NCAA Division III women's ice hockey

The NCAA Division III women's ice hockey is a college ice hockey competition governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as part of the NCAA Division III (DIII or D3). Sixty-seven teams competed in NCAA Division III women's hockey across eight conferences in the 2023–24 season.

Conferences

Conference affiliations and the conferences themselves experienced numerous changes in the later part of the 2010s. The most substantial alterations occurred with the founding of the Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) in 2015 and the folding of ECAC West in 2017, which precipitated the creation of the Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) in the same year. The conferences and affiliations presented below are accurate through the 2019–20 season.[1]

A conference with seven or more affiliated programs automatically qualifies for the NCAA DIII Women's Ice Hockey Tournament.[2] In practice, the Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) are the only conferences that do not receive automatic bids for the tournament.

The Anna Maria Amcats women's ice hockey program of Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts has participated in the NCAA Division III as an independent team (ie. without conference affiliation) since the 2018–19 season.[3]

Conference of New England

The Conference of New England (CNE; known before the 2024–25 season as the Commonwealth Coast Conference) is a college athletic conference which operates in New England. It added women's ice hockey by taking over the former Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC; previously ECAC North Atlantic) in 2020. As of the 2024–25 season, there are six member programs:

• Curry College (Colonels) – Milton, Massachusetts
• Endicott College (Gulls) – Beverly, Massachusetts
• Nichols College (Bison) – Dudley, Massachusetts
• Suffolk University (Rams) – Boston, Massachusetts
• University of New England (Nor'easters) – Biddeford, Maine
• Western New England University (Golden Bears) – Springfield, Massachusetts

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is a college athletic conference located in Minnesota. The women's ice hockey programs that compete in the MIAC include:[4]

• Augsburg University (Auggies) – Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Bethel University (Royals) – St. Paul, Minnesota
• College of Saint Benedict (Bennies) – St. Joseph, Minnesota
• Concordia College (Cobbers) – Moorhead, Minnesota
• Gustavus Adolphus College (Gusties) – St. Peter, Minnesota
• Hamline University (Pipers) – St. Paul, Minnesota
• Saint Mary's University (Cardinals) – Winona, Minnesota
• St. Catherine University (Wildcats) – St. Paul, Minnesota
• St. Olaf College (Oles) – Northfield, Minnesota
• College of St. Scholastica (Saints) – Duluth, Minnesota

The most recent change to the MIAC membership came after the 2020–21 season, when St. Thomas was expelled from the league and moved to NCAA Division I, joining the Summit League for most sports and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WHCA) in women's ice hockey.[5] St. Thomas was replaced by St. Scholastica.

New England Hockey Conference

The New England Hockey Conference (NEHC; previously ECAC East) is an ice hockey-only conference which operates in New England. As of the 2019–20 season, there are nine member programs in the women's division:

• Castleton University (Spartans) – Castleton, Vermont
• Johnson & Wales University (Wildcats) – Providence, Rhode Island
• New England College (Pilgrims) – Henniker, New Hampshire
• Norwich University (Cadets) – Northfield, Vermont
• Plymouth State University (Panthers) – Plymouth, New Hampshire
• Salem State University (Vikings) – Salem, Massachusetts
• Suffolk University (Rams) – Boston, Massachusetts
• University of Massachusetts Boston (Beacons) – Boston, Massachusetts
• University of Southern Maine (Huskies) – Gorham, Maine

New England Small College Athletic Conference

The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is a college athletic conference of liberal arts colleges and universities located in New England and New York. The member schools of the NESCAC are often referred to as the "Little Ivies." The women's ice hockey programs competing in the NESCAC are:[6]

• Amherst College (Mammoths) – Amherst, Massachusetts
• Bowdoin College (Polar Bears) – Brunswick, Maine
• Colby College (Mules) – Waterville, Maine
• Connecticut College (Camels) – New London, Connecticut
• Hamilton College (Continentals) – Clinton, New York
• Middlebury College (Panthers) – Middlebury, Vermont
• Trinity College (Bantams) – Hartford, Connecticut
• Wesleyan University (Cardinals) – Middletown, Connecticut
• Williams College (Ephs) – Williamstown, Massachusetts

