Arcadia’ Koelzer Proud of Her Team’s Success—And Not Just on the Ice

The 14 women who helped launch the Arcadia women’s hockey program three seasons ago have accomplished a lot on the ice as their four-year record of 57-39-6 attests, including 19-3-3 this season. On Saturday the Knights will host Lebanon Valley in a Middle Atlantic Conference game; the winner will play for an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III women’s tournament next week.

Head coach Kelsey Koelzer is justifiably proud of all this. She sensed early on that her first recruiting class was capable of doing some remarkable things.

“Obviously, you never quite know fully what success you’re going to have year over year based sometimes on how your opponents fare year over year as well,” she said.

“But, I think the success we were able to find even within that first year (when the Knight finished 10-15-1, their only losing season) kind of gave me an inkling what the next three years were going to provide.

“I think each year as the team has grown older, we’ve been able to evolve and move past some of those milestones that have tripped us up in the past. A lot of that comes from maturity and experience.

“So, I think when you’re thinking about increased success, some of that is naturally going to come with your team growing together and going through different hardships, which we’ve definitely faced over our first three years.

“But I think it’s also a testament to the mindset that our team, has. I think that goes a really long way because you can’t be complacent with where you’re at, go through it thinking ‘Our experience is going to help us continue to achieve success.’ But our team has really put in the work”

“I think had you asked me at any point if we’d be 19-3-3 in our fourth season, that’s definitely a surprise, having a record that strong. But I 100 percent anticipated dour team having success within those first four years and I’m just happy the seniors have been able to bare winless to the hard work they’ve put in and have some of that success.”

The fact that Koelzer has been able to attract players who were willing and able to accept the challenge that come with being part a new program has contributed significantly to the Knights’ success.

“Every single year we’ve looked to bring in players that are going to continue to push everyone,” she said, “but also fit seamlessly and be able to fit in with the mindset that that inaugural class set forth and be able to kind of commit them and their hard work.”

Koelzer spoke to how the Class of 2025 has evolved as hockey players over the course of their careers.

“They’ve done an absolutely incredible job and kept coming together as a group,” she said. That’ something they stressed early on, celebrting each other’s strengths and pushing each other through their weaknesses and finding ways to compliment each other on the ice and off the ice.

“Every year when you add new people into the mix, there’s an adjustment period to kind of figure that out but every single year what has helped a ton is this team’s ability to settle in with “What are those roles that every individual cam play and how can we play them to our best?’ They’ve really understood that, especially this year and worked to find what those best combinations are are and ‘How can I help the team in every single way, even if I’m playing a different role than I was last year or the year before?”

As pleased as she is with the quality of her program on the ice, Koelzer is particularly proud of how her player have evolved away from the ice.

“As individuals, I’ve seem so much growth in every single one of them,” she said. “A lot of them have been through a lot when it comes to learning who they are off the ice and what their goals and aspirations are long term for their lives.It’s been awesome to see how transformative these four years have been for them off the ice.

“So many of them have such big and lofty goals and they now have that confidence to continue pushing forward and achieve those goals and that’s obviously I think what I’m” most proud of.

When you look at the culmination of being a student-athlete over these four years its making sure that these girls feel prepared when they leave Arcadia and are no longer college athletes but are members of society that are going to contribute positively and I know every single one of them is going to do that.

“It’s been awesome just to see their growth off the ice these four years. It’s just been absolutely incredible.”

The multifaceted success of the Knights on the ice and in the classroom over the past four seasons sends a powerful message re; female empowerment.

“Every single one of our girls has aspirations to do big things,” Koelzer said. Even within traditionally I would say male dominated fields. Whether its STEM, forensic science, or within the medical fields. We have some that want to be lawyers. Girls that want to work within the sports industry.

All of those have been traditionally considered male dominant fields and it’s awesome to see they have never once hesitated in regards to having the confidence to pursue those dreams and the goals. It’s a huge step for female empowerment, absolutely.”

Arcadia’s Ryan Heickert’s Take on Recruiting

Most high-school hockey players envision playing at a higher level after graduation. But what does it take to get there?

Arcadia head coach Ryan Heickert has some thought on the subject.

In his first season behind the bench Heickert has the Knights in contention for a Middle Atlantic Conference playoff spot heading into their regular-season finale at Stevenson on Friday. A win would qualify them for postseason play for the second time in the program’s four-year history. The first was in 2023 when Arcadia was part of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference.

Heickert himself played for an NCAA Division III national championship team at Neumann University and was an assistant coach at his alma mater before spending three years as the head coach at Bryn Athyn College.

Earning a spot on an NCAA roster is a major accomplishment for a hockey player. At the start of the 2024-25 season there 60 NCAA Division I men’s hockey teams, seven at Division II and 81 at Division III.

