices last … Read more
Nicole: Halloween may be over, but we’ve got a special treat this week as Gabriella Fundaro joins me as a Guest Contributor to Wednesday Women. Gabs writes about women’s college hockey at The Ice Garden and has been covering the sport for various outlets for 10 years. Gabs and I both wrote this week about … Read more
The Robert Morris Department of Athletics in partnership with the Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation, it will host the first-ever RMU Celebrity Hockey Faceoff and silent auction this coming Sunday, Nov. 7, at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, Pa. The exhibition game and fundraising event will feature some of Pittsburgh’s most high-profile celebrities … Read more
ECAC Hockey announced today it is extending its rights agreement with ESPN+ to stream more than 350 games each season through 2028-29. Every regular-season and post-season game (conference and nonconference) hosted at an ECAC Hockey venue will be streamed on ESPN+ with no blackout restrictions. That includes the annual women’s championship, and men’s championship in … Read more
RIT’s women’s hockey game scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. against St. Lawrence will change dates and venues. The Tigers will next play Friday, Oct. 22 at St. Lawrence at 6 p.m. to move up an originally scheduled game from Saturday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. The postponed home game against St. Lawrence … Read more
Courtney Kennedy, Brian Pothier and Steve Thompson will join head coach Joel Johnson’s staff as assistant coaches and goaltending coach, respectively, for the 2022 U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team. “We’ve got a dynamic coaching staff with varied backgrounds,” said Katie Million, general manager of the 2022 U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team, in a statement. “It’s … Read more
The Ontario Hockey League on Thursday announced that Kirsten Welsh will become the first woman linesperson in OHL history. Originally from Blackstock, Ont., Welsh worked Thursday’s game between the host Mississauga Steelheads and visiting Guelph Storm and will also work Friday’s preseason game between the host Oshawa Generals and visiting Windsor Spitfires. She will be … Read more
Two former Northeastern hockey players are the newest members of the Northeastern Hall of Fame. Fiona Rice, class of 1990, and Brad Thiessen, class of 2011, will be inducted with both the 2020 and 2021 hall of fame classes on November 11 at Blackman Auditorium on the university’s campus. Rice holds the record for most … Read more