Northeast Women's Hockey League

The Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL; successor of ECAC West) is a women's ice hockey-only conference comprising seven member schools in New York. It was founded in 2017 by the women's ice hockey teams of five schools in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC); its membership was increased to seven programs in 2019–20. The programs competing in the NEWHL are:

• Buffalo State University (Bengals) – Buffalo, New York
• Morrisville State College (Mustangs) – Morrisville, New York
• State University of New York at Canton (Roos) – Canton, New York
• State University of New York at Cortland (Red Dragons) – Cortland, New York
• State University of New York at Oswego (Lakers) – Oswego, New York
• State University of New York at Plattsburgh (Cardinals) – Plattsburgh, New York
• State University of New York at Potsdam (Bears) – Potsdam, New York

Northern Collegiate Hockey Association

The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) is a hockey-only conference, which operates in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.[7] The women's programs competing in the NCHA are:

• Adrian College (Bulldogs) – Adrian, Michigan
• Aurora University (Spartans) – Aurora, Illinois
• Concordia University Wisconsin (Falcons) – Mequon, Wisconsin
• Finlandia University (Lions) – Hancock, Michigan
• Lake Forest College (Foresters) – Lake Forest, Illinois
• Marian University (Sabres) – Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
• St. Norbert College (Green Knights) – De Pere, Wisconsin
• Trine University (Thunder) – Angola, Indiana

United Collegiate Hockey Conference

The United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) is a hockey-only conference which operates in the Mid-Atlantic region. The women's programs competing in the UCHC are:

• Alvernia University (Golden Wolves) – Reading, Pennsylvania
• Chatham University (Cougars) – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Elmira College (Soaring Eagles) – Elmira, New York
• King's College (Monarchs) – Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
• Lebanon Valley College (Flying Dutchman) – Annville, Pennsylvania
• Manhattanville University (Valiants) – Purchase, New York
• Nazareth University (Golden Flyers) – Rochester, New York
• Neumann University (Knights) – Aston, Pennsylvania
• Stevenson University (Mustangs) – Stevenson, Maryland
• Utica University (Pioneers) – Utica, New York
• Wilkes University (Colonels) – Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
• William Smith College (Herons) – Geneva, New York

Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) is a collegiate athletics conference in Wisconsin, primarily comprising institutions in the University of Wisconsin System. The women's ice hockey programs participating in the WIAC are:

• Northland College (LumberJills) – Ashland, Wisconsin
• University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (Bluegolds) – Eau Claire, Wisconsin
• University of Wisconsin–River Falls (Falcons) – River Falls, Wisconsin
• University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (Pointers) – Stevens Point, Wisconsin
• University of Wisconsin–Superior (Yellowjackets) – Superior, Wisconsin

List of champions

Year	Champion	Score	Runner-up
2002	Elmira	2–1	Manhattanville
2003	Elmira	5–1	Manhattanville
2004	Middlebury	2–1	UW-Stevens Point
2005	Middlebury	4–3	Elmira
2006	Middlebury	3–1	Plattsburgh
2007	Plattsburgh	2–1	Middlebury
2008	Plattsburgh	3–2	Manhattanville
2009	Amherst	4–3 (OT)	Elmira
2010	Amherst	7–2	Norwich
2011	Norwich	5–2	RIT
2012	RIT	4–1	Norwich
2013	Elmira	1–0	Middlebury
2014	Plattsburgh	9–2	Norwich
2015	Plattsburgh	3–2	Elmira
2016	Plattsburgh	5–1	UW–River Falls
2017	Plattsburgh	4–3 (OT)	Adrian
2018	Norwich	2–1	Elmira
2019	Plattsburgh	4–0	Hamline
2020-2021	Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic
2022	Middlebury	3–2 (OT)	Gustavus Adolphus
2023	Gustavus Adolphus	2–1 (3OT)	Amherst
2024	UW–River Falls	4–1	Elmira