(By comparison, there are 352 NCAA men’s basketball programs in Division I and nine more in the process of transitioning to that level.)

By any measure, those players skating for an NCAA team, whatever the level, are part of an elite group.

“The level of plyaer that’s playing Division III hockey I very high,” Heickert says. “Just by sheer numbers. And the amount of kids playing D-III that get an opportunity to play some level of pro hockey is very good.”

Heickert shared his thoughts about the recruiting process and how he evaluates prospects, with Hockey Happenings.

“We watch them play,” he said. “We get to talk to them, we talk to coaches, talk to advisors and try to find the right character person first; that’s really important for us.

“And the education piece is very important. I don’t want to be chasing around students, begging them to go to class and worrying about GPAs.”

Heickert is quick to point out that the caliber of play in junior and Division III hockey has improved substantially from his playing days. He was asked what sets a player apart on the ice.

“Skating ability and a level of [competitiveness]really stands out for me if we’re talking about on- ice stuff,” he said.

All these kids are so skilled and can shoot a puck. All that stuff is all beyond what it was when I played D-III hockey.”

Regardless of how skilled a player may be however, stepping up to the NCAA level requires making a series of adjustment, notably in the area of ice time. A player who might have been playing on the number-one line and/or the power play at another level might be on the fourth line or killing penalties at the start of his collegiate career. The ability to make that sort of transition is critical to a player’s development.

“It’s huge,” Heickert said. “And I don’t think anyone is batting a thousand when it comes to recruiting. We do our best. I try to have a real open and honest conversation with anyone I’m talking to about recruiting. I had a conversation with a young man {recently} and I asked him, ‘What are your factors when you’re looking at schools?’”

“One of the things was how much he’s going to play. And I had to remind him I’m not recruiting someone I think I going to sit in the stands but I can’t guarantee ice time That has to be earned.”

The fact that most players play junior hockey before going on to college make the transition process unique.

“I think people forget what it’s like to step in,” Heickert said. “It’s a big jump and they forget that. And they forget that {a college team} is a team full of kids that played in the junior league they’re playing in currently but are now three years older than they are with three more years of experience at a higher level.

I think it can be a mental struggle. But I think it’s having conversations and letting them know ‘The expectation as a freshman is to play every game. That should be the goal. Just get in the lineup. Find a role. And then, build from there.”

Heickert Approaching Arcadia Debut

The Arcadia University men’s hockey program has begun a new chapter in its history with the debut of a new head coach.

Ryan Heickert will be behind the bench when the Knights open the 2024-25 season at Western New England in Springfield, Mass. on November 1 as part of the Western New England Showcase.

Heickert takes over at Arcadia after three seasons as the head coach at Bryn Athyn College. The Oshawa, Ontario native played college hockey at what was then Neumann College (now Neumann University) and played for a national championship team in 2009.

He spent three years as an assistant coach at his alma mater before stepping away from on-ice duties but continued to serve as Neumann’s strength and conditioning coach.

Heickert spoke to what made the Arcadia position appealing.

“Being on the Philly area is great,” he said. “This is where I’ve been since I played at Neumann. Not having to relocate and have the opportunity to coach [at the NCAA level].

“And secondly is it being a newer program that is still trying to I think establish an identity and get its footing in in Division III hockey and the ability to step in and be a part of that is exciting.”

Heickert takes over the Arcadia program as it begins its fourth season. It’s the first season the Middle Atlantic Conference will have an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As part of that transition, Arcadia has ended its affiliation with the United Collegiate Hockey Conference.

“It’s fantastic,” Heickert said of the new alignment. “Having an opportunity to step into a conference with an automatic qualifier and then getting back into the MAC and competing against some of the other schools that the other sports on campus are. And then travel-wise, it’s just fantastic regularly competing against so many local teams. It’s great.

Heickert spoke to how his years at Neumann as a player and coach shaped his own coaching philosophy.

“They were a team that hadn’t had much success,” he recalls. “I had some great coaches there and some great teammates, and I think what we want to shape here is the culture and I think they have thing going in the right direction.

“We have a lot of great guys on this team and I think what we can do is create an identity and a culture through hard work, teamwork, connecting with our community, connecting with the school, connecting with each other and building something that way.

The Knights have compiled a record of 18-51-7 through their first three seasons.

Heickert says his recruiting efforts will emphasize finding players that fit the program as people as well as hockey players.

It’s a lot of getting the road,” he said. “Watching video, watching how guys play but then outside of that talking with their coaches talking with their GMs getting to know how they interact with their teammates and then getting to know them. Making sure they’re going to fit what we want and fit that culture.”

• Arcadia’s first seven games are on the road. The Knights’ home opener is set for November 21 against Stevenson.

