NEWHA is the NCAA's newest women's hockey conference. They've struggled to become competitive, but small strides can be seen.
NEWHA is the NCAA's newest women's hockey conference. They've struggled to become competitive, but small strides can be seen.
Looking at the NCAA women's hockey national rankings, you won't find a NEWHA team. You also won't find a NEWHA team in the honorable mentions.
The conference is NCAA hockey's newest, founded in 2018, but five years in, as teams begin to pass through their first full recruiting cycle, NEWHA has yet to produce a team capable of challenging for a national title.
Last season, LIU received the conferences first automatic bid to the NCAA national tournament, which is a significant milestone for the conference, who will now annually get to measure themselves against the best in the nation.
While team success hasn't come on a grand scale yet, there are some glimmers of hope for NEWHA at the player level.
This summer, goaltender Hanna Zukow was named to Canada's national development team to play the USA. She didn't appear in a game for Canada, but the inclusion was notable for the Stonehill College netminder, as the NEWHA conference has been ignored by national programs thus far. Tindra Holm and Paula Bergstrom are exceptions to that rule playing for Sweden.
Alexis Petford and Paige Whaley of Stonehill are the top performing offensive duo, alongside Saint Anslem's Natalie Tulchinsky and Maddy McCaffrey. Under the guidance of coach Tara Watchorn, Stonehill looked as though they were a program ready to turn the corner, but Watchorn left the school this summer to join Boston University.
Last year's NEWHA Defender of the Year Paula Bergstrom, who played for LIU, made the move this year via the transfer portal to Minnesota-Duluth. Avery Farrell, a standout from Franklin Pierce last season also used the transfer portal to join St. Cloud State.
Stonehill's Katie Sonntag became one of the first NEWHA alumni to sign a pro contract this offseason heading to Switzerland where she plays for HC Davos in the SWHL.
Looking at what a new NCAA program like St. Thomas has done in the WCHA, it's clear that progress can come quickly
It's slow progress for NEWHA, as the conference continues to wait for their breakout program.