Category Archives: 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship

Post #63 – 1/2/22 – Happy New Year, Weekly Schedule, Polls, Conf. Standings, Lots of Sifters

In This Post…

  • Happy New Year! |
  • We’ll take a look at the upcoming weekly D-I schedule|
  • See who’s ranked in the USCHO.com, USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine, and the ‘Power 10’ national polls|
  • Conference Standings after the first half|
  • Sifters… Little tidbits of news and info from around women’s college hockey|

Happy New Year!

2021 was an exciting and fun year at Women’s College Hockey.org. Just as the stock market ended the year in the positive, the readership of ‘The Pipeline’ Blog grew quite a bit as well. We ended the year with close to 20,000 unique individual visitors from 54 countries! Yes, I too was shocked to learn that. I had no idea we had that kind of reach. Now in fairness, 90-something % of our visitors are from the US and Canada. But still – people in 52 other countries are paying attention, which is awesome to see.

Several of you have taken the time to stop me in a rink recently to say a quick ‘thanks-for-doing-what-you’re-doing’… It’s extremely gratifying for me when that happens. So, to the nearly 20,000 of you who took the time to read a Pipeline post or watch a video – THANK YOU – it is truly appreciated. Keep the positivity coming. Here’s is to a great 2022!

D-I Weekly Schedule

We are going to try a new format for displaying the weekly schedule as well as games played with links to box scores. Formatting from USCHO.com is not kind to mobile users. So to help, we will be using the links CHN – College Hockey News.

D-I Upcoming Games

January 1, 2022

Minnesota-Duluth vs. Harvard

Quinnipiac vs. Wisconsin

RIT vs. Long Island

Syracuse vs. Boston University

Penn State vs. St. Cloud State

January 2, 2022

BU/Syra. vs. St. Cloud State

PSU/St. Cloud vs. Boston University

PSU/St. Cloud vs. Syracuse

Maine vs. Vermont

New Hampshire vs. Dartmouth

Quinnipiac vs. Wisconsin

Providence vs. Holy Cross

January 3, 2022

Long Island vs. Princeton

Providence vs. Boston College

January 4, 2022

Sacred Heart vs. Yale

Castleton vs. Saint Michael’s

January 7, 2022

RIT vs. Sacred Heart

Game results, box scores, and statistics come directly from CHN – College Hockey News, USCHO.com or the NCAA’s official stats site HERE.

Video highlight links are to individual program produced media, some of which may be found on team twitter or other social media accounts – so scroll the feed to see the game highlights.

Postgame links are any postgame video produced by individual programs and found on either team websites or social media accounts.

Don’t See a link… for video highlights or postgame? Assume there was none available at the time of our post.

D-I Top 10 Polls

DCU/USCHO Division I Women’s Poll – December 13, 2021

RnkTeamRecordPointsLast Poll
1Wisconsin (14)17-1-21491
2Ohio State15-3-01302
3Northeastern16-2-11163
4Quinnipiac (1)15-1-21085
5Minnesota14-5-1964
6Colgate15-4-1656
7Yale10-3-1597
8Minnesota Duluth9-7-0459
9Clarkson15-2-3348
10Harvard9-3-01910

Others receiving votes: Connecticut 3, Penn State 1

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll

December 14, 2021

RANKTeamPointsLast PollRecordWeeks in Poll
1University of Wisconsin (19)190117-1-214
2Ohio State University163215-3-014
3Northeastern University143416-2-114
4Quinnipiac University133515-1-211
5University of Minnesota125314-5-114
6Colgate University80615-4-114
7University of Minnesota Duluth7179-7-014
8Yale University67810-3-14
9Clarkson University45915-2-37
10Harvard University21109-3-06

Others receiving votes: UConn 4, Providence 2, Penn State 1.

We’ve made it to the holiday break in women’s DI college hockey, which allows us a great chance to look back at the first half. 

This week’s Power 10 won’t just be focused on last weekend. Instead, I’m going to rank the best 10 teams from the first few months. 

Was it easy? Not really. This fall had some amazing games and upsets, making the job of putting together a top 10 a tough one. 

Nevertheless, let’s dive in. 

1. Wisconsin (17-1-2)

Admittedly, this wasn’t a hard decision. The Badgers were the best team in the first half and it’s not really close. 

For starters, they have the best offense in the country with 94 total goals. Even more impressive is that the top three point-getters in the country are all from Wisconsin — sophomore forwards Casey O’Brien (36) and Makenna Webster (35), as well as fifth-year forward Daryl Watts (34). This team just can’t stop scoring. 

The Badgers are also great defensively. They’re tied for third in the nation in goals against, having only allowed 22. Senior goalie Kennedy Blair has been outstanding in net, sporting the fourth-best goals-against average in the country (1.17). 

The quality wins so far for Wisconsin have come against Minnesota Duluth and Ohio State but really, Wisconsin is the team to beat in college hockey right now.  

2. Northeastern (16-2-1) 

The choice to put Northeastern over Ohio State was a tough one, but I went with the better defensive team at No. 2. 

The Huskies are the best defensive team in the nation. They’ve given up the least amount of goals against (18) and here’s a whopper — they’ve done it in just 19 games. That’s less than a goal against per game. A lot of that success has come from senior goalie Aerin Frankel, who ranks second in the nation in both save percentage (.962) and GAA (0.94). 

