12/26/07: We have not been keeping our web site up-to-date, but we HAVE been playing hockey.  For the most current information on UCONN WIHC, visit the ACHA Women's Division 1 Ice Hockey pages at www.achahockey.org. 

7/7/07: Are you a hockey playing woman coming to Storrs in September? Let us know so we can be sure to tell you about tryouts. We recently graduated some great teammates, and that spells OPPORTUNITY for you! We look forward to making 2007-08 our best season, and having YOU enjoy it with us.

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3/13/07: The club finished fourth in the 7th Annual ACHA National Tournament in Amherst, MA!

3/1/07: The Club competes in the ACHA National Tournament, March 8-11 at Mullins Rink, UMASS Amherst. Results will be posted as they happen at achahockey.org.

11/25/06: The first ranking session results came out on November 17th. We are ranked second in the Northeast region behind URI and we are 6th in the National Ranking as of now. The National ranking for the top 15 teams is:

NATIONAL: TOP 15
   1. Lindenwood University (10)
   2. University of Rhode Island
       Robert Morris College (tie)
   4. Western Michigan University
   5. Michigan State University
   6. University of Connecticut
   7. Penn State University
   8. St. Cloud State University
   9. The Ohio State University
   10. University of Minnesota
   11. University of Delaware
   12. University of Michigan
   13. Norwich University
       University of Wisconsin (tie)
   15. Nichols College

The second ranking session will be on December 15th and will include all the games played in this semester.

11/14/06: We haven't had much time for web site editing and we owe some updates to our league administrators, but nothing has stopped us from practicing and playing. We kicked off the season by hosting last year's champs from Lindenwood. We lost the game, but it gave us a good jolt, and that has paid off in our remaining otherwise undefeated through mid-November. The ACHA competition is becoming more consistent, and the result is better hockey for everyone.

9/25/06: Try-outs for the 06-07 season. We graduated some valuable players last year, but their replacements look very promising.

YEAR 2: UCONN Club Meets ACHA (2005-06)

[This page has become a reverse-chronological history of the re-creation of the WIHC. It doesn't make much sense unless you know that.]

3/19/06: The trip to St. Louis was a fitting conclusion to our first ACHA season. We lost our first game to Rhode Island. It's no fun to travel all that way just to lose to your nextdoor neighbor, but that just made us more resolved. We beat Minnesota and made the crossover to the quarter-finals. Then we played #1-ranked Robert Morris. Based on what we had heard, RMC seemed to be squashing opponents like flies. This was our test, and it made the trip worthwhile. The game was scoreless for nearly ten minutes when Coco LeFave scored with an assist from Marlo Jones. At the end of a period, it was UCONN 1, RMC 0. At the end of two, it was UCONN 2, RMC 2. Robert Morris outlasted us, and won the game, 6-3. Nothing beats winning a tough game, but the next best thing is losing a tough game, not winning an easy one. This was fun hockey, and knowing that we held such an accomplished team to a tie for two periods makes us want the 2006-07 season to start tomorrow. With more players, more conditioning and more practice.

Congratulations to the host school, #2-ranked Lindenwood, which beat Robert Morris and won the ACHA Championship.

2/28/06: The final ranking had UCONN at #5, and that's good enough to take the Club to the National Playoffs near St. Louis. The team flies out on March 8, and results can be monitored at www.achahockey.org. Best of luck, girls!

12/20/05: A ranking in mid-December bumped UCONN down to #4. Although the team remains undefeated, its schedule before exams was relatively light. The good news is a consensus that the top ten teams are headed to nationals. Should be fun.

ACHA National Ranking Released 11/18/05:

1 Robert Morris College (13)
2 Lindenwood University
3 University of Connecticut (1)
4 Michigan State University (Green)
5 University of Massachusetts
6 University of Rhode Island
7 University of Minnesota
8 University of Maryland
9 North Dakota State University
10 University of Michigan
11 Penn State University
12 Norwich University
13 University at Buffalo
14 Ohio State University
15 University of Colorado

A spectator recently asked whether our five former Huskies are ACHA-eligible. As we understand the Women's Division rules, NCAA or CIS team membership reduces a player's eligibility from 6 years to 4 years, less the years during which she was listed as eligible to play for the NCAA/CIS team. We do have some members who were on the UCONN team for a year or two, so they entered this, our first ACHA season, with only two or three years of eligibility remaining. All of them are scheduled to graduate before their eligibility expires, so we do not expect this to become a problem. All our players are undergraduates.

In 5-6 years, UCONN's primary women's hockey program evolved from a club to a D-I team involving 14 Canadians and not a single resident of Connecticut. Some talented players who left the team during that transition helped us create a viable secondary women's hockey program. We're grateful to ACHA for having rules that enable the rest of us to play competitive ice hockey. We hope UCONN's experience is echoed on many campuses as women's college hockey continues to grow, not just for the NCAA players, but for all of us who love the game.

