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New England Women's Hockey Alliance

The New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) is a women's college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. As of the most recent 2023–24 NCAA hockey season, the conference is made up of eight teams, with two each in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and one each in New York and Vermont.

New England Women's Hockey Alliance
AssociationNCAA
Founded2018
CommissionerRobert M. DeGregorio, Jr. (since 2018)
Sports fielded
DivisionDivision I
No. of teams8
HeadquartersWinthrop, Massachusetts
RegionNew England, New York
Official websitenewhaonline.com

History

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Prior to 2017, the women's ice hockey program at Sacred Heart University was a longstanding independent team, part of no conference. In that year, three NCAA Division II colleges and one Division I college (College of the Holy Cross) were removed from their NCAA Division III hockey conference (the New England Hockey Conference, formerly the ECAC East). Those teams had previously not been eligible for postseason play, but the conference no longer wanted Division I and II teams playing a conference schedule at all. A sixth team, from Post University, announced plans to start playing that year as well.

Sacred Heart, Post, and the other four programs (Holy Cross, St. Michael's, St. Anselm, and Franklin Pierce) then formed a scheduling alliance called the New England Women's Hockey Alliance. This was not a formal conference affiliation, just an agreement among the teams to schedule each other during the regular season; officially the teams would be classified as Division I or Division II independents. (NCAA women's ice hockey makes no distinction between Divisions I and II; the NCAA operates a single National Collegiate Championship for women's hockey that includes both Division I and Division II teams, and scholarship limits in that sport are identical in both divisions.)

Holy Cross intended to be independent only for one season, applying for and gaining membership in Hockey East effective 2018. In that year, the other NEWHA members announced plans to adhere to Division I recruiting rules and offer scholarships, and so applied to the NCAA for the NEWHA to be recognized as an official Division I conference. They also announced the conference would include Long Island University's team when it began play in 2019. NEWHA was approved as a Division I NCAA conference in September 2019.[1] The conference will need to play at least two seasons with the same six members before being granted an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Championship playoffs in women's ice hockey.[1]

The NEWHA expanded to seven members in 2022 with the arrival of Stonehill College, which started a varsity women's hockey team in the 2022–23 season. Stonehill had initially planned to start play in 2021–22,[2] but NCAA-imposed recruiting limits imposed in the wake of COVID-19 led the school to delay the team's start by a year.[3] The latest addition to the NEWHA is Assumption University, which joined for administrative purposes on July 1, 2022, in advance of its first season of varsity play in 2023–24.[4]

On February 22, 2020, Saint Anselm and Franklin Pierce broke the record for longest NCAA women's hockey game with a five-overtime contest in the NEWHA Playoff Tournament that went 147:24. The game eclipsed the previous record of 144:32 in a 2010 game featuring RPI and Quinnipiac.[5]

Members

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Current members

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Institution Location Nickname Founded Affiliation Enrollment Joined Men's Hockey conference Primary Conference Colors
Assumption University Worcester, MA Greyhounds 1904 Private (Catholic) 2,349 2023[a] Northeast-10 (D-II) Northeast-10 (D-II)    
Franklin Pierce University Rindge, NH[b] Ravens 1962 Private (Nonsectarian) 2,381 2017 Northeast-10 (D-II) Northeast-10 (D-II)    
Long Island University Brooklyn/Brookville, NY Sharks 1926 Private (Nonsectarian) 18,500 2019 Independent[c] Northeast Conference    
Post University Waterbury, CT Eagles 1890 Private (For-profit) 849 2017 Northeast-10 (D-II) Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (D-II)    
Sacred Heart University Fairfield, CT Pioneers 1963 Private (Catholic) 5,428 2017 Atlantic Hockey America Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference    
Saint Anselm College Goffstown, NH Hawks 1889 Private (Catholic) 2,015 2017 Northeast-10 (D-II) Northeast-10 (D-II)    
Saint Michael's College Colchester, VT Purple Knights 1904 Private (Catholic) 1,600 2017 Northeast-10 (D-II) Northeast-10 (D-II)    
Stonehill College Easton, MA Skyhawks 1948 Private (Catholic) 2,500 2022[3] Independent Northeast Conference    
  1. ^ Assumption joined for administrative purposes in 2022, but did not start NEWHA play until 2023.
  2. ^ Franklin Pierce is located in New Hampshire, but plays its home hockey games in Winchendon, Massachusetts.
  3. ^ While LIU has been an independent since its first men's ice hockey season in 2020–21, it is a scheduling partner of Atlantic Hockey.[6]

Former member

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Institution Location Founded Type Nickname Joined Left Current
Conference
College of the Holy Cross Worcester, Massachusetts 1843 Private (Catholic) Crusaders 2017 2018 Hockey East

Membership timeline

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Assumption GreyhoundsStonehill SkyhawksLIU Sharks women's ice hockeySaint Michael's Purple Knights women's ice hockeySaint Anselm Hawks women's ice hockeySacred Heart Pioneers women's ice hockeyPost Eagles women's ice hockeyFranklin Pierce Ravens women's ice hockeyHoly Cross Crusaders women's ice hockey

Champions

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Season Regular Season NEWHA Tournament NCAA National
2017–18 Saint Anselm[7] Sacred Heart[8] No Autobid
2018–19 Saint Anselm[9] Saint Anselm[10] No Autobid
2019–20 Sacred Heart[11] LIU[12] No Autobid
2020–21 Not Played - COVID Not Played - COVID No Autobid
2021–22 Franklin Pierce & LIU[13] Franklin Pierce[14] No Autobid
2022–23 LIU[15] LIU LIU
2023–24 LIU Stonehill Stonehill

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b USCHO Staff (September 4, 2019). "Alliance approved for NCAA Division I status, effective with '19-20 season". USCHO. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  2. ^ "Stonehill to Add Women's Ice Hockey; Accepts Invitation to Join NEWHA" (Press release). New England Women's Hockey Alliance. December 9, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Stonehill to Delay First Women's Hockey Season to 2022-23" (Press release). Stonehill Skyhawks. September 11, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  4. ^ "Assumption accepts invitation to join NEWHA as its eighth member" (Press release). New England Women's Hockey Alliance. June 29, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  5. ^ Staff (February 23, 2020). "One night after winning longest game, Saint Anselm women fall". The Union Leader. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  6. ^ "Men's Hockey Announced as Atlantic Hockey Scheduling Partner" (Press release). LIU Sharks. October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  7. ^ "NEWHA Women's Conference Standings: 2017-2018". USCHO. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "Sacred Heart 3, Saint Anselm 1". uscho. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "NEWHA Women's Conference Standings: 2019-2020". USCHO. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "HIGHLIGHTS/REACTION: Women's Ice Hockey 3, Franklin Pierce 0 - 2018-19 NEWHA Championship Game". YouTube. Saint Anselm Athletics. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "NEWHA Women's Conference Standings: 2019-2020". USCHO. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  12. ^ "CHAMPIONS! Women's Ice Hockey Defeats Saint Anselm, 1-0 to Capture NEWHA Championship". LIU Sharks. Long Island University Athletics. February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  13. ^ "Standings". College Hockey | USCHO.com. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  14. ^ "PERCHED AT THE TOP: Women's Ice Hockey Claims NEWHA Title over Saint Anselm, 1-0". Franklin Pierce. March 5, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  15. ^ "Standings". College Hockey | USCHO.com. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
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