Offensively, senior forward Maureen Murphy leads the way with 24 points and senior defenseman Skylar Fontaine, one of the best defenders in college hockey, comes in with 22. Both have a large role on the nation’s fourth-best power play, which sits at a solid 28.5 percent. 

The quality wins so far have come against Boston College and Princeton. Much of the rest of their schedule comes against Hockey East opponents. 

3. Ohio State (15-3-0)

The Buckeyes are great at overpowering teams offensively, as is evident in their 91 total goals, which is good for second in the nation. It makes sense then that their power play is also second, coming in at 35.2 percent. 

A lot of that offense comes from junior forward Jennifer Gardiner and senior defenseman Sophie Jaques who both lead the team in points with 30 each. They’re also both tied for sixth in the nation in that category. Sophomore forward Jenna Buglioni and senior forward Clair DeGeorge come in right behind them at 28 points each. 

Ohio State ranks No. 3 at the end of the first half.

Another sign that Ohio State is going on all cylinders offensively is its league-best 66.6 percent Corsi For percentage. 

The most notable wins for Ohio State came against Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth in the first half. Even though the Buckeyes were swept by the Badgers on Oct. 23 and 24, they’ll get a chance at revenge Feb. 18 and 19. 

4. Quinnipiac (15-1-2) 

The Bobcats are a very strong No. 4 right now. It’s no surprise they garnered a first-place vote in the Dec. 13 USCHO poll

Why? Because Quinnipiac is actually the No. 1 team in women’s college hockey, according to USCHO’s PairWise rankings. That shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. The Bobcats are well-rounded, sporting the second-fewest goals against (21) and the sixth-most goals for (61). Senior goalie Corinne Schroeder ranks first in both save percentage (.966) and GAA (0.80). 

The Bobcats play in the tough ECAC, so quality wins came against Colgate, Princeton and Yale. If the Bobcats can keep winning with an ECAC-heavy schedule in the second half, their case for No. 1 in PairWise will be strengthened.

5. Minnesota (14-5-1) 

The Golden Gophers ended their first half with some big wins over No. 1 Wisconsin and then-No. 9 Minnesota Duluth. Along with a sweep over Colgate on Oct. 22 and 23, those were Minnesota’s biggest wins of the first half.

The stats show Minnesota is a perfect No. 5. They’re No. 5 in PairWise, No. 4 in goals for (77) and they own the fifth-highest even-strength Corsi For percentage at 61.8 percent. This team has no issue putting shots on net either, ranking second with 773. Offensively, this is a very good team. 

At the heart of that offensive attack is senior forward Taylor Heise who ranks fifth in the country in points with 31. Senior forward Abigail Boreen ranks second on the team with 23 and freshman forward Peyton Hemp comes in third with 21. 

Minnesota will have its toughest stretch of the season in the second half when it takes on Wisconsin one weekend and then Ohio State the next. 

6. Colgate (15-4-1) 

Out of all the teams on this list, the Raiders did the coolest thing in the first half: They won a guitar. 

Yes, back on Nov. 27 when they beat then-No. 3 Minnesota to win the Smashville Showcase, the trophy was a guitar. It was epic. 

Colgate won a guitar at the Smashville Showcase.

Aside from the guitar, Colgate is another team with a high-powered offense. The Raiders carry the third-most goals in the country (86) and rank third in even-strength Corsi For at 64.4 percent. Junior forward Danielle Serdachny leads the offense with 30 points, which ranks sixth in college hockey. Junior forward Dara Greig comes in second with 25. 

The quality wins for Colgate in the first half came against Minnesota and Harvard. Like I mentioned with Quinnipiac earlier, things won’t be easy for the Raiders in the second half due to all those ECAC games. 

7. Yale (10-3-1) 

It feels like we’re just going back and forth between really strong offensive teams and really good defensive teams. Here’s a great defensive team for you. 

The Bulldogs rank third in goals against with only 22 given up in the first half. Senior goalie Gianna Meloni has gotten the majority of the reps in net, posting an impressive 1.43 GAA and .942 save percentage. 

Still, Yale has an impressive offense upfront. Sophomore forward Elle Hartje leads the team with 24 points, while junior forward Claire Dalton ranks second with 22. Yale also has one of the best defenders in college hockey in junior Emma Seitz. She has 17 points on the season. 

The quality wins have come against Colgate and Harvard. With an ECAC-packed schedule in the second half, there will be many more quality wins for this group. 

8. Clarkson (15-2-3) 

The Golden Knights are a solid team overall. They rank fifth in the country for goals for (65) and eighth in goals against (29). 

Lots of the offense comes from one of the best forwards in college hockey — senior Caitrin Lonergan. Lonergan ranks fourth in the country in points with 32. Junior forward Gabrielle David slots in right behind her with 25. 

One encouraging sign for Clarkson in the second half is that they went 6-1-1 in conference play in the first half. If that trend continues, the Golden Knights will be moving up this list.  

9. Minnesota Duluth (9-7-0) 

The Bulldogs had a lot of time off, as they didn’t play any games between Oct. 24 and Nov. 19. Still, they put together a solid first half. 

They have 59 goals in 16 games, which, if you do the math, comes out to be roughly 74 goals over 20 games. That would have them fifth in the nation for lamplighters. Senior forward Gabbie Hughes has the highest points per game in the nation at 1.81 with 29 points in 16 games. Senior forward Elizabeth Giguere ranks sixth in points per game at 1.68 with 27 in 16. 

