The Penn State Nittany Lions women's ice hockey or Penn State Lady Icers[1][2] is a college ice hockey program that represents the Penn State University.[3] The Nittany Lions hockey program is currently designated as a varsity club sport and competes at the ACHA Division I level and are currently a member of Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League (ECWHL).[4][5][6] They play at the Penn State Ice Pavilion Arena in University Park, Pennsylvania.[7]
History
ACHA years
The Penn State Lady Icers began play at the non-NCAA level in the American Collegiate Hockey Association in 1996. During the program's tenure at the ACHA Division I level the team has made the ACHA tournament 6 times, including the 2002 ACHA Women's Final Four.[8]
Move to NCAA
After years of speculation[9][10] the program will move to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level along with men's ice hockey team with the completion of a new 6,000-seat ice arena to replace the undersized and aging 1,350-seat Penn State Ice Pavilion[9][11][12] Over the summer of 2010 it was reported that Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and Terrence Pegula, a PSU alumnus,[13] billionaire hockey fan, and possible large donor visited Minnesota’s hockey facilities and the new on-campus Notre Dame Ice Arena currently under construction at Notre Dame and other CCHA schools.[9] Many speculate the men's program to join the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) as the 12th member after Nebraska-Omaha left the league to join the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA).[14] Without a women's league the women's team will not be joining the CCHA, speculation has the Lady Lions joining College Hockey America (CHA), currently a 5-team league with teams in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York.[15][16] On September 17, 2010 it was officially announced the men's and women's ice hockey programs will move to the NCAA Division I level for the 2012-13 season. The teams will compete as independent teams until the new arena is completed in Spring of 2014, with the possibility of opening as early as December 2013.[17]
Director of athletics Tim Curley introduces Josh Brandwene as the new Penn State head coach.
In May 2011 the university announced the hiring of Josh Brandwene as the first varsity women's hockey head coach.[18] Brandwene replaces Mo Stroemel[1], who served as heard coach of the ACHA DI team accumulating a record of 36 wins, 59 losses, and 3 ties in four seasons with the Lady Icers.[19]
On June 21, 2011, it was announced that Stroemel and Gina Kearns would join the Penn State coaching staff as assistants. Stroemel will help Penn State transition to NCAA Division I for the 2012-13 season. Gina Kearns was the assistant coach of the Neumann University Knights and coached there from 2009 to 2011.[20]
Lady Icers in Professional ice hockey
- Andrea Lavelle - Beatrice Aeros of the NWHL
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gentile, Eddie (December 4, 2008). Short practices don't faze Lady Icers. The Daily Collegian. Retrieved on September 13, 2010.
- ↑ Gentile, Eddie (November 20, 2008). Lady Icers bond through adversity. The Daily Collegian. Retrieved on September 13, 2010.
- ↑ Staff (September 17, 2010). Penn State to Add Men's and Women's Varsity Ice Hockey. Penn State University. Retrieved on September 17, 2010.
- ↑ Riley, Duncan (January 24, 2009). Miss America Finalist Tara Wheeler also an Ice Hockey Goalie. The Inquisitr. Retrieved on September 13, 2010.
- ↑ Penn State University Records. ACHA (2010). Retrieved on September 13, 2010.
- ↑ ECWHL Teams. ECWHL (2006-2007). Retrieved on September 17, 2010.
- ↑ Welcome to the Official Site of the Penn State Ice Pavilion. Penn State University (2006-2007). Retrieved on September 17, 2010.
- ↑ Fact Sheet. Penn State University (September 17, 2010). Retrieved on September 17, 2010.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Giger, Cory (August 6, 2010). Penn State 'close' to adding arena, Division I hockey. Altoona Mirror. Retrieved on September 13, 2010.
- ↑ Starman, Dave (September 13, 2010). Which Way Will Dominos Fall After Penn State’s Introduction?. U.S. College Hockey Online. Retrieved on September 13, 2010.
- ↑ Ciskie, Bruce (September 13, 2010). Penn State Reportedly Set to Add Hockey. FanHouse. Retrieved on September 17, 2010.
- ↑ Wodon, Adam (September 16, 2010). Penn State Announcement Expected Friday. College Hockey News. Retrieved on September 17, 2010.
- ↑ Hradek, E.J. (September 17, 2010). Penn State hockey moves to D-I. ESPN. Retrieved on September 17, 2010.
- ↑ Gholston, Sandy (August 10, 2010,). Anastos to the Detroit News: Penn State 'very attractive' to the CCHA. Mlive.com. Retrieved on September 13, 2010.
- ↑ Staff (September 9, 2010). DeGregorio Tabbed as CHA Commissioner. U.S. College Hockey Online. Retrieved on September 17, 2010.
- ↑ Wodon, Adam (September 13, 2010). Penn State Ready to Play. College Hockey News. Retrieved on September 13, 2010.
- ↑ Staff (September 17, 2010). Pegulas Commit Historic Gift To Penn State For New Arena And Hockey Program. Penn State University. Retrieved on September 17, 2010.
- ↑ AP Staff. "Penn St turns to veteran coach, administrator, alum Josh Brandwene to lead D-I women's hockey", Daily Journal, May 31, 2011. Retrieved on June 23, 2011.
- ↑ Newby, Christine. "Brandwene takes top spot", Daily Collegian, June 8, 2011. Retrieved on June 23, 2011.
- ↑ http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/062111aaa.html
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Penn State Nittany Lions women's ice hockey. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA). |