Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey

The Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women's college ice hockey program. The Warriors are a new member of Hockey East.[2] They play at the 2,549-seat J. Thom Lawler Arena in North Andover, Massachusetts, which underwent a major renovation in 2010.

Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey
UniversityMerrimack College
ConferenceHockey East
Head coachErin Whitten-Hamlen
6th season, 48–105–21
ArenaJ. Thom Lawler Rink
Capacity: 2,549
LocationNorth Andover, Massachusetts
ColorsBlue and Gold[1]
         

History


The women's ice hockey program began play in the 2013-14 academic year. The team initially played a club schedule before transitioning to the NCAA in 2015-16 and joining Hockey East.[3] The college added women's ice hockey, swimming, and water polo as part of its six-sport expansion plans following a settlement with U.S. Department of Education related to a Title IX gender-discrimination complaint.[4][5]

Erin Hamlen, née Whitten, is the head coach for the Warriors. As a player-athlete at the University of New Hampshire, she was a goaltender for the Wildcats, and won the ECAC Goaltender of the Year award in 1992. She returned to her alma-mater as a coach, working as an assistant coach and then Associate Head Coach for the women's ice hockey team, from 2000-2010. In 2010, she became the first head coach for the Boston Blades in the Canadian Women's Hockey League.

In the 2018-2019 season, forward Katelyn Rae became the first player in program history to reach 100 points in her career. At the time of her graduation in 2019, she was the all-time points leader with 112 points. She earned a 2018-2019 Hockey East First Team All-Star selection. She was also the first Merrimack Warrior to be selected for the New England Hockey Writers Association All-Star team.

Three members of the Warriors were selected in the 2018 National Women's Hockey League draft. Rae was drafted by the Connecticut Whale as the 12th pick overall, in the 3rd round, officially becoming the first woman in program history to be drafted for professional hockey.[6] Warriors' forward, Paige Voight, was selected as 16th overall pick in the fourth round, by the Metropolitan Riveters. Voight played on the US U-18 national women's ice hockey team that won Gold in Buffalo, NY.[7] She joined the PWHPA in the New England region for the 2019-2020 season.[8] Dominique Kremer, who played defense for the Warriors, was also selected by the Connecticut Whale, as the 17th pick overall, in the 4th round. [9][10]

Mikyla Grant-Mentis was nominated for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year award. She set a new program record for points, with 117 points, on 56 goals and 61 assists. She ranks second in goals scored. She earned Hockey East Player of the Month honors in November 2019. The same season, she was a Hockey East Second Team All-Star and the New England Hockey Writers Association named her as a Division I All Star.[11]

Year by year
Won Championship Lost Championship Conference Champions League Leader
YearCoachWLTConferenceConf.
W		Conf.
L		Conf.
T		FinishConference TournamentNCAA Tournament
2019–20Erin Whitten-Hamlen5245Hockey East220510th HEDid not qualifyCancelled due to 2020 Coronavirus pandemic in the United States
2018–19Erin Hamlen16137Hockey East121055th HELost Quarterfinals vs. Providence (0-2, 1-2)Did not qualify
2017–18Erin Hamlen11203Hockey East61629th HEDid not qualifyDid not qualify
2016–17Erin Hamlen11223Hockey East71708th HELost Quarterfinal vs. Boston College (0-4, 0-1)Did not qualify
2015–16Erin Hamlen5263Hockey East31839th HEDid not qualifyDid not qualify

References
  1. "Merrimack College Brand Guidelines". Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  2. Staff (Oct 3, 2012). "Merrimack to add new women's program". U.S. College Hockey Online. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  3. "Merrimack to Launch 3 New Sports; Division I Women's Hockey Centerpiece of Expansion". Merrimack College. October 5, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  4. Mytelka, Andrew (October 1, 2012). "Merrimack College Will Create 6 Women's Teams to Settle Title IX Complaint". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  5. McMahon, Mike (October 2, 2012). "Merrimack College reaches settlement with Dept. of Education in Title IX probe". Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  6. "Merrimack hockey's Rae honored". Eagle-Tribune. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  7. "2018 NWHL Draft Wraps up Final Three Rounds". The Hockey Writers. 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  8. "Paige Voight at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  9. Athletics, Merrimack (2018-12-20). "Rae, Voight and Kremer selected in NWHL Draft". The Mack Report. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  10. "NWHL Draft Recap". The Victory Press. 2018-12-24. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  11. Athletics, Merrimack (2020-07-14). "Grant-Mentis, Ireland Named Nominees for 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year". The Mack Report. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.