Despite a tough first half schedule, the Bulldogs earned two big wins over Minnesota and one over Ohio State. 

10. Harvard (9-3-0) 

The Crimson only have 12 games under their belt through the first half, but that’s still enough to place them inside the top 10. 

They’ve already scored quality wins over Cornell and Boston College. Senior forward Becca Gilmore has been a strong line-driver, leading Harvard in points with 15. Senior forward Dominique Petrie ranks second with 14 points and junior forward Anne Bloomer third with 12. 

We’ll get a great look at Harvard when it takes on Minnesota Duluth to begin play in the second half of the season.

Division I Conference Standings: As of 12/31/21

Teams are listed top to bottom in order of points accumulated in conference play only. There is no national point system. The first W-L-T column is a teams’ conference record, 2nd W-L-T column is the overall record, and the 3rd and 4th W-L-T columns is the record at home and on the road for all games.

In our next post, we’ll display each conference’s post-season playoff structure.

CHA

Team Conf – W-L-TPctPtsGF/GA Overall W-L-TPctGF-GA Home W-L-T Away W-L-T
Syracuse5-3-00.6251025/166-9-40.42146/504-5-12-4-3
Penn State4-2-00.667819/1410-6-20.61152/345-3-15-3-1
Mercyhurst4-2-00.667817/1113-6-20.66759-/28-1-15-5-1
Lindenwood3-3-00.500617/175-13-00.27848/785-7-00-6-0
RIT0-6-00.00006/260-19-00.00024/1030-11-00-8-0

ECAC

TeamW-L-T-OW-OLPctPtsGF-GAW-L-TPctGF-GAW-L-TW-L-T
Quinnipiac7-1-0-0-00.8752122-715-1-20.88961-219-1-16-0-1
Harvard6-3-0-1-20.7041932-199-4-00.69248-305-2-04-2-0
Clarkson6-1-1-1-00.77118.523-1015-2-30.82565-296-1-29-1-1
Princeton5-2-1-0-00.68816.516-116-5-30.53624-232-3-04-2-3
Yale5-2-1-0-00.68816.531-1510-3-10.75057-224-2-06-1-1
Colgate5-2-1-2-00.60414.528-2015-4-10.77586-396-4-19-0-0
St. Lawrence3-3-2-0-00.5001216-157-8-50.47543-403-4-24-4-3
Rensselaer3-7-0-0-20.3671125-236-13-00.31642-454-6-02-7-0
Cornell3-4-1-0-00.43810.515-244-7-10.37524-342-3-12-4-0
Dartmouth2-7-0-0-00.222618-327-8-00.46742-395-4-02-4-0
Brown1-6-1-0-00.1884.514-301-12-20.13325-531-6-10-6-1
Union1-9-0-0-00.10039-434-16-10.21431-811-11-13-5-0

Hockey East

TeamW-L-T-SO-OW-OLPctPtsGF-GAW-L-TPctGF-GAW-L-TW-L-T
Northeastern11-2-1-1-0-00.8333544-1416-2-10.86861-187-0-19-2-0
Boston University8-4-3-0-1-00.5782637-299-6-30.58345-375-1-24-5-1
Connecticut8-3-2-0-1-00.6412531-2214-4-20.75057-328-3-26-1-0
Boston College8-5-0-0-3-00.5382132-3010-8-00.55641-434-1-06-7-0
Providence5-4-2-1-0-10.5761923-198-5-50.58334-286-2-22-3-3
Vermont6-5-1-0-1-10.5281931-309-8-20.52647-466-4-13-4-1
Maine4-7-1-1-0-20.4441624-307-12-10.37543-553-7-04-5-1
New Hampshire4-8-1-1-0-10.3851530-396-11-20.36846-524-6-12-5-1
Merrimack4-10-1-1-1-20.3331533-425-14-10.27537-633-9-02-5-1
Holy Cross1-11-0-0-0-00.083316-463-14-00.17625-633-3-00-11-0

NEWHA

TeamW-L-TPctPtsGF-GAW-L-TPctGF-GAW-L-TW-L-T
LIU10-0-01.0002047-1311-7-00.61158-439-3-02-4-0
Sacred Heart5-2-10.6881131-109-7-10.55957-395-3-14-4-0
Franklin Pierce5-3-00.6251025-119-8-10.52849-395-1-14-7-0
St. Anselm3-4-10.438715-166-10-10.38229-515-1-01-9-1
Post2-8-00.20047-403-15-00.16716-752-6-01-9-0
St. Michael’s0-8-00.00007-422-10-00.16716-552-3-00-7-0

WCHA

TeamW-L-T-SO-OW-OLPctPtsGF-GAW-L-TPctGF-GAW-L-TW-L-T
Wisconsin13-1-2-1-2-00.8334067-2117-1-20.90094-225-1-212-0-0
Ohio State13-3-0-0-0-10.8334082-2615-3-00.83391-3010-0-05-3-0
Minnesota9-4-1-1-0-10.7143047-3114-5-10.72577-396-4-08-1-1
Minnesota Duluth8-6-0-0-1-10.5712453-329-7-00.56259-383-4-06-3-0
Minnesota State5-10-1-1-0-10.3751830-549-10-10.47555-656-4-03-6-1
Bemidji State4-10-2-0-1-00.2711324-587-10-30.42535-642-6-25-4-1
St. Cloud State2-11-1-1-1-10.190823-586-11-10.36139-654-3-12-8-0
St. Thomas2-11-1-0-0-00.167714-604-13-10.25023-702-8-02-5-1

Sifters… Lots of’em

NCAA Approves 11-Team National Tournament Field for 2022… In the NCAA’s final step on Dec. 15th the D-I Council voted to approve an 11-team field (up from 8) for the 2022 Women’s National Collegiate Championship. 11 teams represents exactly 26.8% of D-I schools that sponsor the sport, which is the same ratio used by the D-I men’s NCAA tournament. You can read the official announcement from the NCAA HERE.

