For the women's team representing St. Thomas University located in Fredericton, New Brunswick please see St. Thomas Tommies women's ice hockey
| St. Thomas Tommies (NCAA) women's ice hockey | |
 | |
| Institution: | University of St. Thomas |
|---|---|
| Location: | St. Paul, Minnesota |
| School founded: | 1885 |
| Enrollment: | 6,199 |
| Colors: | Purple, Gray, White & Black
|
| Home Arena: | St. Thomas Ice Arena |
| Capacity: | 1,000 |
| Dimensions: | 200' x 85' |
| Women's Team | |
| Conference: | Western Collegiate Hockey Association |
| Coach: | Joel Johnson |
| Conf. Championships: | 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019 |
| Conf. Tournament Championships: | 2003, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 |
The St. Thomas Tommies are a Women's Division I ice hockey team representing University of St. Thomas, located in St. Paul, Minnesota from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The team is based out of St. Thomas Ice Arena, which is located in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. The women's program was established in the 1998-99 season after playing as a joint team with the St. Catherine Wildcats for the 1997-98 season. In 2019, the school was involuntarily removed from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, effective in 2021. St. Thomas announced it was completing an unprecedented move to Division I.
The team has won MIAC regular season titles in 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2018 (co-champ), and 2019. The team has won MIAC tournament titles in 2003, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019.
The university imposed upon the women's hockey team a ban on post season play for the 2017-18 season following an alcohol-related incident in March of 2017.[1]
Removal From MIAC[]
On May 22, 2019 the board that runs the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which is made up of the school presidents, announced that St. Thomas University was being removed from the conference involuntarily effective the spring of 2021. The release cites competitive parity as the main reason for the move. Along with a much more sizable enrollment, the university had been dominant in league competition accounting for about half of all MIAC championships (team and individual) since 2013. No immediate announcement was made about the university's plans for joining a new conference.[2]
Jump to Division I[]
The university, after working with the NCAA and MIAC, was able to make the jump from Division III to Division I. The women's hockey program accepted a bid into the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's women's league. The process for moving from Division III to Division I usually takes 12 years but the NCAA can grant a waiver as the school is under a unique set of circumstances with be removed from a conference for being too good to maintain a competitive balance within the conference at the D-III level and that there is only one other D-I all sports university in the state of Minnesota.[3]
Conferences[]
- Midwestern Collegiate Women's Hockey Alliance (1997-1998)
- Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1998-2021)
- Western Collegiate Hockey Association (2021-present)
Arenas[]
- Warner Coliseum (1997-2003)
- St. Thomas Ice Arena (2003-present)
Head Coaches[]
- Kevin Gorg (1998-2007) 142-75-12
- Tom Palkowski (2007-2021) 220-99-40
- Marty Sertich (2021: interim)
- Joel Johnson (2021-present)
Women's Year by Year Record[]
| Season | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | Finish | Conference Tournament | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint team with St. Catherine Wildcats | |||||||||||||||
| Midwest Women's Alliance | Overall Record | ||||||||||||||
| 1997-98 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 15 | 59 | 1 | - | N/A | 12 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 15 | 59 |
| Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Overall Record | ||||||||||||||
| 1998-99 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 64 | 4 | 5th of 6 | Did not qualify | 13 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 22 | 93 |
| 1999-00 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 42 | 62 | 5 | 6th of 8 | Did not qualify | 19 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 71 | 69 |
| 2000-01 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 90 | 52 | 25 | 3rd of 10 | L, SF 4-1, 2-0 (St.Mary's) | 26 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 115 | 76 |
| 2001-02 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 61 | 29 | 27 | 3rd of 10 | L, SF 5-3 (St. Mary's) | 26 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 89 | 57 |
| 2002-03 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 84 | 45 | 30 | 1st of 10 | W, SF 1-0 (St. Mary's) W, F 4-1 (Gustavus Adolphus) | 28 | 19 | 7 | 2 | 106 | 70 |
| 2003-04 | 18 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 85 | 22 | 33 | 1st of 10 | W, SF 6-5 (2OT) (Augsburg L, F 3-2 (Gustavus Adolphus) | 27 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 103 | 45 |
| 2004-05 | 18 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 106 | 19 | 33 | 2nd of 10 | W, SF 8-1 (St. Olaf) L, F 3-2 (2OT) (Gustavus Adolphus) | 27 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 136 | 36 |
