LIU women's ice hockey team in NCAA Tournament
The LIU women's ice hockey team looks on during a 3-1 win against Post at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow, N.Y., on Oct. 29, 2022. Credit: LIU Athletics/Adam Rubin
On paper, the LIU women’s hockey team is ahead of schedule.
The program is in only its fourth season of existence, the Sharks have a first-time head coach and they lost four straight to open the campaign.
But even then, the woman behind the bench knew the timing could be right for LIU’s first trip to the NCAA ice hockey championship.
“That was when it kind of clicked for us as a staff,” coach Kelly Nash said.
LIU makes its NCAA Tournament debut Thursday in upstate Hamilton against Wisconsin, a six-time national champion and Nash’s alma mater. The winner faces regional host Colgate Saturday for a berth in next week's Frozen Four.
After some time getting to know the team, Nash and her staff began eyeing the NCAAs, even without a win. Those four opening losses came against Minnesota Duluth and Northeastern, two of the nation’s top five teams. While LIU left each game emptyhanded, Nash saw enough to know they could hang with the best teams on their schedule.
“We wanted to get an understanding of all the players and everything, but it was pretty immediate,” Nash said. “After two weeks of practice, and then opening up against Duluth and Northeastern, we really set that goal.”
Once conference play began, wins poured in. The Sharks are 20-13-3, capping their second-straight New England Women’s Hockey Alliance regular-season title with the NEWHA tournament championship last Saturday. That trophy came with an automatic NCAA bid for the first time this season.
Against high-scoring Wisconsin, the Sharks will lean on goaltender Tindra Holm, a Swedish sophomore and semifinalist for National Goalie of the Year who is fourth in the nation in save percentage (.938). Kings Park’s Jeannie Wallner leads the Sharks offensively with team-best 15 goals and 29 points this season.
Nash is a rookie coach but brought a range of experience to LIU. An Isobel Cup winner with the Premier Hockey Federation's Metropolitan Riveters in 2018, she then worked for the pro team as an associate coach and scout, bringing assistant coaching experience from Vermont and Princeton.
Guiding her this week is expertise from two NCAA titles at Wisconsin under mentor Mark Johnson, who played on the 1980 U.S. Olympic championship team and is in his 20th season coaching the Badgers. Johnson and Nash shared pleasantries and a hug Wednesday, but he’s not allowing his team to take LIU lightly.
“You have to respect anybody at this point in the season,” Johnson said. “This time of year, funny things happen, so you focus on one game and that’s your whole business.”
Fittingly, Nash had similar thoughts, keeping her team’s focus inward.
“I think our schedule this season has really prepared us,” Nash said. “We really like to focus 90% on our team and 10% on the other team and just make adjustments that are needed.”
Ryan Gerbosi is an internet news manager for sports at Newsday.com. He also covers NYCFC and mixed martial arts and believes the designated hitter should be banned from baseball.