The MAC Will Have a New Look This Season

The Middle Atlantic Conference is taking a big step forward this winter as it embarks on its first season with automatic bids to the NCAA Division Three men’s and women’s hockey tournaments.

With the addition of the Misericordia University men and the Hood University women to the conference lineup, the MAC now includes six men’s and six women’s teams, the minimum number for automatic qualifier (AQ) status as of this year (the previous minimum had been seven teams.

In addition, Neumann University and Wilkes University will be aligned with the MAC as associate members for both sports.

The men’s alignment will include Alvernia, Arcadia, Kings, Lebanon Valley, Misericordia, Neumann, Stevenson, and Wilkes.

The women’s alignment will feature Alvernia, Arcadia, Hood, King’s, Lebanon Valley, Stevenson. Neumann, and Wilkes

“I think it’s an important step forward,” said MAC Executive Director Megan Morrison. “We don’t have that many sports around the conference that we aren’t able to provide a home for in terms of the regular season and postseason and access to the [NCAA tournament].

Hockey was one of those where a number of our institutions had to play in a single-sport conference.

“Not only to grow the sport of hockey but to have our schools have hockey under MAC umbrella, which has a little bit wider-recognized than a single-sport conference, we certainly thought it was the right move.”

The conference will play a triple-round-robin schedule (21 conference games) followed by playoff semifinals and finals.

“This certainly allows them to have a little bit less in travel expense,” Morrison said. “Nobody loved a triple round robin but I think it’s a great place for us to start. And with everyone being so conscious on campus of expense it’s a win in that way too.”

Morrison says the realignment of the conference offers some recruiting advantages
“We’re still a young conference when it comes to hockey,” she said, “and programs that have hockey, but now, having access to the NCAA championships probably provides them with a better chance of winning a conference championship and going to the NCAA than potentially where our schools were playing previously (in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference). So, that’ certainly an upside.”

Morrison notes that some of the freshman hockey players enrolling at MAC schools will be entering college after playing junior hockey and thus will be older than the typical college freshman. She says the older first-year students offer a unique viewpoint,

“Oftentimes, institutions tell us that older students bring a different perspective,” she said, “more experience to campuses, which is a good thing.”

The conference first sponsored ice hockey during the 2017-18 season. Morrison, who assumed her post in July of 2020, says achieving AQ status was something conference administrators had been looking forward to.

“It certainly was I think in the back of the minds of all of our schools that have started hockey over the last several years,” she said. And probably in the back of their minds when they started hockey and knew they were going to have to play in another conference.

“but the one of the benefits of being a large conference is to come together, and schools can say ‘We’re thinking about ice hockey’ and other schools can plan that way and that can be something a whole conference moves towards.

This is one example where that did happen including that early vision, certainly long before my time, came to fruition.”

MAC to Receive Automatic Bids in NCAA D-III Men’s, Women’s Ice Hockey

A new era is at hand in the Middle Atlantic Conference. The MAC will have Automatic Qualifier status for the NCAA Division III men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments beginning with the upcoming 2024-25 season.

The MAC has sponsored men’s and women’s ice hockey as a championship sport since 2017-18, but the conference was not eligible for an NCAA championship automatic berth with fewer than six institutions sponsoring the sports. In 2024-25, with the addition of Misericordia men’s ice hockey and Hood women’s ice hockey, under NCAA legislation, the MAC will be immediately eligible for automatic berths in the NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey Championships.

Men’s ice hockey programs operating under the MAC banner include Alvernia, Arcadia, King’s, Lebanon Valley, Misericordia and Stevenson. The women’s alignment will include Alvernia, Arcadia, Hood, King’s, Lebanon Valley, and Stevenson.

MAC Executive Director Megan Morrison calls the move a step forward.

“This is the next logical step in the growth of ice hockey in the Middle Atlantic region,” she said. “The UCHC has been a good home for MAC institutions sponsoring ice hockey and we hope to continue that partnership through mutual scheduling arrangements to support the growth of the sport even further.”
The teams will play a triple-round robin schedule with the top four teams qualifying for the single-elimination conference playoffs.

The schools that previously were affiliated with the United Collegiate Hockey Conference have ended that affiliation.

The Middle Atlantic Conference contributed to this post.

Neumann University Partners With Ed Snider Foundation for On-Campus Rink

Neumann University and the Ed Snider Foundation are joining forces for the construction of a hockey rink on the Neumann campus. The Ed Snider has pledged $15 million toward the construction of the building; the university will match that sum.

Once construction begins, the projected to take 12-15 months, perhaps a bit longer depending on weather issues.

Neumann University President Dr. Chris Everett Domes credits the Snider Foundation for making the project possible. The university and the foundation formed a partnership in January of 2020

“Thanks to their partnership and a $15 million commitment,” Domes said, “we’re able to launch this fundraising campaign to help us see this building through.