| 2005-06 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 101 | 29 | 31 | 2nd of 10 | W, SF 2-1 (Bethel) L, F 2-1 (OT) (Gustavus Adolphus) | 27 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 129 | 47 |
| 2006-07 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 66 | 37 | 24 | 3rd of 10 | W, SF 6-2 (St. Olaf) L, F 3-2 (Gustavus Adolphus) | 27 | 15 | 12 | 0 | 91 | 67 |
| 2007-08 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 65 | 24 | 28 | 2nd of 10 | W, SF 4-2 (Concordia) L, F 1-0 (Gustavus Adolphus) | 27 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 104 | 40 |
| 2008-09 | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 58 | 16 | 30 | 2nd of 10 | W, SF 3-0 (Bethel) L, F 3-0 (Gustavus Adolphus) | 26 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 78 | 32 |
| 2009-10 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 55 | 26 | 26 | 4th of 10 | L, SF 4-3 (St. Catherine) | 26 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 70 | 45 |
| 2010-11 | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 43 | 22 | 24 | T-2nd of 10 | L, SF 4-2 (Bethel) | 26 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 57 | 46 |
| 2011-12 | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 52 | 28 | 23 | 3rd of 10 | L, SF 4-1 (Concordia) | 26 | 15 | 9 | 2 | 73 | 40 |
| 2012-13 | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 54 | 27 | 27 | 2nd of 10 | L, SF 2-1 (Concordia) | 24 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 66 | 43 |
| 2013-14 | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 52 | 27 | 30 | 1st of 10 | W, SF 4-3 (OT) (Concordia) W, F 2-0 (Gustavus Adolphus) | 30 | 20 | 7 | 3 | 80 | 53 |
| 2014-15 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 56 | 27 | 26 | 2nd of 10 | W, SF 3-2 (Concordia) W, F 3-2 (Bethel) | 28 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 83 | 66 |
| 2015-16 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 55 | 32 | 26 | 1st of 10 | W, SF 2-1 (Concordia) W, F 2-1 (Bethel) | 28 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 79 | 79 |
| 2016-17 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 52 | 41 | 22 | 4th of 10 | W, QF 6-1 (Hamline) W, SF 3-2 (Gust. Adolphus) W, F 3-2 (OT) (Augsburg) | 29 | 14 | 11 | 4 | 78 | 72 |
| 2017-18 | 18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 66 | 24 | 29 | T-1st of 10 | Ineligible: Self imposed ban[4] | 25 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 83 | 41 |
| 2018-19 | 18 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 58 | 14 | 32 | 1st of 10 | W, SF 4-0 (Gust. Adolphus) W, F 2-0 (Hamline) | 30 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 96 | 30 |
| 2019-20 | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 58 | 31 | 23 | 4th of 10 | L, QF 4-1 (St. Mary's) | 26 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 71 | 48 |
| 2020-21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 1.000 | N/A | Cancelled | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 17 |
| Western Collegiate Hockey Association | Overall Record | ||||||||||||||
| 2021-22 | 27 | 3 | 32 | 1 | 31 | 123 | 10 | 8th | L, QF 2 games to none (Minnesota) | 31 | 5 | 27 | 1 | 41 | 142 |
| 2022-23 | 28 | 3 | 24 | 1 | 30 | 110 | 12 | 7th | L, QF 2 games to none (Minnesota) | 36 | 8 | 27 | 1 | 53 | 130 |
| 2023-24 | 28 | 4 | 23 | 1 | 39 | 120 | 11 | 7th | L, QF 2 games to none (Wisconsin) | 37 | 10 | 26 | 1 | 42 | 181 |
NCAA Tournament Appearances[]
| Season | First Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship | Third Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division III (1998-2021) | |||||
| 2003 | -- | L, 5-1 (Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons) | -- | -- | -- |
| 2014 | -- | W, 5-0 (Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers) | L, 1-0 (OT) (Plattsburgh Cardinals) | -- | L, 5-3 (Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons) |
| 2015 | -- | L, 4-1 (Plattsburgh Cardinals) | -- | -- | -- |
| 2016 | -- | L, 4-1 (Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons) | -- | -- | -- |
| 2017 | -- | L, 4-2 (Plattsburgh Cardinals) | -- | -- | -- |
| 2019 | Bye | W, 4-3 (Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds) | L, 3-0 (Hamline Pipers) | -- | L, 1-0 (Adrian Bulldogs) |
| 6 appearances | 2-time Fourth Place Finishers | ||||
| Division I (2021-present) | |||||
References[]
- ↑ https://tommiesports.com/sports/wice/2017-18/releases/20180218nrpvy2
- ↑ https://www.miacathletics.com/general/2018-19/releases/20190510vxuc8l
- ↑ https://www.startribune.com/university-of-st-thomas-wants-to-go-division-i-gets-invitation-to-summit-league/562174952/
- ↑ https://tommiesports.com/sports/wice/2017-18/releases/20180218nrpvy2
Links[]
- Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's hockey website
- St. Thomas Tommies women's hockey website
| St. Thomas Tommies (NCAA) women's ice hockey | |
|---|---|
| Venues | Warner Coliseum (1997-2003) - St. Thomas Ice Arena (2003-present) |
| Coaches | Kevin Gorg (1998-2007) - Tom Palkowski (2007-2021) - Joel Johnson (2021-Present) |
| Conference Affliations | Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1920-2021) - Western Collegiate Hockey Association (2021-present) |
| Seasons | 1997–98 - 1998–99 - 1999–00 - 2000–01 - 2001–02 - 2002–03 - 2003–04 - 2004–05 - 2005–06 - 2006–07 - 2007–08 - 2008–09 - 2009–10 - 2010–11 - 2011–12 - 2012–13 - 2013–14 - 2014–15 - 2015–16 - 2016–17 - 2017–18 - 2018–19 - 2019–20 |
| University of St. Thomas - St. Paul, Minnesota | |