The Takeaway… More teams participating improves the sport because more players gain that do-or-die national Tournament game experience. Returning players the following year can then use their NCAA experience to their teams’ benefit. This development will push the overall level of D-I play forward every year.

The tournament committee will go ‘by the numbers’ this year in selecting the 11 team field. So in theory, teams ranked 1 to 11 in the Pairwise rankings will get a bid to the tourney. Subjectivity has been taken out. Language has also been removed from the pre-championship manual which now brings in line the same priorities used in pairing the men’s tournament brackets. In plain English, pairings will be based on, “competitive equity, financial success and the likelihood of a playoff-type atmosphere at each first/second round site.” Every effort will be made to avoid inter-conference match-ups unless 4 or more teams from the same conference make the tournament.

Because of the parity that exists across D-I and with 6 At-Large berths coming in the 2022-2023 season, we’ll probably not see the same 11 teams year after year. We’ll see much more turnover of teams getting At-Large berths in years to come. There are plenty of teams outside the top 11 that could challenge for a NCAA berth.

Robert Morris Is Back… RMU President Chris Howard announced Friday December 17th the reinstatement of both the RMU Women’s and Men’s hockey programs effective for the 2023-2024 season. Both programs were shutdown in an abrupt cost-cutting move by the RMU administration back in May of 2021. A major groundswell of support both locally in the Pittsburgh area as well as nationally among the hockey circles to get the program back online ensued. Men’s Head Coach Derek Schooley added fundraising campaign manager to his job description and accumulated enough cash in hand and donation pledges to impress the RMU brass to bring the programs back to life.

The Takeaway… This is great and exciting news for all of college hockey. Now the hard part begins. RMU will need to hire a women’s head coach and staff of assistants while recruiting an entire team of players as well as building out a competitive schedule. Both RMU teams are without a conference. The women’s were part of the CHA and the men part of Atlantic Hockey. CHA conference officials have publicly stated they need to find a 6th team for the CHA regardless of RMU came back or not as they would be in jeopardy of losing their NCAA tourney auto-bid without a 6th team after the 2022-2023 season.

With a RMU coming back, this opens the door for a full roster of players to either continue their playing careers as a transfer, a 5th year grad school player, or begin their D-I college hockey career as a freshman recruited player. All told, more spots become available at the D-I level (Stonehill College will also begin play in 2022-2023 as well).

U18 Worlds Cancelled… The IIHF announced on December 24th all January IIHF events would be cancelled due to COVID. This marks the second time in as many years the U-18 World Championships would be cancelled. The announcement was made just as the Men’s World Junior Championships in Alberta, Canada were taking place in arenas with fans. Not only was the timing of the announcement poor with the Men’s WJC was about to get in full swing, but the fact there was no mention or intention of a possible postponement of the event. Voices from current and former Olympians, around the NCAA, NHLers, hockey media personalities, and right down to the U-18 players themselves – took to social media with their rightful frustration. IIHF president Luc Tardiff is taking major heat for how he’s managed the announcement.

To add insult to injury, just days later the IIHF cancelled the WJC’s because a number of teams had positive COVID cases and a number of forfeits occurred.

The Takeaway… The IIHF is in a bit of a pickle. The Men’s WJC’s and the Men’s World Championships held in May are the two big money makers for the IIHF. One has to think a future date for the Women’s U-18 Worlds would have to be on the table if a future date for the Men’s WJC. The optics without that consideration for the women would be, um… detrimental? However, nothing definitive from the IIHF has been announced or considered. USA Hockey reached out to the IIHF and asked if a later date for the women’s U18’s could be discussed. Even private groups in the US offered to host the event while paying for the ice.

Perhaps a gender equity review of the IIHF is due, just like the NCAA recently had?

NCAA COVID Update… The second-half NCAA schedule is underway and we’ve already seen one series cancelled between Merrimack and RPI for Jan 1 and 2. No official reason was given as to why. Could we assume COVID? Perhaps. Some schools have adjusted their academic calendars and delayed the the return of students to campus, while deciding to begin classes remotely, before allowing in-person classes to begin several weeks later. We are unaware of any hockey program that are on a ‘pause’ or has decided not to play games until COVID improves. That said, if Men’s hockey and D-I women’s and men’s basketball is any indication, women’s hockey is in for it’s fair share of postponements and game cancellations. If think it’s a question of how, not if, the remainder of the season will be impacted.

SAT/ACT Testing Update… Harvard recently announced on Dec 17th it is going test optional for the next 4 years. That means no SAT or ACT test scores will be required for admission. More schools will probably do the same but no official announcements have been made yet. It will be interesting what the NCAA does with the Eligibility Center’s academic requirements moving forward as well.