“This project will not only enliven student life hear on our campus, it also provides an avenue for academic programs as we continue to expand here at Neumann. Certainly, our sports business and sports management students, our physical therapy and athletic training students, will have first-hand access to a great facility.

But also, most importantly, this project helps us reach out to the broader community to [impart] our mission and our values at Neumann University through the interaction with the Snider kids. Young people that this organization looks to life up and support every single day.”

Scott Tharp is the President and CEO of Ed Snider Youth Hockey. To date, 23 Ed Snider Hockey participants have enrolled at Neumann. Two of that 23 have graduated and five more will enroll this fall. All have received financial assistance from the Foundation.

“When this opportunity to build a rink came up, it was a no brainer for us,” Tharp said.

The rink will be named in Ed Snider’s honor.

La Salle Alum Lipkin Signs With Arizona

Former La Salle College High School forward Sam Lipkin has signed an entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes.

Lipkin played for La Salle’s state championship team in 2019 before going on to play for the Chicago Steel in the USHL, where he was part of a Clark Cup championship team in 20212.

For the past two years, Lipkin has played college hockey for Quinipiac; he was part of an NCAA championship team last season.

He was the Coyotes’ seventh-round draft pick in 2021.

Lipkin will finish the 2024 season with the American Hockey League’s Tucson Roadrunners on an amateur tryout; his three-year entry-level contract will kick in next season.

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Realignment Coming to MAC Hockey

Some changes are coming to NCAA Division III ice hickey; specifically changes that will impact the schools in the Middle Atlantic Conference. With addition of the Misericordia men’s and Hood women’s programs, the MAC will include six mens’ and womens’ teams beginning with the 2024-25 season and will meet the criteria for automatic bids to the NCAA mens’ and womens’ tournaments.

The MAC schools presently skating in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference will leave the UCHC following this coming season.“This is the next logical step in the growth of ice hockey in the Middle Atlantic region,” said MAC executive director Megan Morrison in a statement. “The UCHC has been a good home for MAC institutions sponsoring ice hockey and we hope to continue that partnership through mutual scheduling arrangements to support the growth of the sport even further.”

MAC men’s hockey will include Alvernia, Arcadia, King’s, Lebanon Valley, Misericordia, and Stevenson while Alvernia, Arcadia, Hood, King’s, Lebanon Valley, and Stevenson will compete in women’s hockey.

Information in this report was furnished by https://www.uscho.com/

3 APAC Alums to Skate for U.S. at World Juniors

Three players with ties to Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference institutions will be part of the Team USA roster for the 47^th IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championships which will kick off the day after Christmas.

Forward Tyler Boucher, a native of Haddonfield, New Jersey, played at St. Joseph’s Prep. Kenny Connors, from Glen Mills, PA skated for Malvern Prep while Sam Lipkin, from Philadelphia, competed for La Salle.

All are forwards.

Boucher is currently playing for the Ottawa 67’s after playing one season at Boston University. He also spent two seasons in USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program His NHL draft rights are held by the Ottawa Senators, who made him their number-one draft pick (10^th overall in 2021).

Connors is in his first season at Massachusetts after playing two years of junior hockey with Dubuque in the NAHL. His NHL rights are held by the Los Angeles Kings, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 draft.

Lipkin is in his first season with Quinnipiac after spending two seasons with the Chicago Steel in the USHL. The Arizona Coyotes made him their seventh-round draft choice in the 2021 NHL draft.

The Junior World tournament is set for its customary holiday window, from December 26 through January 5 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick. Games will be televised on the NHL Network.

WORCESTER STATE 3, ARCADIA 2 (OT)

COLMAR, Pa. – The Arcadia University women’s ice hockey team fell to Worcester State, 3-2, in overtime on Sunday afternoon at Hatfield Ice Arena. The Lancers scored two third-period goals to send the game to the extra frame, before they scored the game-winner in overtime.

First-year forward Ariel Williamson scored the first goal in program history for the Knights. The Rome, N.Y. native found the top corner of the goal in the second period to put the Knights on the board for the first time.

WORCESTER STATE 3, ARCADIA 2 (OT)
HOW IT HAPPENED

After neither team found the back of the net in the first period, Williamson scored just over four minutes into the second period to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
Karahkwenhawe White converted on the power play in the second period to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. Williamson tallied her second point of the day with an assist on White’s goal.
Worcester State scored its first goal with less than four minutes to go in the third period. The Lancers tied it with a minute and a half left to send the game to overtime.
The Lancers scored the game-winner 1:41 into overtime after a pass in front was tipped past Arcadia goaltender Sophia Szelag.