The Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey team is a

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) Division I women's

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

program. The Warriors are a new member of

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 fo ...

. They play at the 2,549-seat J. Thom Lawler Arena in

North Andover, Massachusetts North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915. History Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...

History

The women's ice hockey program began play in the 2013–14 academic year. The team initially played an

American Collegiate Hockey Association The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated non-varsity programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes qualit ...

club schedule before transitioning to the NCAA in 2015–16 and joining

. The college added scholarship-supported women's ice hockey, swimming and water polo programs as part of its six-sport expansion following a settlement with U.S. Department of Education of a

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

gender-discrimination complaint. Erin Whitten Hamlen has been the head coach of the Warriors since the team's inception. As a player at the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College ...

(UNH), she was a goaltender and won the ECAC Goaltender of the Year award in 1992. She returned to her alma-mater as a coach, working as an assistant and then associate head coach from 2000 to 2010. In 2010, she became the first head coach for the

Boston Blades The Worcester Blades were a professional women's ice hockey team in the Canadian Women's Hockey League, based in Worcester, Massachusetts, and played their home games at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. The team began play in the 2010–11 ...

in the

Canadian Women's Hockey League The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey féminin ‒ LCHF) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the le ...

. In the Warriors' inaugural NCAA 2015–16 season, Hamlen's bench staff included assistant coach

Kacey Bellamy Kacey Lee Bellamy (born April 22, 1987) is an American ice hockey defender for the Calgary section of the PWHPA, an Olympic Silver medalist, and seven-time IIHF World Women's Championship winner. She currently plays for the Boston Pride in the ...

, a member of the U.S. Women's National Team and two-time

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

silver medalist. Hamlen previously coached Bellamy at UNH, Team USA, and the

. While coaching at Merrimack, Ballamy played for the Boston Pride in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), which won the league's inaugural

Isobel Cup The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup, often shortened to Isobel Cup, is the championship trophy awarded annually to the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoff winner. It is named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, one of the first known women to ...

championship during the 2015–16 season. At season's end, Bellamy rejoined the national team to train for the

IIHF World Women's Championship The IIHF World Women's Championship (WW or WWC), officially the IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship, is the premier international tournament in women's ice hockey. It is governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The offi ...

. The Warriors were ranked eighth of nine in the 2017–18 Hockey East preseason poll, then started the season with two upset victories. The first came against

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

, which had been ranked third in the conference. The second was a 4–3 road win against No. 3

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

. Goaltender Léa-Kristine Demers was credited with 54 saves in the Sept. 29 upset, which also marked the first time the Warriors beat a nationally ranked opponent in the team’s history. Minnesota won the second of game of the series, 4–1. The Warriors finished the 2017–18 season with a 11–20–3 record. Their 6–16–2 conference record put them in ninth place, and thus out of the conference tournament. In 2018–19, the Warriors posted the team’s first-ever winning record, at 16–13–7 overall. On Dec. 8 of that season, the Warriors beat No. 9-ranked

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...

, 1–0, on a second-period goal by senior Paige Sorensen and a 51-save shutout by goaltender Samantha Ridgewell. It was the Warriors’ first win against the Eagles and the second win against a ranked opponent in team history. The team qualified for its second-ever trip to the Hockey East tournament. The Warriors lost two games against

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

in the opening round. Following the 2018–19 season, Merrimack graduated 11 of its original players. The senior class included Katelyn Rae, who was the first player in program history to reach 100 career points. At the time of her graduation, Rae was the team’s all-time points leader with 113. She earned a first-team 2018-19 Hockey East All-Star selection, while senior goaltender Samantha Ridgewell was named a second-team Hockey East All-Star, and senior Dominique Kremer was named to the third team. Rae was also the first Merrimack Warrior selected for the New England Hockey Writers’ All-Star Team. Three members of the Warriors were selected in the 2018 NWHL 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. Warriors' forward Paige Voight was selected 16th overall pick in the fourth round, by the Metropolitan Riveters. Voight played on the U.S. U-18 national women's ice hockey team that won gold. She joined the NWHL's competitor

Professional Women's Hockey Players Association The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization dedicated to advocating for the promotion of professional women's ice hockey. It was founded in May 2019 following the dissolution of the Canadian W ...