D-III Gets New Program… The Milwaukee School of Engineering recently announced it’s starting a D-III NCAA program. Former RIT and Adrian Head Coach Chad Davis has been named head coach. No word yet on when the program will begin or what conference it will affiliate with.

2022 Women’s World Championship Host Selected… The IIHF announced in early December that Denmark will host the 2022 Women’s Senior World Championships August 26th to September 4th. This marks the first time Worlds will be held after an Olympic Games in the same year. Denmark is a first-time Women’s Olympic hockey participant in the 2022 games set to begin in about 1 month from now.

WCHA Extends Commissioner Flowers… WCHA Women’s Commissioner Jen Flowers received a three-year contract extension through the 2024-2025 season. Flowers has been instrumental in transitioning the WCHA to a Women’s only conference while navigating COVID-19 for the 8-team conference. Flowers also added a first-of-its-kind streaming partnership with the Big Ten Network and Big Ten+ as the official streaming partner of the WCHA.

UND Case Dismissed For Now… Lawyers representing players for the now defunct University of North Dakota Women’s Hockey Team, have voluntarily dismissed their case last month, for now anyway. The ND Attorney General’s office moved to dismiss the case because none of the players have NCAA eligibility left – leaving their claims moot – and not able to receive any relief. The door is open for future litigation however.

MN Trucker Helps UVM Player Home… This is one of those stories that is classified as ‘only happens in Minnesota’. UVM Women’s Hockey player Ellice Murphy needed a bit of help getting home for the holidays after her flight got cancelled from Minneapolis to Thief-River Falls. Ellice’s quick thinking mom called her friend at Byfuglien Trucking to see if any driver’s were in the Minneapolis area and heading north, who was willing to let Ellice tag along. Sure enough there was. You can read the full story HERE. You have to love small towns!

USA Hockey Announces Olympic Roster… Between the 2nd and 3rd period intermission of last night’s Winter Classic, USA Hockey unveiled its 23-Player final Olympic Roster. 8 newcomers will combine with 15 returning players with previous Olympic experience as Team USA defends it’s Gold Medal from 2018. You can find the roster HERE. 5 players still have NCAA eligibility and 1st time Olympian Caroline Harvey, has yet to step foot on a college campus yet. Minnesota leads the way with 8 players connected to the Gophers program, Wisconsin has 5, BC 3, Northeastern 2, BU, Clarkson, Lindenwood, UMD, and Ohio State each with 1.

Until Next Time…


21-22 Streaming Info

-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. 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.

Give Someone a Stick Tap… Know someone in women’s college hockey who’s work needs some recognition? Nominate them for WCH.org’s monthly ‘Stick Tap’ HERE or Email us at: womenscollegehockey@gmail.com

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 3rd 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 amatuer 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.

Post #50– 8/30/21 – More D-I Starts, 3-Part Mutual Respect series, Sifters

In This Post…

  • D-I Schools Start The Year |
  • Observations: 3-Part Mutual Respect Series |
  • Sifters |

NCAA Coaching Changes… See all the coaching changes in one spot – HERE – on our google sheet. Announcements on new hires and recent openings can be found below in the Sifters section.

Stick Taps Section… We need your ‘Stick Taps’ suggestions! Have someone in the world of women’s college hockey you think deserves some recognition? Let us know who they are and why you think they’re so deserving! You can fill out our online submission form right HERE or Email us at: womenscollegehockey@gmail.com or tweet at us: @WMNSCollHockey. Stick Taps go out the first post of every month so stay tuned!

Online Directory of Recruiting Events/Leagues… We received several messages from event and league organizers wishing to get their events/league weekends/showcases listed in our online directory. So – we’ve created a google sheet with all the events that present good scouting opportunities we’re are aware of. You can find that list HERE. If you run a recruiting event or league and want to have us list it in our online directory, please click HERE and fill out our WCH.org recruiting event form.


D-I Schools Starting-Up

By the end of Friday this week, 14 more D-I programs will have joined Franklin Pierce and Syracuse University and started classes for the 2021-2022 D-I season. Just about under 40% of D-I teams will potentially be on the ice this week back in session ]. Whether or not teams are on the ice, is an entirely different story. Ice needs to be laid down, lines need to be painted, equipment needs to be handed out, NCAA compliance meetings need to be held, medical physicals have to occur, COVID protocols need to be met, and classes have to begin. Needless to say there’s a lot that goes into getting a team on the ice. Check below to see who starts class this week.

WCHACHAECACHockey East NEWHA
Bemidji St. – Aug. 23 Syracuse – Aug. 20St. Lawrence – Aug. 25 Boston College – Aug. 30 Franklin Pierce – Aug. 18
Mankato – Aug. 23Lindenwood – Aug. 23Colgate – Aug. 26Merrimack College – Aug. 30 Saint Anselm – Aug. 23
St. Cloud St. – Aug. 23 Mercyhurst – Aug. 23Cornell – Aug. 26Providence College – Aug. 30 Saint Michael’s – Aug.23
Ohio St. – Aug. 24Penn State – Aug. 23Clarkson – Aug. 30UCONN – Aug. 30Post Univ. – Aug. 30
MN-Duluth – Aug. 30 Rochester Inst. of Tech – Aug. 23 Quinnipiac – Aug. 30Univ. of Maine – Aug. 30Sacred Heart Univ. – Aug. 30
RPI – Aug. 30Univ. of New Hampshire – Aug. 30
Univ. of Vermont – Aug. 30

Observations – 3 Part Series On Mutual Respect

There is a tremendous amount of excitement as the 2021-2022 hockey season begins. Not only for NCAA programs, but for minor/youth players, coaches, parents, and everyone who plays a part in women’s hockey alike. We all want to get back to what was normal prior to the pandemic. We miss that sense of enjoyment we get from hockey. One of the ways we can ensure that enjoyment, is in how we treat one another. The better we treat one another, the more we enjoy the game. No matter what your role is within the game, we can all show a little more mutual respect between one another.

