Women’s Hockey

Although R.I.T is known for its men’s hockey team, it was the Lady Tigers who stole the spotlight with their win March 17. Crushing Norwich with a 4-1 victory, they went on to secure their first NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey National Championship.
According to RIT Athletics, the championship was the third in all of R.I.T’s history. The last two occurred in 1983 and 1985 when the men’s team was still Division II and III. Last year the Lady Tigers did go to the NCAA Championship but was unable to clench the title against the same team they beat this year: Norwich.
Even before the “thrilling” game, as many student speculators called it, there had been talks to move the women’s team up to Division-I(the highest level of college sports). However, most assumed that it would not happen for a few years.
And yet the team will be playing its first full-league schedule next year as a D-1 team.
The process was expedited due to Niagara University restructuring its athletics department, which caused for the loss of their Women’s Hockey team. As a result, College Hockey America, of which Niagara was previously a part of, had an opening. The Lady Tigers fit perfectly and the announcement was made March 21^st.
However, it isn’t all good news. The Lady Tigers will not be eligible to compete in the NCAA post-season until the 2014-2015 school year. Essentially, the women hockey team will not have the chance to win another championship until March of 2015.
Additionally, there is a strong possibility that the games will no longer be free; however, this is still being decided upon.  It is possible that although students will probably continue to be free adult spectators may be charged approximately three dollars, according to Emily Rinehart, an R.I.T Box Office Attendant.
The new R.I.T ice rink will definitely be necessary as the women’s surge in popularity. While the Lady Tigers had a hard time filling stands during the league, the NCAA Championship game brought 1,195 fans, rivaling the men’s games.