(PWHPA) in the New England region for the 2019–20 season. Defender Dominique Kremer was also selected by the Connecticut Whale as the 17th pick overall in the 4th round. In the 2019–20 season, the Warriors finished with a 5–24–5 record with nine losses against ranked opponents. In January 2020, the Warriors traveled to

Belfast, Northern Ireland Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, for a two-game series against

Quinnipiac Quinnipiac is the English name for the Eansketambawg (meaning "original people"; ''cf.'' Ojibwe: '' Anishinaabeg'' and Blackfoot: ''Niitsítapi''), a Quiripi-speaking Native American nation of the Algonquian family who inhabited the ''Wamp ...

as part of the Friendship Series sponsored by the Odyssey Trust. The tournament was organized in conjunction with a sister cities agreement between Belfast and Boston. It was the second time a women's tournament was played. Games were played in the SSE Arena, with a capacity of more than 11,000. Quinnipiac won both games, 4–2 and 3–1. The 2019–20 season also marked the senior years of forward

Mikyla Grant-Mentis Mikyla Grant-Mentis (born July 15, 1998) is a Canadian ice hockey forward, currently playing with the Buffalo Beauts of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). She is the all-time leading scorer of the Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey team. ...

and goaltender Léa-Kristine Demers.

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 ranked 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. At the end of the season, Grant-Mentis and Demers were signed to contracts with the

Buffalo Beauts The Buffalo Beauts are a professional ice hockey team based in Amherst, New York, United States. The team was established in 2015 as one of the four founding franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), originally named the National Women ...

for the remainder of the NWHL season. In their first two games, against the Metropolitan Riveters, Grant-Mentis scored two goals and an assist, while Demers had 36 games in each of two games, on 41 and 37 shots. The Beauts won one game and finished the season fourth in the league, losing in the first game of the playoffs. The Warriors had a single win — against Holy Cross — during the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season. Of the 16 games played, four were against ranked opponents. As in previous seasons, the Warriors were well-represented in the Hockey East All-Academic Team, with 21 of 24 Merrimack players recognized. Merrimack was surpassed in the number of All-Academics only by the University of Connecticut's 22. The Warriors also claimed three of nine spots in the league's All-Academic All Star Team. The Warriors finished the 2021–22 regular season with a 7–24–1 record. They faced top-10 ranked teams three times in the season, including two losses at home against No. 1

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

at the beginning of October. The Warriors won the last two games of the regular season, sweeping a two-game series against Holy Cross. The final victory came on an overtime goal by senior Julia MacLean, the first goal of her Merrimack career. Junior Teghan Inglis led the team in scoring during the regular season with 12 goals and 18 points. In the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022, graduate student Dominika Lásková and former Warrior Katerina Bukolska skated for the Czech national team. They were the first Merrimack women's hockey players to compete in the Olympics. The Czech Republic team, appearing in the country's first Olympic women's ice hockey tournament, lost to the U.S. in the quarterfinal round 4–1 despite holding the Americans scoreless in the first period and briefly taking the lead in the second.

Current roster

As of September 26, 2022.

Season–by–season

Notable players

Awards and honors

New England Hockey Writers All-Stars

* Katelyn Rae (F), senior, 2018-19 season * Mikyla Grant-Mentis (F), senior, 2019-20 season

Hockey East All-Stars

* Katelyn Rae (F), junior, Honorable Mention, 2017-18 season * Katelyn Rae (F), senior, First-Team, 2018-19 season * Samantha Ridgewell (G), senior, Second-Team, 2018-19 season * Dominique Kremer (D), senior, Third-Team, 2018-19 season * Mikyla Grant-Mentis (F), junior, Honorable Mention, 2018-19 season * Mikyla Grant-Mentis (F), senior, Second-Team, 2019-20 season

Hockey East Players of the Month

* Mikyla Grant-Mentis (F), freshman, HEA Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month (awarded February 3, 2017) * Samantha Ridgewell (G), senior, HEA Goaltender of the Month (awarded November 1, 2018) * Mikyla Grant-Mentis (F), senior, HEA Co-Player of the Month (awarded December 5, 2019)