So, beginning tomorrow we’ll introduce part 1 of our 3-part ‘More Mutual Respect’ series and take a look at ways in which Parents can be more mutually respectful of one another this season. We’ll follow that up over the next two Tuesday’s, September 7th and 14th, with posts about how Players and Club/High School Coaches can be more respectful as well. Club and High School coaches who intersect with NCAA coaches during the recruiting process will definitely not want to miss this post.

Sifters

College Hockey Season Update… The AHCA, American Hockey Coaches Association met last week to begin it’s 2021-2022 season. One item of note that came up was how conferences and the NCAA will treat COVID related games that do not get played. The Hockey Commissioners association met to discuss possible options. Football conferences, such as The Big 10, have determined how they will handle certain situations should a team not be able to compete due to COVID. We expect all D-I hockey conferences to announce how to handle such situations. The NCAA on the other hand, does not recognize forfeits and no contest games. It will be interesting to see how the men’s and women’ ice hockey committees handles these situations for the NCAA National Tournament. As always, we’ll keep you posted.

Northern Michigan University Talking Women’s D-I Hockey… As it has been talked about before, Northern Michigan University has voiced its desire to have a D-I women’s NCAA program again. Just two days ago an article that appeared in the Brainerd Dispatch where AD Forrest Karr was quoted, “To me it’s an obligation that we have in the state of Michigan to help grow the sport.” You can read the full article HERE. Michigan did have a D-I NCAA program at Wayne State University, where yours truly worked from 2003-2007 under then Head Coach Jim Fetter. But the program fell prey to statewide budget cuts in 2011. No women’s D-I team in the state has existed since.

Coaching Hires Continue… We are just a few weeks away from the start of the season and there are still a few coaching positions both at D-I and D-III left to be filled.

LIU… Head Coach Rob Morgan announced he has filled one of his two open Assistant positions with former Brown alum Erica Kromm. She played for the Bears from ’07 – ’11. You can read more on Kromm’s hire HERE.

St. Anselm College… Head Coach Jen Kindret recently announced the hiring of Vinnie Ferrainola as its new full-time Assistant Coach. Ferrainola comes to St. A’s after spending the 20-21 season as Director of Hockey Operations for women’s hockey at Robert Morris University. You can read more his hire HERE.

Concordia University Wisconsin… has hired Ellie Tabaka, former player at Augsburg College ’20 and will assume the Assistant Coaching duties. You can read more on Ellie’s hire HERE.

RIT, Merrimack, and LIU… still have Assistant positions to announce.

At Division III… There are several Head and Assistants positions that need to be announced. Trinity College has a job posting for it’s Full-Time Assistant Coaching position. Anyone interested in applying can do so HERE.

RMU Update… And speaking of Robert Morris, it appears there will be no hockey played for either the women’s or men’s team for the 2021-2022 seasons. However, the school athletic department announced a ‘Hockey Is The Goal’ fundraising campaign on August 18 to help reinstate the women’s and men’s programs. An amount to get to was never announced.

Muddying the waters a bit is a story on TribLive about a lawyer representing a few RMU hockey players, who has alleged, “…a university official ordered an athletic department employee to “get rid of” text messages and emails about the school’s decision to eliminate the men’s and women’s ice hockey programs.” You can find that story HERE.

Upper Midwest HS Elite League Schedule… The Girls Minnesota High School Elite League gets back into action for the Fall of 2021 September 7th. You can find the entire league schedule HERE. The schedule spans 7 weeks this year culminating the the Girls NIT Tournament October 22-24, 2021.

Ontario U18 Camp… Women’s minor hockey in Ontario is looking more normal as the weeks go by. One sure sign is the OWHA announcing its annual U18 High Performance Invitational Camp September 3-5 in Allston, ON at the Nottawsaga Resort. Eighty players born 2004 and 2005 will be invited. This event in preparation for the Female U18 Canadian National Championships Oct. 31 to Nov. 6, 2021 in Dawson, Creek, BC. Ontario will have 2 team entries – Red and Blue.

World Championship Update… Today the US meets Finland at 3pm EST and Canada meets the Swiss at 7pm EST. Winners of today’s semi-final matchups face one another for the World Championship tomorrow, Aug. 31 at 7:30 EST. The US’s lone loss in the tournament so far was to Canada 5-1 in the prelim round. Canada remains undefeated. Placement games for all other countries have been taking place, Russia takes on Japan tomorrow at 12:00pm EST in the final placement game.

Until Next Time…


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 3rd 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 amatuer 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.

Extra Post — 8/20/21 – IIHF Women’s World Championship Stream Info


NCAA Coaching Changes… See all the coaching changes in one spot – HERE – on our google sheet. Announcements on new hires and recent openings can be found below in the Sifters section.

