Women’s D-I in general
The Minnesota women’s hockey team has added assistant coaches Natalie Darwitz and Jake Bobrowski to the Gophers’ coaching staff. “We are thrilled to have both Natalie and Jake as part of our coaching staff,” Minnesota head coach Brad Frost said in a statement. “They have great coaching track records separately, but have been very dynamic … Read more
USA Hockey has announced that first-year St. Thomas women’s hockey head coach Joel Johnson has been named head coach for the 2022 Olympic women’s hockey team. The 2022 Olympic Winter Games will be staged Feb. 4-20 in Beijing, China. Johnson, with more than 20 years of collegiate coaching experience, will be guiding his first-ever Olympic … Read more
The Toronto Six announced this past week that the team has signed forward Leah Marino, the youngest player picked in last month’s NWHL Draft, to her first professional contract. “I am beyond excited to get started and play in the NWHL,” said Marino to the Six website. “After the sudden discontinuation of the Robert Morris … Read more
St. Thomas has announced the hiring of Bethany Brausen and Marty Sertich as assistant coaches with the Tommies preparing for their first season of Division I competition in 2021-22. Brausen won two NCAA championships playing for Minnesota and also coached the last five seasons at Minnesota as an assistant. A St. Thomas women’s assistant coach … Read more
Norwich has named Taylor Willard as the lead assistant coach for the women’s hockey team. Willard replaces Mollie Fitzpatrick, who left to join the Boston University women’s coaching staff in June. “I am beyond thrilled to have Taylor Willard join our staff,” Norwich head coach Sophie Leclerc said in a statement. “It was clear after … Read more
Robert Morris University and the newly-formed Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation have announced that they will partner together in an effort to raise sufficient funds to support the reinstatement of RMU’s NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey programs in time for the 2021-22 season. The university announced May 26 that it would discontinue the two … Read more
Chris Demczuk has been named the director of hockey operations at Colorado College, replacing Travis Culhane, who took the same job at Denver on Monday. Demczuk served as the video analyst and assisted with team services for the AHL’s Stockton Heat the last two seasons. He led video operations, oversaw the team’s operational budget, coordinated … Read more
Brown has announced the addition of Justin Simpson and Makenna Newkirk as assistant coaches for the Brown women’s hockey team. Simpson comes to College Hill after serving the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach for RIT. Prior to coaching the Tigers, Simpson spent two seasons in the same role at Colby. Prior to Colby, Simpson … Read more
A Team USA veteran, Olympic silver medalist and four-time IIHF World Champion, Shelly Picard has joined the Princeton women’s hockey staff as an assistant coach. Picard fills the opening created when Melanie Ruzzi became the head coach at Brown. “I’m thrilled to welcome Shelly to our coaching staff at Princeton,” said Princeton head coach Cara … Read more
Nick Bryant, who has served as Minnesota Duluth’s women’s hockey director of operations and equipment for the past four seasons, will permanently join USA Hockey as the hockey operations and event manager for the women’s national team ahead of the 2022 Beijing Olympics. “My time here with UMD women’s hockey has had a tremendous impact … Read more
Mercyhurst announced this week contract extensions for men’s hockey head coach Rick Gotkin and women’s hockey head coach Michael Sisti. “It is an exciting time for Mercyhurst Athletics as we prepare to resume normal operations this fall, while two opening two facilities that will rank among the best in our region,” said Mercyhurst director of … Read more
The National Women’s Hockey League held its annual draft Tuesday night, featuring collegiate graduates from across North America. A total of 30 players were selected by the league’s six member clubs over the five-round process and were introduced live on Twitch for the first time in league history. “These athletes represent the future of the … Read more
Norwich women’s hockey assistant coach Mollie Fitzpatrick is stepping down from her post to join the Boston University women’s hockey coaching staff. Fitzpatrick has served as the assistant coach for the past six seasons, helping lead Norwich to the 2018 national championship under head coach Mark Bolding. Fitzpatrick has spent 11 of the last 13 … Read more
Saint Anselm has hired Jen Kindret to serve as the school’s head coach for women’s hockey, becoming just the third individual to lead the Hawks program since its inception. Kindret comes to the Hilltop from Robert Morris where she served a two-year stint as the top assistant coach for the Colonials. Helping the team to … Read more
A new entity, the Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation, released a statement Wednesday evening introducing itself and proclaiming its intentions to bring back the Robert Morris men’s and women’s college hockey teams. Both teams were cut by the university in May, citing a “series of strategic initiatives.” Following that announcement, RMU men’s coach Derek Schooley said … Read more
Hockey East has announced that a new postseason tournament format for the men’s and women’s leagues will be used beginning in 2022. All 11 men’s programs and all 10 women’s programs will compete in a single-elimination postseason tournament for the Lamoriello Trophy and the Bertagna trophy, respectively. “This new format for the Hockey East tournament … Read more
Longtime Harvard women’s hockey coach Katey Stone has been named the recipient of USA Hockey’s 2021 Distinguished Achievement Award. The Watertown, Conn., native has had a storied career at Harvard, a tenure that began with the 1994-95 season. The 2021-22 season will mark her 27th at the helm of the program. Stone has guided the … Read more
USA Hockey announced Thursday that Northeastern goalie Aerin Frankel has been named the 2021 Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year for the 2020-21 season. The award is named in honor of the late Bob Allen who was an ardent supporter of women’s hockey throughout his career. After an abrupt ending to the 2019-20 collegiate … Read more
Twelve athletes, staff and supporters of the Wisconsin Athletic Department will be inducted into the organization’s hall of fame in 2021, Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez announced on Tuesday. “Every year it gets harder and harder to select our inductees into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame and this year was no different,” said UW … Read more
St. Thomas announced Monday that Joel Johnson will be its next women’s hockey head coach. Johnson brings more than 20 years of coaching experience to the Tommies, both at the collegiate level as well as with USA Hockey. Having spent 16 seasons in the WCHA, Johnson will lead St. Thomas’ move into Division I play, … Read more