Hockey East Weekly awards

* Katelyn Rae (F), soph., HEA Player of the Week (awarded October 3, 2016) * Mikyla Grant-Mentis (F), freshman, HEA Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week (awarded October 24, 2016) * Lea-Kristine Demers (G), freshman, HEA Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week (awarded October 31, 2016) * Samantha Ridgewell (G), soph., HEA Defensive Player of the Week (awarded November 28, 2016) * Mikyla Grant-Mentis (F), freshman, HEA Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week (awarded January 30, 2017) * Samantha Ridgewell (G), soph., HEA Defensive Player of the Week (awarded January 30, 2017) * Lea-Kristine Demers (G), freshman, HEA Defensive Player of the Week (awarded February 20, 2017) * Lea-Kristine Demers (G), soph., HEA Player of the Week (awarded October 2, 2017) * Samantha Ridgewell (G), junior, HEA Defensive Player of the Week (awarded October 16, 2017) * Samantha Ridgewell (G), junior, HEA Defensive Player of the Week (awarded November 27, 2017) * Katelyn Rae (F), junior, HEA Player of the Week (awarded January 22, 2018) * Samantha Ridgewell (G), junior, HEA Defensive Player of the Week (awarded February 5, 2018) * Mikyla Grant-Mentis (F), junior, HEA Player of the Week (awarded October 1, 2018) * Samantha Ridgewell (G), senior, HEA Defensive Player of the Week (awarded October 1, 2018) * Samantha Ridgewell (G), senior, HEA Defensive Player of the Week (awarded October 22, 2018) * Samantha Ridgewell (G), senior, HEA Defensive Player of the Week (awarded December 10, 2018) * Gabby Jones (F), freshman, HEA Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week (awarded January 1, 2019) * Mikyla Grant-Mentis (F), junior, HEA Player of the Week (awarded January 14, 2019) * Katelyn Rae (F), senior, HEA Player of the Week (awarded February 18, 2019) * Emma Gorski (G), soph., HEA Defensive Player of the Week (awarded December 14, 2020) * Alexa Pongo (F), freshman, HEA Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week (awarded September 28, 2021) * Teghan Inglis (D), junior, HEA Defender of the Week (awarded October 19, 2021) * Katie Kaufman (F), junior, HEA Player of the Week (awarded November 2, 2021) * Alexa Pongo (F), freshman, HEA Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week (awarded November 9, 2021) * Teghan Inglis (D), junior, HEA Defender of the Week (awarded February 22, 2022) * Emma Gorski (G), junior, HEA Goaltender of the Week (awarded February 22, 2022) * Katie Kaufman (F), senior, HEA Player of the Week (awarded November 1, 2022) * Emma Gorski (G), senior, HEA Goaltender of the Week (awarded November 8, 2022) * Hayley Chang (D), sophomore, HEA Defender of the Week (awarded November 15, 2022)

