(from nchahockey.org) The St. Norbert College women's hockey team has been picked by league coaches to place first in the upcoming Northern Collegiate Hockey Association regular season, according to the results of the coaches preseason poll announced today by the league office.
The Green Knights went 18-10-2 a season ago and played in the NCAA Tournament after completing a late comeback and defeating River Falls in dramatic fashion in the league tournament championship. They return a foursome of seniors to lead the way in Henriette Ostergaard (16-15-31), Karissa Anderson (14-15-29) and Zoe Kurth (12-10-22) on offense and All-NCHA selection Kaley Gibson (2.26 GAA, .921 save percentage) in the nets. The team received four first-place votes and 31 points in the poll.
Based on the coaches insight, the league race will be tight. Three different teams received first-place votes, with the top four teams separated by just five points overall.
Adrian College, despite not receiving a first-place vote, took second place in the poll at 28 points. The Bulldogs went 20-6-1 a season ago and return All-NCHA selection Kelsey Kusch (20-19-39) and Danielle Smith (17-12-29), with All-American Alix Vallee (6-20-26) leading the defense.
Right behind Adrian was Lake Forest. It accumulated 27 points and had one first-place vote. The Foresters were 15-7-4 last season and will be led by Michelle Greeneway (23-12-5) this season. A year ago she was the only freshman to earn All-NCHA honors en route to being named First-Team All-West Region and a Second Team West All-American.
St. Scholastica received the other two votes and 26 points after a 15-7-4 record a season ago. The Saints return a pair of juniors in Nina Waidacher and Alex Blair, both of whom were named to the All-NCHA squad as sophomores. Waidacher won the league's scoring title, recording 40 points on 16 goals and 24 assists and was named West Region Hockey All-American. Blair (7-11-19) earned Second Team All-American status on defense.
Concordia University Wisconsin placed fifth with 17 points, with Marian University next with 12 and Finlandia University rounding out the list with six points.
| Team (1st place votes) | Points |
| St. Norbert College (4) | 31 |
| Adrian College | 28 |
| Lake Forest College (1) | 27 |
| College of St. Scholastica (2) | 26 |
| Concordia University Wisconsin | 17 |
| Marian University | 12 |
| Finlandia University | 6 |
