NCAA Division I hockey is expanding to another state.

The University of Delaware announced last Friday – and celebrated with a press conference Monday – that it is adding women’s hockey as a varsity sport and will begin play in 2025-26. Delaware also announced that it has been granted conference membership into College Hockey America (CHA).

The Blue Hens women’s team will be the first NCAA Division I hockey program in the state of Delaware and becomes the 45th NCAA Division I women’s program.

“I’m really excited for the sport,” Delaware Director of Athletics Chrissi Rawak told USCHO. “I’m excited for this university. I’m excited for this region.”

The possibility of adding Division I women’s hockey shifted closer to reality after Delaware conducted a feasibility study in collaboration with the National Hockey League (NHL), National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and College Hockey Inc.

Mike Snee, College Hockey Inc.’s executive director, said he hopes Delaware’s announcement will inspire more schools to explore adding hockey.

“Delaware’s decision to add women’s hockey furthers the recent growth trends of NCAA hockey,” said Snee. “We are grateful to Chrissi Rawak and the leadership group at Delaware for seeing the potential of Blue Hens hockey. We are also beyond appreciative of the NHL, NHLPA and the league’s member clubs as they continue to generously fund feasibility studies for universities interested in adding hockey.”

Click HERE for more coverage of Delaware’s historic announcement.

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Must Read:

Boston Globe: Stonehill defender Hannah Squires making big saves, on and off the ice
ESPN: Delaware adding Division I women’s hockey program in 2025-26
NHL.com: King Crowley defined by willpower, determination en route to U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame
The Ice Garden: University of Delaware adds women’s hockey to its list of NCAA sports
The Rink Live: Chobak takes summer experiences with USA hockey to take her game to another level
USCHO: University of Delaware adding women’s hockey, joining CHA for ’25-26 season
US HHOF: Katie King Crowley’s elite athleticism helped her dominate on ice, humor her teammates

Must Hear:

Inside College Hockey America: Featuring Penn State sophomore F Tessa Janecke
Inside ECAC Hockey: Featuring Quinnipiac head coach Cassie Turner
Inside Hockey East: Featuring Boston College junior F Abby Newhook
The PodKaz: The PodKaz talks about a dominating week for the WCHA

Must Watch:

The Rink Live: How SCSU junior Jojo Chobak got her nickname and started playing goalie

NCAA Women’s Hockey on TSN:

TSN recently unveiled its December schedule for NCAA Division I hockey, a slate that includes nine women’s games featuring 11 different teams. All nine games are available for streaming in Canada through TSN+. Click HERE for the complete TSN schedule.

The Blair Zilch Project:

New Hampshire freshman G Sedona Blair (Eden Prairie, Minn.) has posted three consecutive shutouts, including back-to-back 1-0 victories last weekend against Holy Cross and No. 13 Vermont. Blair is now riding a scoreless streak of 180:04, totaling 63 saves during that stretch.

Blair is 9-7-1 in 17 appearances overall, logging a 2.13 goals against average and .921 save percentage. She’s tied for the Hockey East lead with four shutouts and will put her scoreless streak on the line Friday against Providence.

Bobcat Benchmarks:

A pair of fifth-year Quinnipiac Bobcats etched their names into the school record books last weekend.

On Friday, Kate Reilly (Richmond, British Columbia) drew an assist in a 4-1 victory over Union, giving her 78 career points and surpassing Regan Boulton (2009-13) as the highest-scoring defenseman in program history. For good measure, Reilly added another helper in Saturday’s 4-2 win over RPI, extending her scoring streak to eight games. Reilly’s classmate, forward Sadie Peart (Grand Rapids, Minn.), skated in her 151st collegiate game Saturday, tying the school record for career games played. Peart assisted on a goal for her team-leading 21st point on the season.

Reilly, Peart and the Bobcats will close out the first half of the season Saturday at Princeton.

Fit To Print:

“You can ask anyone on the team: I spend more time at the coffee shop doing work than anything else. I do enjoy it. I just like to sit there by myself and work for hours. It sounds weird. I enjoy spending my time doing that.”  

-- St. Cloud State senior G and nursing major Jojo Chobak (Chicago, Ill.) on her affinity for academics (source: TheRinkLive)

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag:

Princeton’s Sarah Fillier (Sr. Georgetown, Ontario) scored her third career hat trick last night in a 6-3 win at Long Island, scoring once at even strength, once on the power play, and once shorthanded … Wisconsin graduate F Britta Curl (Bismarck, N.D.) is two points away from 150 for her career … Minnesota redshirt junior Abbey Murphy (Evergreen, Ill.) is one away from reaching the 100-point milestone … Clarkson graduate F Darcie Lappan (Hartington, Ontario) has points in seven of her last eight games, amassing eight goals and six assists during that stretch, which includes five multi-point efforts … Long Island freshman G Clara Kammholz (Milwaukee, Wis.) made her NCAA debut Saturday against Post and responded with a 13-save shutout. Junior Tindra Holm (Skelleftea, Sweden) had started all 15 games for the Sharks prior to Saturday … Harvard’s Alex Pellicci (Jr., Prior Lake, Minn.) made 52 saves in Friday’s 1-0 victory over No. 8 St. Lawrence. It was the first career ECAC victory for first-year Crimson head coach Laura Bellamy (Harvard ’13) … Saint Anselm’s Gracee Donovan (Jr., Orchard Park, N.Y.) and Clarie Weber (Sr., Marshfield, Mass.) scored their first carer hat tricks on Friday and Saturday, respectively, in the Hawks’ sweep of St. Michael’s.

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Did you know? 98% of NCAA Division I women’s hockey players earn their degree!