Stick Taps Section… We need your ‘Stick Taps’ suggestions! Have someone in the world of women’s college hockey you think deserves some recognition? Let us know who they are and why you think they’re so deserving! You can fill out our online submission form right HERE or Email us at: womenscollegehockey@gmail.com or tweet at us: @WMNSCollHockey. Stick Taps go out the first post of every month so stay tuned!

Online Directory of Recruiting Events/Leagues… We received several messages from event and league organizers wishing to get their events/league weekends/showcases listed in our online directory. So – we’ve created a google sheet with all the events that present good scouting opportunities we’re are aware of. You can find that list HERE. If you run a recruiting event or league and want to have us list it in our online directory, please click HERE and fill out our WCH.org recruiting event form.


In This Post…

  • IIHF Women’s World Championship Stream Info|

What…

How to watch the IIHF Women’s World Championships:

Where

In the United States ESPN + will stream all games of the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championships that ARE NOT televised on the NHL Network.

In Canada, TSN Direct will be streaming all games live

TSN requires a Canadian physical address in order to subscribe.

Links

ESPN+ can be found HERE.

fuboTV, a popular streaming service carries the NHL Network. They have a 7-day free trial which appears to include access to its entire 157 channel lineup. You can find their link HERE.

Worlds Schedule…

You can find a complete tournament schedule link HERE. Today’s games are:

TimeGroupVisiting TeamHome Team
2:00PMBCzech RepublicDenmark
6:00PMACanadaFinland
9:30PMAUSASwitzerland
All times Eastern Standard Time. All games played at WinSport Arena

Lots of NCAA players and coaches taking the ice today for their respective countries. In additional Joel Johnson and Courtney Kennedy of Team USA, Denmark is coached by Peter Elander who spent time as the Associate Head Coach at the University of North Dakota and at Ohio State from 2010-2018. Elander, who is Swedish also was Head Coach of the Swedish Women’s Olympic Team in 2006 and 2010. Elander took over as Head Coach of the Senior Women’s National program for the Danes in 2019.

Until Next Time…


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 3rd 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 amatuer 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.

Post #49– 8/18/21 – D-I 21-22 Season Update, A 3rd Wave?, Sifters

In This Post…

  • D-I 2021-2022 Season Update|
  • A 3rd Wave?|
  • Sifters|

NCAA Coaching Changes… See all the coaching changes in one spot – HERE – on our google sheet. Announcements on new hires and recent openings can be found below in the Sifters section.

Stick Taps Section… We need your ‘Stick Taps’ suggestions! Have someone in the world of women’s college hockey you think deserves some recognition? Let us know who they are and why you think they’re so deserving! You can fill out our online submission form right HERE or Email us at: womenscollegehockey@gmail.com or tweet at us: @WMNSCollHockey. Stick Taps go out the first post of every month so stay tuned!

Online Directory of Recruiting Events/Leagues… We received several messages from event and league organizers wishing to get their events/league weekends/showcases listed in our online directory. So – we’ve created a google sheet with all the events that present good scouting opportunities we’re are aware of. You can find that list HERE. If you run a recruiting event or league and want to have us list it in our online directory, please click HERE and fill out our WCH.org recruiting event form.


D-I 2021-2022 Season Update

21-22 Season could in theory could start today… Hard to believe but yes, the NCAA D-I season here. Franklin Pierce University of the NEWHA begins classes today, Aug. 18. The NCAA rules allow teams beginning with the first day of classes or Sept. 15, whichever is earlier, to have up up to 4 hours of on-ice skill related activity per week. Most D-I programs will be up and running by Sept. 13th, that’s when Union and Dartmouth begin classes. Especially for the programs that did not have a season last year due to COVID, you can bet they’ll want to begin their seasons as soon as NCAA rules allow. There are also some programs that take a little slower approach and opt for a few days to go by, especially for freshmen, so everyone can get their bearings before jumping into the team schedule as to not overwhelm.

We went online and compiled a list of when each D-I school starts undergraduate classes… not taking into account COVID, some unknown delay like an athletic department policy, or scheduling error, here is a ‘fairly accurate’ (according to the internet anyway) list of dates when programs can get back on the ice if they so choose HERE.

NCAA 1st Official Practice Date… Contrary to the above mentioned 4-hours per week of on-ice skill work, Sept. 18 is actually the first official practice date in NCAA women’s ice hockey for the 2021-2022 season. That’s when all D-I programs, minus Ivy League schools, are allowed to begin their regular season allotment of up to 20-hours per week of required athletic activity–on-ice practice, strength & conditioning, team meetings, video sessions, team building, etc. The first official practice date for Ivy League institutions will be Oct. 1.

First D-I Games Just 37 Days Away… The first slate of games are scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 23-26 – just 37 days away. On Thursday Sept. 23, St. Lawrence travels to take on Penn State to kick off the 2021-2022 NCAA season. It’s customary for programs to schedule an exhibition game prior to the NCAA season beginning. After going through D-I online schedules, we are unable to find any exhibition games scheduled so far. Certainly we’re all hoping the season altering COVID restrictions are behind us and teams across all divisions (and in all sports) can have a safe normal season without interruption.

COVID Fallout – Large Rosters… As expected team roster sizes for the 21-22 season are bigger on average than in prior years. We went to every programs official website to look at 21-22 rosters that were posted. Thus far Harvard has the largest at 34 players. Not all teams are accounted for and there could be roster additions and even deletions as school begins. We’ll put together a comprehensive list once all teams rosters are finalised.

