Ohio State's 'Cinderella story' started with hiring of Nadine Muzerall →

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — When the Ohio State women’s hockey team ended its season earlier than it would have liked in the 2021 national semifinal, coach Nadine Muzerall said, “We get so fixated on this last game, and your last game is miserable unless you win the whole thing.”

At the time, she was hoping to remind her players of all they’d accomplished that season. This year, she has no such problem. There are no platitudes and reminders to look for the good. This season, there is no being miserable, only bliss.

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Women’s DI: Players from non-traditional markets highlight the importance of tournaments like the Country Classic in Nashville →

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In 2010, Minnesota Duluth’s reign was coming to an end and Minnesota’s was just beginning. The Bulldogs won their fifth title to start the decade. The Gophers had just two NCAA national championships when the decade started. Clarkson emerged as a force to be reckoned with and become the only non-WCHA team to win a title.

To only look at the big picture, it looks like not much has changed in the women’s game. At the start of the decade, there were three teams that led the pack – Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth and Wisconsin. As we close it out, there’s still a focus on three programs, with Clarkson having replaced UMD in the top trio.

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NEWHA is driving women’s hockey expansion and could help push for a larger NCAA tournament field

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On Monday, Division II Stonehill College announced that they were adding women’s hockey as a varsity sport. Stonehill was a natural fit for the New England Women’s Hockey Alliance (NEWHA), who’s member institutions Franklin Pierce, Post, Saint Anselm and St. Michael’s all have men’s teams that compete in the Northeast-10 conference against Stonehill’s men’s squad. 

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Wednesday Women: Pondering players taking time away to play international tournaments and the impact their absence has on their college teams →

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But I also think it’s unfair of country federations to use NCAA programs as the primary tool of women’s top tier talent and also not take those programs’ schedules into account. Changing the status quo would require a lot of finagling of the international calendar, but it certainly feels like the federations get the benefit of top tier instruction, training and facilities for their players (that most of those federations refuse to even provide themselves) and also take advantage of the programs providing those things by taking their players for international competition whenever they want. It just seems like this could and should be a bit more of a cooperative relationship. 

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