Hockey East Academic All-Stars and Top Scholar-Athletes

* Lea-Kristine Demers, (G), freshman, HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2016-17 season (awarded June 28, 2017) * Paige Sorensen, (D), soph., HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2016-17 season (awarded June 28, 2017) * Annie Boeckers, (F), soph., HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2016-17 season (awarded June 28, 2017) * Marie Delabre, (F), senior (redshirt), HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2016-17 season (awarded June 28, 2017) * Madison Morey, (F), soph., HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2016-17 season (awarded June 28, 2017) * Lea-Kristine Demers, (G), freshman, HEA All-Academic All-Star Team, 2016-17 season (awarded June 28, 2017) * Meghan Martin, (D), soph., HEA All-Academic All-Star Team, 2016-17 season (awarded June 28, 2017) * Paige Sorensen, (D), soph., HEA All-Academic All-Star Team, 2016-17 season (awarded June 28, 2017) * Annie Boeckers, (F), soph., HEA All-Academic All-Star Team, 2016-17 season (awarded June 28, 2017) * Marie Delabre, (F), senior (redshirt), HEA All-Academic All-Star Team, 2016-17 season (awarded June 28, 2017) * Madison Morey, (F), soph., HEA All-Academic All-Star Team, 2016-17 season (awarded June 28, 2017) * Lea-Kristine Demers, (G), soph., HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2017-18 season (awarded July 12, 2018) * Paige Sorensen, (D), junior, HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2017-18 season (awarded July 12, 2018) * Annie Boeckers, (F), junior, HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2017-18 season (awarded July 12, 2018) * Madison Morey, (F), junior, HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2017-18 season (awarded July 12, 2018) * Lea-Kristine Demers, (G), soph., HEA Academic All-Star Team, 2017-18 season (awarded July 12, 2018) * Paige Sorensen (D), junior, HEA Academic All-Star Team, 2017-18 season (awarded July 12, 2018) * Annie Boeckers (D), junior, HEA Academic All-Star Team, 2017-18 season (awarded July 12, 2018) * Madison Morey (D), junior, HEA Academic All-Star Team, 2017-18 season (awarded July 12, 2018) * Lea-Kristine Demers (G), junior, HEA Academic All-Star Team, 2018-19 season (awarded July 11, 2019) * Paige Sorensen (D), senior, HEA Academic All-Star Team, 2018-19 season (awarded July 11, 2019) * Dominique Kremer, (D), senior, HEA Academic All-Star Team, 2018-19 season (awarded July 11, 2019) * Annie Boeckers, (F), senior, HEA Academic All-Star Team, 2018-19 season (awarded July 11, 2019) * Lea-Kristine Demers, (G), junior, HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2018-19 season (awarded July 11, 2019) * Paige Sorensen, (D), senior, HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2018-19 season (awarded July 11, 2019) * Annie Boeckers, (F), senior, HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2018-19 season (awarded July 11, 2019) * Lea-Kristine Demers (G), senior, HEA Academic All-Star Team, 2019-20 season (awarded June 30, 2020) * Lea-Kristine Demers (G), senior, HEA Top Scholar-Athlete, 2019-20 season (awarded June 30, 2020) * Bree Bergeron, (D), freshman, 2020-21 Hockey East All-Academic All-Star Team (awarded June 25, 2021) * Katie Kaufman, (F), sophomore, 2020-21 Hockey East All-Academic All-Star Team (awarded June 25, 2021) * Allison Reeb, (F), sophomore, 2020-21 Hockey East All-Academic All-Star Team (awarded June 25, 2021) * Bree Bergeron, (D), freshman, 2020-21 Hockey East Top Scholar Athlete (highest GPA in conference) (awarded June 25, 2021) * Katie Kaufman, (F), sophomore, 2020-21 Hockey East Top Scholar Athlete (highest GPA in conference) (awarded June 25, 2021) * Allison Reeb, (F), sophomore, 2020-21 Hockey East Top Scholar Athlete (highest GPA in conference) (awarded June 25, 2021) * Teghan Inglis, (D), junior, 2021-22 Hockey East All-Academic All-Star Team (awarded July 18, 2022) * Katie Kaufman, (F), junior, 2021-22 Hockey East All-Academic All-Star Team (awarded July 18, 2022) * Allison Reeb, (F), junior, 2021-22 Hockey East All-Academic All-Star Team (awarded July 18, 2022) * Allyson Qualley, (F), sophomore, 2021-22 Hockey East All-Academic All-Star Team (awarded July 18, 2022) * Teghan Inglis, (D), junior, 2021-22 Hockey East Top Scholar Athlete (highest GPA in conference) (awarded July 18, 2022) * Katie Kaufman, (F), junior, 2021-22 Hockey East Top Scholar Athlete (highest GPA in conference) (awarded July 18, 2022) * Allyson Qualley, (F), sophomore, 2021-22 Hockey East Top Scholar Athlete (highest GPA in conference) (awarded July 18, 2022) * Allison Reeb, (F), junior, 2021-22 Hockey East Top Scholar Athlete (highest GPA in conference) (awarded July 18, 2022)

Other Hockey East awards

* Julia MacLean (D), junior, runner-up, HEA Sportsmanship Award, 2020-21 season

References

External links

* {{Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey navbox 2013 establishments in Massachusetts Ice hockey clubs established in 2013