Fifteen months after the announcement that women’s hockey is coming to Tucson, the team will begin their first season at the end of September.
Coach Caitlin Hogan will lead the Wildcats in their opening season. Hogan played hockey at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota where she finished as the all-time point leader in program history.
“Being named the new head coach for the first-ever University of Arizona women’s hockey team is a tremendous honor,” Hogan said when the announcement first came out. “There is definitely a sense of pride and responsibility in being involved in building the foundation of this new team, I can’t wait to hit the ice.”
Arizona men’s hockey coach and director of hockey operations Chad Berman was involved in the process to help hire Hogan as the first coach.
“I know we got a rockstar in a coach there, [she is] somebody who is really competitive, driven, motivated and understands culture,” Berman said. “She’s got an unbelievable hockey background and I know they’ll be playing their best hockey by the end of the year.”
The team will play in the American Collegiate Hockey Association in Division I and be part of the Western Women’s Collegiate Hockey League Conference. The team’s games will be played in the Tucson Convention Center Arena until late 2025 when they will move to the Mosaic Quarter Iceplex upon its opening.
After coaching a Southwest prospect camp in 2023 and hosting a prospect camp in Tucson in April, Hogan was able to get the roster up to 21 players for the upcoming season.
Goalies:
Olivia Sorlie and Lauryn Hanafin make up the Arizona goalie squad. Sorlie is a freshman from Jamestown, North Dakota who posted a .912 save percentage in her final season at Jamestown High School. Hanafin, a sophomore, transferred to Arizona after her freshman year at Stonehill College where she appeared in three games in the 2022-2023 season.
Forwards:
The team currently features 13 forwards for the season including Arizona State University transfer Britney Bridel who posted 18 points across two seasons for the Sun Devils.
Defenseman turned forward Teila Saarinen is a transfer from Chatham University who appeared in seven games in the 2022-2023 season. The rest of the forward core will be getting their first college hockey experience this season at Arizona.
Defense:
With only six defenseman at the moment, the team will rely on Arizona State transfer Rylee Armstrong heavily. Armstrong was with ASU across two seasons playing in two games in the 2022-2023 season. Savannah Allen, Rylan Peska, Sofie Thompson, Lucy Verderber and Alanna Main make up the rest of this year’s Arizona defense.
Looking forward:
The first game of the season will be Sept. 26 against Grand Canyon University at 8:30 p.m., right after the men’s team plays San Diego State University at 6 p.m. Both games will be in Tucson at the TCC.
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