Laura Hurd Award

Main article: Laura Hurd Award

The Laura Hurd Award is an annual award given to the top player in NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey as awarded by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA). Since 2007, it has been named after Laura Hurd, a stand-out player for Elmira College who was killed in a car accident. Previously, it was known as the Division III Women's Player of the Year Award.[8]

Award winners

Year	Winner	Pos.	School
2000	Sylvia Ryan	F	Middlebury College
2001	Michelle Labbe	F	Middlebury College
2002	Sarah Moe	F	Gustavus Adolphus College
2003	Angela Kapus	F/D	Middlebury College
2004	Molly Wasserman	F	Williams College
2005	Laura Hurd	F	Elmira College
2006	Emily Quizon	F	Middlebury College
2007	Andrea Peterson	D	Gustavus Adolphus College
2008	Danielle Blanchard[9]	F	SUNY Plattsburgh
2009	Kayla Coady	F	Elmira College
2010	Isabel Iwachiw	G	Trinity College
2011	Sarah Dagg[10]	F	Rochester Institute of Technology
2012	Julie Fortier[11]	F	Norwich University
2013	Teal Gove[12]	F	SUNY Plattsburgh
2014	Sydney Aveson[13]	G	SUNY Plattsburgh
2015	Ashley Ryan[14]	F	Elmira College
2016	Michelle Greeneway	F	Lake Forest College
2017	Dani Sibley	F	UW-River Falls
2018	Melissa Sheeran	F	SUNY Plattsburgh
2019	Bre Simon[15]	F	Hamline University
2020	Amanda Conway[16]	F	Norwich University
2021	Not awarded
2022	Callie Hoff[17]	F	UW-River Falls
2023	Darci Matson[18]	F	Aurora University
2024	Maddie McCollins	F	UW-River Falls

See also

• NCAA Division I Women's Hockey conferences and teams
• National Collegiate women's ice hockey championship
• Women's Hockey Coaches with 250 wins
• Major women's sport leagues in North America
• Title IX

References

1. "Women's Division III Hockey Standings: 2019-2020". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
2. "Morrisville, Canton will join NEWHL in 2019-20". Northeast Women's Hockey League (Press release). 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
3. "Anna Maria Women's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
4. "Women's Ice Hockey Team Pages". Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
5. Jay, Michelle (2020-07-15). "University of St. Thomas joins the WCHA for 2021-22 season". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
6. "2019-20 Women's Ice Hockey Standings". New England Small College Athletic Conference. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
7. "A History of Women's Hockey and the NCHA". Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
8. "AHCA Awards – Laura Hurd Award". American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
9. "American Hockey Coaches Association". American Hockey Coaches Association (Press release). Archived from the original on 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
10. "Tiger hockey – women and men – set national records at season's end". RIT News. 2011-04-12. Archived from the original on 2016-07-14. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
11. Dunning, Derek (2012-03-15). "Julie Fortier wins Laura Hurd Award". USCHO.com. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
12. "Teal Gove of Plattsburgh State is D-III Women's Player of the Year". American Hockey Coaches Association. Archived from the original on 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
13. "Sydney Aveson wins Laura Hurd Award; Women's All-Americans announced". D3Hockey.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
14. "Ashley Ryan of Elmira is D-III Women's Hockey Player of the Year". American Hockey Coaches Association. Archived from the original on 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
15. "Hamline's Bre Simon is 2019 Laura Hurd Award Winner as AHCA Division III Women's Player of the Year". American Hockey Coaches Association (Press release). 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
16. "Norwich's Amanda Conway is 2020 Laura Hurd Award Winner As AHCA Division III Women's Player of the Year". American Hockey Coaches Association. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
17. "UW-River Falls' Callie Hoff is 2022 Laura Hurd Award Winner As AHCA Division III Women's Player of the Year". American Hockey Coaches Association. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
18. "Matson wins Laura Hurd Award". Aurora University Athletics. Retrieved 2023-03-19.

External links

• NCAA Division III women ice hockey page