“So now, when we’re trying to ask for 12, which is an easier tournament format, they come back to us and say, ‘Okay, well, we’ll give you 11 but just so you can’t have more than the men.’” “The reason they only gave us 11 is so that our participation matches the men’s participation exactly in their national tournament, which we found frustrating because they have had greater participation this entire time,” Willoughby explained. Harvard defender Kyra Willoughby is quoted in the piece: Harvard’s coaching staff was instrumental in the push for expansion, and The Harvard Crimson recently ran a feature on that effort and the results. Women’s hockey coaches and players specifically talked about expansion to 12 teams. But I know I’m not the only one who’s frustrated by the 11-team field. On the face of it, seeing expansion happen is a positive sign, and frankly a much-needed development considering the parity that exists below the top-5 in women’s hockey right now. You’ll note that the number of schools sponsoring either men’s or women’s hockey is in flux relatively often, with programs being added and cut, so it makes almost zero sense to be beholden to this arbitrary percentage unless the COC plans on adjusting the size of the field whenever teams come or go. Just a reminder on how we got to 11 teams: 11 out of 41 DI women’s teams is 27%, which matches the men’s tournament field percentage almost exactly (16 out of 60 teams). The proposal awaits approval from the Division I Council they’ll review when they meet on Dec. The proposed format would go into effect immediately for 2022-meaning there’s a very strong chance expansion happens this season. The top-four seeds will host both the first round and the quarterfinal round at their campuses the fifth-seeded team will play their quarterfinal at one of those campus sites. The bottom six teams would play three first-round games to determine who moves on to the quarterfinals, then the rest of the tournament proceeds as usual. Under the proposed format, the top five teams would receive first-round byes. What’s new news is this: the NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Committee (made up of coaches and administrators) recommended a tournament format for the 11-team field, which the COC supported yesterday at their videoconference. NCAA Tournament expansion approved: This is old news by now, but we’re finally getting NCAA Tournament expansion after the NCAA Competition Oversight Committee decided to expand from eight teams to 11. #ThisIsYale /fhwMViBD3Z- Yale Women’s Hockey November 22, 2021 It’s just plain fun to see new teams have unprecedented success for their programs, and it sets up an exciting Nutmeg Classic clash later this week-more on that below. Then there’s the Bulldogs, who are ranked nationally for the first time ever and are out-scoring their opponents 30-10 in their last six games. This season was the first time in their program’s history that they were unbeaten in their first 13 games they now boast a 13-1-2 record and look very much like the team to beat in the ECAC-possibly out of all the Eastern teams. More historic starts from Connecticut teams: Folks, I think it’s time we talk about Quinnipiac and Yale. If you’re looking for further reading, Kat Cornetta has a good story on Stone’s big achievement in the Boston Globe. It feels like the Crimson have been accruing talent for a few years now, and while they’ve certainly been decent over that stretch, this season feels like more of a turning point. They have key wins over Boston College and Cornell, and took Colgate to overtime.
While the ECAC seems to be competitive as ever, Harvard is currently in the top half of the standings, with a game in hand on every team ahead of them except for Clarkson. The milestone is just one highlight from the Crimson’s start to the season so far. And the accomplishment is special for another reason: Stone is the first female coach to reach 500 wins. 13 marked the 500th career win for her she’s just the fourth women’s hockey program coach to reach that milestone. Katey Stone reaches 500 wins: Stone, who coaches the Harvard Crimson, is the longest tenured coach in NCAA Division I. Happy Wednesday! Here’s your rundown of some of the last happenings in NCAA Division I women’s hockey.
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