Post #132 – 4/8/24 – The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline Is Back!
The Pipeline Returns
The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline…
Stay informed. Get educated.
Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey
Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…
- Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap
It’s Great To Be Back…
Hi everyone.
It’s GREAT to be back with you as I get The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline back up and running again.
With my college hockey season over and now shifting gears into a new but familiar phase (recruiting), I have more time to keep all of you updated on what’s going on in the world of women’s college hockey.
Last year, I tried a new format which I got a lot of positive feedback on… shorter posts, but delivered more frequently. It seemed to work well as there was no shortage of news and info to disperse but much easier for me to manage. In an age where attention span is hard to capture, the ‘shorter-but-more-frequent’ option allowed me to be more consistent.
So, expect more of the same.
What A Season…
It was an amazing college hockey season.
In Division-I, Ohio State won it’s 2nd NCAA Championship in three seasons defeating Wisconsin 1-0 in front of 4,378 fans. UNH hosted The Frozen Four in Durham, NH. OSU avenged a defeat in the NCAA title game a year ago to the same Wisconsin Badgers by an identical score.
In Division-III, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls capped off an an undefeated season going 31-0-0 en-route to its first-ever NCAA Championship tittle with 4-1 win over Elmira College in front of 1,789 fans on home ice. The Thirty-one victories are the most ever in D-III women’s hockey.
The NCAA D-I coaching pool grew this year with D-I teams allowed to hire a 4th coach.
New (and old) D-I and D-III college programs began play this year expanding the sport.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League, (PWHL), kicked off play in January and has been nothing short of spectacular in all facets. The caliber of play has been tremendous, attendance numbers are off the charts, and the buzz within hockey AND the sporting world has been phenomenal. Over 90% of PWHL players played NCAA college hockey.
Lots More To Look Forward To…
There will be much to discuss in The Pipeline as the months go by. College sports, and hockey in particular, could be in for some major changes from the NCAA in the not too distant future.
At the NCAA level, the 5th year COVID players are going away after the 24-25 season which means a shift is coming in recruiting for many D-I programs. 24-25 brings the potential for new playing rules to be introduced as its an NCAA rules change year across all of NCAA college hockey. The game is expanding with new D-I and D-III teams coming online over the next few years. And to help make the NCAA women’s game more visible, College Hockey Inc. has added a full-time Director of Women’s Hockey.
The PWHL is making its case for a viable, sustainable professional league that is here to stay.
The IIHF is in Utica, New York as I write this hosting the top level World Championships. The USA Hockey Girls National Championships just completed in Tampa, FL and Green Bay, WI. North of the border in Canada, league and provincial champions are being crowned. The Esso Cup Midget National Championships are a few weeks away. USA Hockey national development camp tryouts will be taking place soon. Spring and Summer camps as well as the showcase circuit begins. And tryout season for ’24-’25 is right around the corner (or have they already happened??!!).
It’s an exciting time for women’s college hockey right now… and The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline will here to keep you updated and informed – so stay tuned!
Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and Take Care,
-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.
-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.
-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.
-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.
-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.
NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.
Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.
Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.