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11/11/05 and 11/13/05: Played home and away with Smith. We corrected and apologize for a briefly posted misstatement of the score. (We would prefer to enter W or L, rather than scores, but this free website does not offer much flexibility.)

11/10/05: Played at UMASS. We led in the first two periods, just as we did last year (pre-ACHA). Remembering how well Coach Finn motivated UMASS before the third period last year, when they ultimately came back and beat us, we started the third period as if it was a 0-0 game. It made a big difference.

11/6/05: URI hosted us. Could have been either team's game until near the end, but their never-say-die comeback effort ran out of time. We liked their gesture of saluting the fans after the game.

Thanks to those whose hard work created the ACHA. We appreciate the opportunity to participate in it. We're having competitive hockey games, thanks to our ACHA opponents, and it will probably get better every year.

Club hockey...it's the best!

***

ARCHIVES

Tryouts for our second season went very well, and now we are practicing on ice and meeting to run on a regular schedule. Our pre-season warm-up games are with the Stamford Spinnakers and Sacred Heart University JV in late October.

ATTENTION, UCONN WOMEN IN THE CLASS OF 2009!!! BRING YOUR SKATES & STICKS TO STORRS!!! Give us a call or a message so we can tell you about tryouts. We are going to have a great year, our first in the ACHA, and we do have some openings in the roster.

What's not to like about the UCONN Women's Ice Hockey Club? They play to win, for the fun of it. Here are some notes on our founding season (non-ACHA) in the Spring semester of 2005...

On 2/26, UCONN won in sudden death overtime against the Stamford Spinnakers. The UCONN team had paid for another 20 minutes of ice, so one member asked, "Can't we just keep playing?" The ref smiled and nodded. The best hockey is pond hockey.

Thanks to Rev. Amy Fallon, University Vicar at St. Mark's Chapel and FYE Teacher of the Year 2003-04, for being our Faculty Advisor and most loyal fan.

Thanks to Kamco Supply Corp. of New England for being our first sponsor! (See Sponsors page.) Will you or your company be our next sponsor? Clubs depend on members and sponsors for part of their expenses, so we need all the help we can get. Contact Susan Hynes directly.

4/17/05: The UCONN women swept the Ice Line Spring Classic Tournament in Philadelphia this weekend. They ended their short first season by having three senior members, Katie Scott, Lauren O'Connor and Katie Hynes, claim the team's first trophy.
   
3/12/05: UCONN @ M.I.T. Maybe we're not so out of shape, after all. Due to winter break, we played with only seven skaters today, but maintained an early lead throughout the game (gasp).   

3/4/05: Same result vs. UMASS. UCONN led, 2-0 after two periods, but the better conditioned team won the third period by a lot. Make a note for next season: We need some exercise.

2/27/05: 4-3 loss, our first, to URI, ranked #1 in Northeast and #4 in nation by ACHA. (What's ACHA? See USA Hockey Magazine, March 2005 cover story.)

2/26/05: Played the Stamford Spinnakers at Bolton. Won 4-3 in sudden death overtime. Excellent game.

UPDATE 2/19/05: Hosted by the CT Clippers, a younger team that overlooked the age difference to help us get started. We appreciate the tough competition, as well as the advice and encouragement of their volunteers.

UPDATE 2/13/05: Tonight we played our first game...as guests of Connecticut Lightning of Bolton at UCONN's rink. Everything has gone according to plan so far. We have 18 talented, committed and USAH-registered members, and tonight they looked as though they had been playing together for years.

We have an ambitious schedule, including some late season school games and spring tournaments. ACHA, here we come!

UPDATE 1/20/05: The organization meeting brought out a lot of enthusiastic hockey players. We know this first year will be a little rough, because of our late start, but things are looking great for the long-term.

We have told the ACHA that we want to be full participants in 2005-06. That means playing toward a national championship, which is more opportunity than club hockey ever had before. Let's work together and make this a lasting success.

***

UCONN Women's Ice Hockey Club is being organized for the 2004-05 season. We are currently applying for independent club status. We will also apply for membership in the ACHA in its Eastern Conference.

When UCONN Women's Hockey became a Division I NCAA team, recruiting much of its roster from Canada and out-of-state, the opportunity for UCONN women to play club hockey effectively disappeared. The UCONN community includes a large number of competitive female hockey players other than the members of the D-I team, so the Club is intended to reinstate that opportunity for them. Similar clubs are being founded at many other colleges, and this is reflected in the recent creation and rapid growth of the ACHA's Women's Division.

This year's roster is full, but we expect five members to graduate in May. Candidates for next fall should contact our Scheduler to get on the tryout list.

What about grad students, alumnae and less experienced players? The ACHA-bound team consists of competitive undergrads only, but there's no reason the Club can't have a "B" team with broader eligibility next year.

Also, please visit www.uconn.edu to read the University's rules regarding student clubs. The connection between the University and the clubs founded by its students is strictly governed, and this affects funding, facilities use, supervision, etc. WIHC will adhere to these rules.

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