Four UD players were selected by their coaches and the league to represent UD in the DVCHC All Star Game being held Sunday, March 30th at 2:00 pm at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia. These players are:
The UD players will join top players from other teams in the league such as UPenn, Maryland, Virginia, American and Drexel. The DVCHC All Star Game showcases the most talented women’s college hockey players in the Mid-Atlantic. The game also gives each player an opportunity to play with and against their best competitors.
This year's All Star Game is being held at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, where the Philadelphia Phantoms play. Activities for the day are...
12:30 pm - DVCHC Awards Ceremony
2:00 pm - All Star Game
5:05 pm - Philadelphia Phantoms vs. Hamilton Bulldogs
For more information about the DVCHC All Star Game visit
DVCHC All Star Game
Tuesday, March 11th 2008 8:26pm
The University of Delaware women's team traveled to Chicago last week and finished fourth in the 2008 ACHA National Championships.
Click here to see the scores and hear all about the trip from Delaware's captain Kristin Uhlemeyer 2008 ACHA National Championships
Tuesday, February 19th 2008 5:19pm
The University of Delaware women’s ice hockey team completed an impressive undefeated season winning two extremely intense and closely contested playoff games in Pensauken, New Jersey on February 16-17. In doing so, the team captured the Spikes Cup which eluded them last season. The Spikes Cup is awarded to the winner of the DVCHC Playoffs. Just like last year, UD came into the playoffs as the #1 seed, after finishing in first place during the regular season. But unlike last year, this time the Hens captured the championship. The road to the cup was filled with tension and suspense.
On Saturday, February 16, Delaware played the University of Maryland in the semi-final game. Although Maryland was the fourth seed in the tournament, they have historically been a difficult foe for UD. Saturday was no exception. UD was out-played for a good portion of the game as evidenced by Maryland’s advantage in shots on goal, 38-24. Delaware sophomore goaltender Katie Keeports made one outstanding save after another to keep the Blue Hens in the game.
The game began with Delaware struggling to jump on the loose puck and Maryland determined to upset the #1 seed. The first period ended 0-0. Delaware stepped it up in the second period and took a 2-0 lead. Center Brittney Sheldon started the scoring with a goal at 13:25 in the second. Captain Kristin Uhlemeyer used that momentum to score a short-handed goal six minutes later. A take down of Hen’s center Erin McAuliffe by Maryland gave UD the first penalty shot in team history. Despite a great move and deking the goalie, the puck just rolled off McAuliffe’s stick causing her to shoot just outside the right post. By the end of the second, Maryland had bounced back to tie the score 2-2.
The third period was intense for players and fans alike knowing that the next goal could be the game winner guaranteeing them a spot in the championship game. At the end of regulation, the game was still tied 2-2. The teams lined up for a potential 8-minute sudden-death overtime period, but sophomore McAuliffe had a much shorter overtime in mind. Less than one minute into overtime, McAuliffe broke free with the puck through the neutral zone, skated around a fallen Maryland defenseman, and scored a dramatic breakaway goal to put the Hens into the championship game.
As difficult as this game was, and as relieved as the team was to get a win, Delaware knew the championship game would be more difficult. In the other semi-final game, the University of Pennsylvania defeated American University 7-3 to advance to play Delaware. UPenn was also a difficult opponent for UD in the regular season. Although the Hens won both games, it took an overtime goal to win the second one.
The championship game on Sunday, February 17 was really three games in one. The first period belonged to Delaware with an unassisted goal from McAuliffe to finish the period with a 1-0 lead. UPenn came on strong in the second period and took the lead 2-1 before UD bounced back to tie the game 3-3 at the end of the second (a goal by Kim LaBella assisted by Sheldon and a goal by left wing Denise Campbell assisted by defenseman Dana Gasper). The momentum throughout the second appeared to be with UPenn as Delaware struggled to get any shots on net.
After an ice resurfacing break between the second and third period, a revitalized and motivated UD team took to the ice scoring five unanswered goals in less than six minutes to take an 8-3 lead. This lead may have seemed insurmountable but certainly not to the UD coaches or their players. They knew what UPenn could do and what they did often when they got the puck into the offensive zone; shots on net. And that’s exactly what UPenn did putting 24 shots on net in the third period. In doing so, they clawed their way back scoring four more goals halfway through the third to Delaware’s one. But it wasn’t enough. At the final buzzer, Delaware had secured a 9-7 victory and their first ever DVCHC championship.
The scoring was well distributed for the Hens. McAuliffe had a hat trick with three goals, center Brittney Sheldon had two goals and an assist, Kim LaBella had a goal and an assist, Amy Christinzio, Denise Campbell and Bethany Allik each tallied one goal and Dana Gasper, Dani Lavety and Kristin Uhlemeyer each had an assist.
The victory was not without some last minute drama. Defenseman Lauren Massey took a hooking penalty with 1:48 left in the game. This penalty did not last long as UPenn quickly scored. However, because of the penalty, the scorekeepers noticed that Massey had neglected to sign the scoresheet before the game. By USA Hockey rules, this is a two-minute minor bench penalty. So, with UD short-handed, and the UPenn goaltender pulled for the extra skater, the Hens faced a 6-on-4 disadvantage for the last 1:17 minutes of the game. In addition, UD goaltender Keeports had some equipment issues that limited her ability to retrieve her lost goalie stick which was lying on the ice about 10 feet from the net. But all is well that ends well and time expired with UD in possession of a 9-7 lead and the championship.
And speaking of Keeports, she put on a goalie clinic stopping 51 of 58 UPenn shots and a remarkable 87 of 96 shots for the weekend. Keeports was named tournament Most Valuable Player by Coach Sharon Addison.
After the game, Coach Addison stated that, “These two games were incredibly intense for me, the players and our fans. My hat is off to UMD and UPenn who gave us more than we asked for, and in some periods, out-played us. But our team never stopped working hard, and never panicked. We really wanted to head into Nationals knowing that we were the best in the DVCHC”.
The playoff victories capped an impressive 15-0 record for the Blue Hens, in only their third year as members of the DVCHC and just their fifth year of existence. But the season is not over! By virtue of their regular season record and regional ranking, UD received and accepted an invitation to compete in the ACHA National tournament in Chicago, IL March 6-9. The Blue Hens are looking forward to their first trip to Nationals and know the competition there will be among the best they have seen.
Championship seasons, and undefeated seasons, come infrequently and need to be savored. This season will be remembered by players, fans and the coaching staff for years to come.
To view a picture of the team from playoffs click here UD Playoff Photo
All Star
Blue Hens