A 3rd Wave… Of Coaching Changes?

Historically the month of August and into September bring a few late coaching changes. A head or assistant coach leaves abruptly and bam, schools are left scrambling to find a replacement. This year is a bit different with more coaching changes than we’re ever seen. But that doesn’t mean we’re done with seeing some movement. Case in point, D-III Nichols College just announced an opening for their Head Coach position as Sam Fallon has resigned to take a similar position at a prep school. I expect a few more surprises. You can find our complete list of coaching departures and hires from this year HERE. As classes begin, programs are announcing recent hires… more on those below.

  • Mercyhurst University has hired Scott Spencer as an Assistant Coach. Spencer knows the CHA well as he was the first D-I Head Coach at Lindenwood University. Prior to Lindenwood, Spencer has coached at Ohio State, Robert Morris University, and Bemidji State on the men’s side. You can read more about his hire HERE.
  • Union College has filled its two Assistant Coach positions and has hired Chris Ardito and Breanne Wilson-Bennett. You can read Union’s official announcement HERE. Ardito comes to Union after having spent the past 3 seasons as the Head Girls Hockey Coach at Vermont Academy. Wilson-Bennett was a former player at Colgate during Head Coach Josh Sciba’s time as an Assistant at Colgate.
  • William Smith announced the hiring of former Dartmouth Assistant Coach Matt Cunningham as its next Head Coach. Cunningham spent the previous two seasons with ‘The Big Green’ in Hanover. You can read more on Matt’s hiring HERE. Cunningham who is originally from Phoenix, AZ played his college hockey for Minnesota State-Mankato. He will be the 3rd Head Coach in Heron history.

While not a NCAA coaching announcement, we’re glad to see former Robert Morris University Head Coach Paul Colontino land a new job in Hockey. Colontino was recently hired as Vice President of Hockey Operations and U19 Girls Head Coach at Selects Academy. You can read more on Colontiino’s delima to move to Selects HERE.

Sifters

RMU Update… Speaking of Paul Colontino and the Robert Morris program, it seems the RMU administration has put the brakes on a reboot of the program until the 2022-2023 season, if at all. Tim Benz of Trib Live gives an update on where things stand with both the women’s and men’s program. You can read that HERE.

North Dakota Women’s Program Lawsuit Gets A Boost… 11 former University of North Dakota women’s hockey team members sued The University of North Dakota System for shutting down the women’s hockey program back in March of 2017. Well, they got some good news last week. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has reversed a 2019 decision by the North Dakota District Court which originally dismissed the case for what it called ‘a failure to state a claim’. The Eighth Circuit stated, “Ultimately, we conclude that the district court’s primary reasons for dismissing the complaint rested on an incorrect view of the law,”… “But given a level playing field, or in this case, a properly smoothed ice rink, the athletes may be able to state an actionable Title IX claim.”

Shortly after the University of North Dakota women’s hockey was shut down, a group of 11 former UND women’s hockey players sought legal action by filing a discrimination lawsuit against the University of North Dakota System and asked to reinstate the program on the grounds the decision was in violation of Title IX.

You can read more on this story HERE with an article that appeared in the Grand Forks Herald written by Brad Elliott Schlossman. Brad used to cover the women’s team during its existence.

2021 World Championships Get Underway… The IIHF officially announced the tournament is a go. 1,047 PCR tests were conducted in the Calgary bubble since teams arrived and all were negative.

Pre-Tournament games begin today, you can find today’s schedule HERE. Team USA takes on Russia at 2pm EST and Canada plays Finland at 6pm EST. Both games will be broadcast LIVE on the NHL Network. Get the full NHL Network Women’s World Championship telecast schedule HERE. It looks like all US and Canadian games will be broadcast live.

While official team rosters won’t be announced until tomorrow, IIHF.com did post a list of 250 players who came with each country to Calgary. You can find that list HERE. By our count, there are a total of 31 players who are listed on NCAA rosters, 1 U Sports player (U Sports is Canada’s version of the NCAA), and 5 players still in high school.

D-III Update… With D-I programs starting their seasons in a matter of days, the D-III season isn’t far behind. NCAA rules don’t allow D-III coaches to get on the ice with their teams until October 15th but you can bet teams will be getting organised well before that with Captains practices, strength & conditioning workouts, and plenty of team building, etc.

  • New this year for the NESCAC is the ability to begin practice when the Oct. 15th hits. It has been customary for NESCAC teams to begin practice Nov. 1.
  • We are hearing rumors that InStat, a video analytics company, has signed a few deals with D-III conferences for this coming season. InStat provides game video breakdown and scouting services to a bulk of the NCAA D-I and D-III women’s and men’s teams. This will make pre-scouting your opponent much easier as well as adding a level of player development. We can remember the days of VHS tape to tape recordings that had to be done and then Fed-Exed out to your next opponent. How times have changed.
  • Mike O’Grady, Head Coach at Chatham University announced the hiring of Lila Toczek as his new Assistant Coach.

Tweet of The Week… Kelly Rider, Head Coach at Curry College, had one of the more interesting Tweets from college coaches this past week. Given WCH.org’s mission – which is in part to help educate parents, players, and coaches, her post seems very appropriate. Please take a look and click on the photo to expand. We’re not sure where she got the list from – but we’d love to know!

Until Next Time…


Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 3rd 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 amatuer 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.